PRINCESS Anne visited the region to see Queen Victoria’s 150-year-old royal carriage which was restored at the National Railway Museum in York.

The princess, who is daughter of the Queen, and the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, turned out to the museum where she was given a private tour of the huge site.

The National Railway Museum was established in 1975 and features railway icons, including the the A4 locomotive ‘Mallard’, Eurostar’s Class 373, Japan’s Shinkansen bullet train and a vast collection of other world-famous locomotives.

It also has another site in Shildon which features the tilting test-train, the Advanced Passenger Train (APT).

But during her visit to the museum next to York Railway Station on the East Coast Mainline, Princess Anne met the conservation team members who had been working on the restoration of Queen Victoria’s carriage since 2017.

Director of the National Railway Museum, Judith McNicol, said: “I was honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to the National Railway Museum which was opened by her father – to showcase the range of fascinating objects in the collection as well as the skill and dedication of my colleagues.”

The interior of the 150-year-old carriage was partially restored in 2003, but the carriage itself has not had a complete restoration in decades.

Ms McNicol said: “This is the first time the carriage exterior has been restored since it joined the collection, and the conservation team has had to proceed with the utmost care to preserve this unique item for future generations.”

On the visit, the royal spent her time viewing the carriage which had been built by the London and North Western Railway in 1869 at a cost of a substantial £1,800, which was considered a hefty sum during that era.

Ms McNicol added: “Everything has been completed by hand using a mix of traditional and modern skills and materials and the finished result is a real achievement which I’m sure Queen Victoria herself would have approved of.”

Since 2017, more than 2,000 man hours has been spent on the project, whilst members of the conservation team have notably applied more than 1,500 individual sheets of 23 carat gold leaf by hand.

Members of the public were also able to view progress of the carriage’s restoration in Station Hall.