A £400,000 restoration of a rare set of 1920s railway coaches has won a Norfolk preservation railway a national award.This year, passengers on the scenic North Norfolk Railway have been riding in a revamped set of Quad Art carriages which used to ply London's commuter routes.

A £400,000 restoration of a rare set of 1920s railway coaches has won a Norfolk preservation railway a national award.

This year, passengers on the scenic North Norfolk Railway have been riding in a revamped set of Quad Art carriages which used to ply London's commuter routes.

They were brought back to their original varnished wood glory thanks to a project boosted by a £341,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and which took four years to complete.

The train has been described by the National Railway Museum as “the most important piece of heritage rolling stock in the country” as its articulated technology is now used on Eurostar and other high speed trains.

And the scheme has won an award from the Heritage Railway Association, in recognition of its rescue and restoration, along with the provision of covered accommodation for the coaches' continued upkeep.

North Norfolk Railway director Clive Morris, who masterminded the restoration programme, said: “This is tremendous recognition for our volunteers and for the craftsman at our contractors, West Coast Railways in Cumbria, whose meticulous workmanship has brought a key piece of railway history vividly alive again.”

And spokesman Colin Borg added: “You don't have to be a train buff to appreciate this wonderful piece of 1920s Jazz Age transport history. Sit in one of its Spartan compartments, and you can easily imagine the hundreds of city clerks scrambling to board the 5.35pm home.”