DARTMOOR Railway welcomed a new attraction to Okehampton Station this week as the elegantly restored Edwardian ?Sleeping Beauty? made its first trip along the historic railway line.

The sleeping car and its historic sister dining coach commissioned for King Edward VIII will take up residence at the station for a year,

offering luxury overnight accommodation and evening meals.

Restored at a cost of £100,000 by American Art Fenwick, a former dancer with Michael Jackson?s stage act, and British engineer Jon Hurd, the train has four suites, two of which are themed around ocean liners the Titanic and the Queen Mary and contain £500,000 worth of artefacts.

No expense has been spared in returning the sleeper and dining coach to their former glory with quality at every turn and guests are welcomed with champagne, Belgian chocolates and perfume.

Decked out from ceiling to floor in mahogany and brass with bed linen in each room alone costing £2,000, Art, whose great uncle survived the sinking of the Titanic, and Jon, have been turning heads with their venture since it was

unveiled.

Dartmoor Railway staff feel the enterprise, called ?Luxury Alliance?, will bring a lot of people to the station and the Okehampton area.

Sales manager Robin Townshend said he has never seen such ?decadence?: ?It has really been done properly and everybody is in awe ? they just cannot believe it until they step on the train and see for themselves.

?From Dartmoor Railway?s point of view it is a fantastic promotion for us because the railway itself is still quite young and everything we can do to let people know we are here is great.?

Mr Townshend said the railway had just acquired a buffet car with the intention of providing ?meals on wheels? in the future and the Sleeping Beauty was a terrific way of leading into this.

The new attraction will take passengers up and down the 15-mile historic railway line, with guests able to savour the beautiful Dartmoor scenery from the observation coach, which has an almost 360% view from its windows.

The train, which has been stationed at Bodmin for the last six months, will stop overnight near Sampford Courtenay where the Queen herself stopped when the Royal Train made its UK tour.

The men behind the venture said they had received a terrific welcome at Okehampton and bookings had been coming in thick and fast since an article appeared in the Okehampton Times two weeks ago.

Mayor of Okehampton Christine Marsh, who welcomed the ?Sleeping Beauty? to the town on Monday and is hosting a special trip on Sunday for local dignitaries and businesspeople, said she was delighted Dartmoor Railway had been chosen as part of the train?s UK tour.

?It is a wonderful opportunity for Okehampton and one the town as whole must seize upon,? she said. ?The Sleeping Beauty? will bring people here and we must do our best to make their visit as enjoyable as possible with all the other facilities and services we have to offer.?

The average cost of an overnight stay is £150 per couple with a fivecourse evening meal, based on original recipes from the Titanic, costing £45 a head.

To find out more contact Dartmoor Railway on 01837 55637 or the Luxury Alliance on 07973 819895.