THE LAST surviving armoured train used to pull munitions to the front line in World War One has been rescued from a Barrow scrapyard and restored to its former glory.

The historic Simplex 40HP LR2182 had been left to rot in Barrow scrapyard but was rescued by an enthusiast.

It has now been brought back to working order by volunteers of Greensand Railway Museum Trust at Leighton Buzzard Railway in Bedfordshire.

The work done by volunteers to restore the locomotive included reconstructing the cupola roof, supported by a £3,300 grant for this specific purpose made to GRMT by The Association of Industrial Archaeology

Volunteers have also restored the frames of the locomotive, including replacing corroded steelwork, overhauling the gearbox, repairing the radiator and renovating many other components.

The seized original 40hp Dorman 4JO 4-cylinder petrol engine was repaired by contractors and reassembled by a volunteer.

Cliff Thomas, Chairman of The Greensand Railway Museum Trust, said: "I think it is a tremendous achievement for such a small historical trust to revive such a important historical treasure from the First World War."

Talking more about the future of the locomotive.

Mr Thomas said: "The LR2182 will continue to be based at Leighton Buzzard Railway and will be used for special demonstrations.

"It will also be loaned out to other museums on occasion."

The LR2182 was built to work on trench supply during the First World War.

They arrived in France in time to serve on the battlefields during the final year of WW1.

Post-WW1 the locomotive worked in industrial service between about 1921 and the mid-1960s during which time it lost its distinctive upper bodywork.

It entered preservation in 1971, initially being displayed at the then Narrow Gauge Railway Centre at Gloddfa Ganol before going to the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley.

Here, it was displayed with a wooden replica of the distinctive roof, known as a ‘cupola’ by Motor Rail.

Its private owner donated LR2182 to the Army in December 2001

The Army placed LR2182 on loan to Leighton Buzzard Railway in March 2005, but contractors undertaking the move to Bedfordshire caused serious damage including destruction of the wooden replica cupola.

The Army subsequently donated the historic loco, as it stood, to Leighton Buzzard Railway and in 2009 ownership was transferred to Greensand Railway Museum Trust which restored it.