A WWI ambulance train carriage was converted and customized into a classy gourmet eatery in West Bay, Dorset. The eatery has now become a favorite place and even some celebrities dropped by to dine.
A World War One ambulance train carriage that transported injured soldiers from the Western Front has been given a new contract of life as an unusual fine dining restaurant. Ross and Claire Moore have infused the remarkable carriage to their railway-themed diner. The WWI ambulance was built in 1911 as a third class passenger carriage and was transformed into an ambulance in 1918. From then, it was built with bunk beds and boarded medical staff.
Post-war, the WWI ambulance was converted into a breakdown carriage and used until the 1980s. It was then withdrawn from service and kept at the Swindon Works in Wiltshire where it was utilized as a workshop, says, Daily Mail.
The Moores bought the WWI ambulance from train aficionado Andrew Wilson in Shropshire, who had restored the exterior and repainted it. Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks also desired to buy it to use for a train crash storyline but Mr Wilson declined. He did not want the carriage to be damaged, as he believes it is the only and last one of its kind left, so he sold it to the Moores.
The Moores transformed the inside of the WWI ambulance into a dining car with tables and chairs. It now forms part of their Station Kitchen restaurant, which built on the edge of the Old West Bay Station platform. The train line is the one that used to go to Maiden Newton but was cut off in the 1960s, leaving just 60 meters of track next to the old station.
Customers from all over the country visit the eatery. Mezo reported that guests have included David Tennant, Olivia Coleman and Lenny Henry who dined there in the WWI ambulance while filming the third series of TV crime drama Broadchurch in the area.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
