A PENSIONER who grew up in a railway carriage has taken a ride in it – nearly a century after it was taken out of service.

Enid Lister, 71, lived in the carriage when it was situated – without its wheels – in Valley Gardens, between Hapton and the Rosegrove district of Burnley.

She was invited to be a special guest at its first journey since its restoration, travelling from Oxenhope to Keighley in West Yorkshire.

Several carriages were used to house mining families from Cornwall who had moved into Valley Gardens after their useful life on the railways ended in 1910.

They were then bought as homes by a number of local families, including Enid’s. She moved in with her parents and two brothers.

After her mother moved out in 1975, the carriageway was used as an allotment shed by new owner Tom Bell.

Enid said: “We moved into the carriage when I was 10 in 1949.

“All the family had been living with my grandma and granddad in Burnley.

“My father came home from work one day and said he had seen the carriages with rooms attached for sale.

“My mum was not all that pleased about it when she went to see it, but my dad had wanted to move more into the country so he could keep hens and geese.

“When I lived there, the actual carriage had two bedrooms and a bathroom. Built on the side was another bedroom, a lounge and a kitchen so it was virtually a bungalow.

“We always called it ‘the bungalow’. There was lots of room and there was a plot nearby where my dad could keep livestock.”

There were seven carriages at Valley Gardens that were used as homes.

The carriages were built in 1882 at the Newton Heath works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and when in use carried passengers in five compartments.

By 1910 Enid’s carriage had been taken out of service and the wheels and under-frame were removed when it became a home.

Enid added: “My friends used to love coming to see the carriage. I had one of the bedrooms and my two brothers had the other.

“It was a proper bedroom with a single bed, dressing table and wardrobe but it also had carriage windows.

“I used to love playing in the carriage with my friends, it was as though we were characters in our own fairytale story.

“I also spent many summers in the surrounding woodland and fishing in the nearby stream.”

Enid said the restoration work to return the carriage to passenger use had been excellent.

She said: “I have been to see the work in progress for the past six years. Worth Valley have done such a fantastic job at restoring it to its former glory.

“It’s unrecognisable from when we lived in it, it is nice to know that it is being well looked after.”

Many of the old carriages used on the railways succumbed to woodworm, rot and bonfires, but enthusiasts interested in preservation heard of the carriage’s survival and Mr Bell was happy to present it to them in 1991.

A small number, however, have been saved and are now used on heritage railways across the country.

It cost £17,000 to put Enid’s carriage back into working order.

Another carriage from the site is now also under restoration.