Way back in 1968, when steam and the “old railway” were rapidly disappearing, a small group of people met in a terraced house in East London and decided to save some of the history that was being lost. At this time many similar groups were evolving, but this one proved to be different, always being far more interested in the more unusual vehicles left on the national system. Initially called “The Lea Valley Railway Carriage and Wagon Society”, its first purchase was that of a 7 plank open wagon from William Cory and Son in Rochester. This went to the Kent and East Sussex railway in 1969. In 1970 the groups name changed slightly, becoming the “Lea Valley Railway Group”, the aim being to collect stock for a railway in that area. An LSWR 4 wheeled milk van was purchased in Wiltshire and then moved to Quainton Road (where it remains to this day, having been sold to them in 1983). Back in the Lea Valley a further group (“7597 Fund”) was formed to preserve the steam locomotive used at Rye House power station near Hoddesdon Essex. In 1971 the two groups merged and (using the “7597 Fund” name) moved 7597 to Chappel &
Wakes Colne – the coal wagon subsequently followed and Chappel became our home for the next 9 years.
Once there, good progress was made. 7597 was returned to steam, and several of the vehicles that form part of the collection today were acquired. The Groups name changed in 1975 and became RVP (becoming a limited company in 1981). However, in 1981 a change of home was sought. The Great Central Railway, then a relative newcomer to the preservation world, seemed the ideal location. It offered 5 miles of former main line railway to operate 7597 and the operational stock on. Hence RVP moved its stock en-masse and became the railways carriage and wagon department overnight.
For the next 8 years RVP members worked not only to restore our own collection but maintained the GCR’s ever growing fleet of Mark 1 coaches. This was a period of major change on the Great Central Railway as it moved into the premier league of preservation sites.
In 1989 the GCR began employing paid staff to maintain the service coaches. This enabled RVP members to return to restoring our own collection, and much more rapid progress has been made since that time. Around the same time the GCR built Rothley carriage shed, and RVP moved from Loughborough in 1991, and it remains our home to this day. Facilities and space there are
limited but the existence of covered accommodation allowed major rebuilds to be tackled. This in turn enabled us to become more focused. After a period on loan to other railways (notably Peak Rail and Bodmin Steam Rly) the steam loco 7597 was sold to Peak Rail in 2001.
Over 50 years after that first meeting in East London, RVP has successfully adapted to thrive in the everchanging world of railway preservation. We remain a small group with limited resources. However, that has never stopped our volunteer teams from striving to reach the highest possible standards. In
recent years we have won 5 Leicestershire Heritage awards for restoration projects and special events. In 2003 we won a Transport Trust award for vehicle restoration, followed in 2007 by a Heritage Railway Association award for the restoration of Beavertail car 1719E. In 2022 we received another HRA award for the restoration of Beavertail car 1729 to its original configuration.
The Leicestershire Heritage awards, and the much appreciated support of the local museums service, led us to seek charitable status. This was granted in December 2002. We now work to a clear aim of restoring and maintaining carriages of the London and North Eastern Railway and Royal Mail trains.
In 2005 we started the process of providing covered storage for the historic collection, resulting in a carriage shed being built in Swithland yard.