A unique Kitchen Coach has been restored at the Churnet Valley Railway near Leek in Staffordshire and has been returned to service in time for the 2026 season.

Kitchen Coach RK 80030 is an especially significant vehicle, as it is the only surviving original full kitchen coach that still retains its original layout.

The Churnet Valley Railway therefore decided that such a rare vehicle should be preserved and restored, both for the Churnet Valley and for the preservation movement as a whole.

Volunteers and staff from the Carriage & Wagon department spent countless evenings, weekends, and long days working to refurbish and preserve the coach, ready to welcome diners.

Outside, the exterior has been cosmetically transformed. After extensive preparation, old paintwork was sanded down, the coach was repainted, and its detailed varnishing was renewed.

Detailed finishing included new signwriting and lining to restore the vehicle’s classic appearance, replacing window glazing, refurbishing doors, and fitting new door jambs and trims.

Underneath the vehicle chassis, the bogies have been overhauled, including fitting replacement springs and brake blocks, and overhauling and testing the brake systems and associated components.

Inside the coach, timber pelmets, trims and window surrounds have been removed, stripped back, and revarnished. The vehicle has been repainted throughout, in the classic styling inspired by the famous Topaz Pullman coach at the National Railway Museum in York.

With an urgency to complete the overhaul in time for the 2026 season, volunteers worked in difficult conditions throughout the winter to complete mechanical rebuilds underneath the coach and to apply the final coats of varnish.

After all work had been completed, extensive testing took place between Cheddleton, Consall, and Froghall, and all faults found were fixed before the coach was declared ready for service.

As well as refurbishing the RK Kitchen Coach, volunteers have been working on other coaches in the railway’s dining train fleet, including on coaches Diana and Nicholas.

In recent years, the Churnet Valley Railway has been accumulating a collection of wagons, including ‘Coalfish’ wagons that were used for ballast, spoil, and stone, and ‘Sealion’ vacuum-braked bogie ballast wagons.