The Chinner heritage steam railway is seeking £100,000 in donations to complete its construction work.

The small gauge heritage steam railway in southern Oxfordshire is a registered charity and relies purely on volunteers.

Chinnor’s railway originally opened in 1872 to serve Chinnor and the surrounding villages and the British Railway closed the line for passengers in July 1957 and for goods in 1961.

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The station was partially demolished in 1970, however was reconstructed and opened to the public in 1994.

Since the restoration tourists and railway fanatics have flocked to the heritage railway for family days out and events.

Oxford Mail:

The charity is now reaching out to the public with a go fund me page to raise £100,000 for the remaining construction work of the heritage railway site, they aim to make the site a safe and professional workspace for their team of volunteers.

On the REC funds appeal site the charity said: “We have recently completed the construction of the Railway Engineering Centre, a 48x10m building designed to enable maintenance, repair, and restoration of our traction and carriage stock.

The basic structure is complete, with temporary trackwork installed, engineering and carriage and wagon workshops built, together with toilets and a temporary mess room.”

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However, the charity still need funding to complete the project. The REC funds appeal needs to raise money to lay permanent track on concrete sleepers, Install a pit to facilitate underframe inspection, maintenance and repair. They need money to concrete the floor with sufficient strength to enable the use of carriage jacks and build a protected stairwell to the first floor.

They also need to install a fire escape from the first floor, build a permanent mess room, offices and a conference room on the first floor and use the rest of the funds for internal meetings, training and courses.

Oxford Mail:

Once the construction is complete, the heritage railway will be open to the public to enjoy the many events hosted by the heritage site. Coming up this winter are Christmas carol evenings, Santa steam train days and winter observer experiences.

To donate go to the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Engineering Centre funding appeal go fund me page.