A CRAFTSMAN has used his skill to give old and rusty railway carriages a new lease of life.

Bespoke cabinet maker Stuart Harris has been creating wooden furniture for 22 years.

His work has included restoring church furnishings but two years ago he turned his attention - and his skills - to a more unusual project...restoring railway carriages.

From his workshop in Waterhouse Lane, Ardleigh, he has helped disused and neglected carriages to rise from the ashes.

The renovated carriages he creates cost about £30,000 to buy but the prices of them may vary depending on their age and the history behind them.

Mr Harris, 52, said: “With the downturn of lots of crafts I needed a new outlet and that’s where railway carriages came in.

“As shepherds huts are really trending at the moment I’ve got the idea of buying railway carriages, fitting them out and selling them to people.

“I needed to diversify my business and thought of converting disused railway carriages.

“In the Sixties they decommissioned the railways and sold off a lot of railway stock, also giving them away, so lots of people were left with a carriage and for 50 years they just rotted in fields.

“If people don’t restore them, they will just rot away.

“The history of these carriages is special.

“The history behind them can’t speak for themselves but we surely can.

“I think it’s worth looking after them and restoring them and keeping the history going, because when they are gone, they are gone.

“The ones I create can last a person’s lifetime, about 100 years for sure, if people look after them, paint them and if they change the roof every 20 years.”

Mr Harris said a restored carriage can be easily used as a sewing room, a workshop or as an artist’s studio.

He said: “Instead of having an extension to your house, you can buy the carriage and use it as an annex.

“Nowadays people are looking for a new feature to their house and this definitely creates a unique talking point when visitors come around.

“It is perfect for any railway enthusiast.”

Mr Harris bought his most recent carriage from Builth Wells in Wales for only £64 but he says there are also quite a few carriages in the area.

The last carriage Mr Harris sold was originally made nearly 100 years ago in 1926.

Mr Harris said he searches for the carriages online and will travel across the country to view them.

The carriages are similar in dimensions to a mini caravan and weigh about five tonnes.

Mr Harris said the hardest part of the process can be actually getting a carriage out of the field and sometimes he has to cut the carriages up even though putting them back together can be back breaking work.

He said he usually works for about four months on each carriage, using an angle grinder to cut it up before using new metal to put the carriage back together.

Then he primes it, making sure it’s all sealed, to prolong the metal’s life.

The next stage is to grind the frame to make sure it is nice and flat, cladding the wood and priming it before painting it.

He said: “I put insulation in it as well in the floor, walls and ceiling, and it also has electric cables.

“A little heater can be put in such as a wood burning stove or a just a little oil heater on the wall.

“People can sleep in it as well, there’s plenty of room for a bed and even a small toilet area.”

The grey 1951 carriage is on sale and if anybody is interested they can visit Stuart’s website at harriscabinetmaker.co.uk or harristimbersupplier.co.uk.