Four wheelchair-using students from Treloar College in Hampshire have visited their local heritage railway to support the next stage in the development of its Accessible Heritage Carriage Project.

Students from the college visited Ropley Station on the Mid hants Railway (known as The Watercress Line) two years ago as part of the Line’s ‘Let Me In’ programme.

Students provided feedback following their previous visit, and this time, the heritage railway invited them to test the latest floorplan for Carriage No. 3063, which The Watercress Line is transforming into a fully accessible heritage events carriage.

The project to transform the carriage aims to turn it into a welcoming and inclusive social space. The Line hopes that everyone will be able to used the venue to “enjoy the unique experience of travelling on a heritage railway”.

The carriage is in the workshop, and the proposed layout has been carefully marked out on the workshop floor. This allowed the students to navigate the space in their wheelchairs, providing a test of manoeuvrability, turning circles and access around the carriage.

The students provided feedback, which gives the Line insight into how the design performs in practice.

In addition to the work on the floor plan, the students discussed a range of accessibility considerations with The Watercress Line’s Carriage Workshop staff and volunteers. These included the design of accessible toilet facilities and the space that wheelchair users need comfortably throughout the carriage.

They also discussed the weight of powered wheelchairs, which the design and building of the carriage floor must take into account.

Whilst visiting, the students also toured the engineering facilities at Ropley. They took the chance to see locomotives up close and to witness railway operations.

By doing this, they gained a behind-the-scenes view of how The Watercress Line works to help preserve the country’s railway heritage.

Among its forthcoming events, the Watercress Line will soon be hosting Days Out With Thomas.

“This was a hugely rewarding and useful collaborative session that demonstrated how lived experience can directly influence heritage engineering. We wanted to ensure that accessibility is considered from the earliest stages of design.

“The feedback from the students is helping us create something truly special – not just an accessible carriage, but a welcoming social space where everyone can enjoy the magic of heritage rail travel together.

“It’s a huge investment to restore this wonderful 1955 First Class carriage into a space fit for today’s world, and the railway has to raise precious funds to make it happen.

“Projects like this can only succeed through genuine collaboration, and the feedback we have gained will have a lasting impact on the final design of Carriage 3063.”

Rebecca Dalley, Chief Executive Officer of The Watercress Line