THE heritage diesel railcar at Llangollen Railway which was paint-sprayed by vandals last week was back in use in time for the Bank Holiday weekend train services.

Just as it was making a good recovery from the pandemic and its own financial crisis, the site was targeted by vandals who have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to its rolling stock.

On its Facebook page, the railway revealed that the vandals had struck at two trains parked in the sidings on Tuesday night, August 24.

Images show that the railcars had been sprayed heavily with coloured paint.

But, the two-car diesel unit was again working resplendent in its 1960s style British Railways green livery after hard work by volunteers removed the multi-coloured spray paint applied by vandals in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Police are now reviewing CCTV footage and gathering forensic evidence to identify the perpetrators of this damage.

Reviewing the paint work whilst the unit was at Carrog station on Saturday, Head of the Railcars Dept, John Joyce said, “Following the discovery of the mindless vandalism on Wednesday morning, volunteers set about removing the graffiti the same day. Experimentation with different methods revealed that it could be removed with relatively little damage to the paintwork underneath, although some repairs will be needed once the running season is finished.”

Continuing he said, “We have been heartened by all the support shown to both the railcar department, and the Railway as a whole, including some very generous offers of assistance and donations. Visitors to the railway who rode on the railcar were pleased to learn that the paint had been removed and the affected bodywork was none the worse for the damage.”

Owner of the railcar, George Fletcher, came over from Derby to inspect his vehicles and was relieved to see the unit back in action. He said, “As a 60-year-old train set it is of some historic importance and has been in preservation since the early 1990s.

“I like to see it is well looked after by the Llangollen Railcars group. It looks the part when seen in operation on the Llangollen line and I am pleased visitors like riding in it as a memory of earlier rail travel.

“After all that the Railway has been through over the last 18 months, a few cans of cheap spray paint couldn't be allowed to hold us back."

The railcars affected are once more available for passengers to enjoy the panoramic views of the Dee Valley scenery as Summer turns into Autumn over the coming weeks.