Tracks End

House. Built in the early 20th century, Tracks End is a unique dwelling formed from a pair of railway carriages. The carriages are arranged parallel to each other on a concrete platform and connected by a shallow brick structure with external chimney stacks and small casement windows creating a central room. The carriages are divided internally to create two rooms. The structure has timber-framed gables and a slate roof with brick end stacks.

The front and back elevations, as well as the curved ends, are formed by the railway carriages, with their vertical paneling largely intact. Each carriage’s basic structure remains, consisting of five units, each with a door flanked by windows. Traditional wooden house doors have replaced the original carriage doors, and one window has been replaced on both the front and back elevations. Louvre ventilators remain above the original carriage door positions, and the carriage windows have ornate moulded surrounds. Clerestory sections are believed to have been obscured by eaves and the gutter. The bodywork is panelled, and the original door hinges are still present. Inside the carriages, the windows have been painted over, but the horizontal timber boarding construction is visible.

Tracks End represents a well-preserved example of inexpensive housing created by adapting 19th-century railway carriages in the early 20th century. It is one of only two known houses incorporating two carriages that are listed.