THE Dean Forest Locomotive Group (DFLG) is housing a new addition – a 1941-built brake corridor composite coach No 7362.

The coach was formerly owned by well-known railway enthusiast and businessman Bill Parker, owner of the nearby Flour Mill workshops, and was previously based on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway.

It has been moved by road to the DFLG’s base on the Dean Forest Railway, moving to Norchard in style behind the Group’s GWR Small Prairie No. 5541.

Along with a GWR Corridor third coach already in the collection, No. 7362 will form an integral part of the DFLG’s planned GWR train. It is planned that the overhaul will begin once BR Pannier Tank No. 9681 has been completed, the overhaul of which is currently well underway.

In the near future a major fundraising scheme for the coach will be launched, enabling the acquisition of missing items and replacement of key components in advance of the main overhaul.

For updates, keep an eye on the ‘Dean Forest Locomotive Preservation Group’ Facebook page.