WATCH: Stunning work to relocate and rebuild historic railway station in Peterborough is revealed

An ambitious plan to dismantle and relocate a Victorian train station in Peterborough has reached a new milestone.

Work is underway to save Woodstone Wharf Station for future generations – with reconstruction of its outer shell having just been completed.

The historic building, which had been at risk of demolition, now sits at the entrance to Railworld Wildlife Haven and the Nene Valley Railway – providing a grand gateway to the sites, located off Oundle road.

The project began in April last year with the station being carefully dismantled at its former Wansford Road site. Recovered material, including its attractive limestone facade, was then kept in secure storage at Railworld until work started on its new site in August.

Built in 1867, Woodstone Wharf Station was relatively short-lived, closing in 1929, and later being converted into a private home. In recent years it had been under threat of demolition to make way for a dual carriageway.

But thanks to the charity The Wansford Road CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) – created by Railworld and NVR to take on the project – the building is being given a new lease of life.

It’s impressive architecture and stonework has been updated with insulation, damp-proofing and other modern building techniques in its core construction. It now transforms the area, providing a fitting permanent gateway where old temporary reception and platform buildings once stood.

Stan Bell, secretary and treasurer of the Wansford Road CIO, said: “When the Victorian railway station at Wansford Road near Peterborough in the UK was scheduled for demolition to make way for road improvements we stepped in and worked with National Highways to arrange that the building could be preserved so that future generations could see and touch a type of building that was rapidly disappearing from the English landscape.”

National Highways have paid for the building to be dismantled and reconstructed, with a further £50,000 grant from the Railway Heritage Trust to go towards constructing its new interior.

"A further £50,000 grant is in process, which leaves us with £100,000 still to raise to complete the interior,” Mr Bell explained. “Once complete, it will be used as the new gateway and ticket office.”

Reflecting on the importance of the project, he added: "In the modern world lots of new stations are being built all over the place, with steel and concrete replacing traditional wood and stone buildings. We feel it is important to remember how these used to look, especially for Peterborough which is a city that was built by rail – historically it was much smaller before then. So this project is locally significant, as it will provide somewhere we can tell the story of how our city grew into what it is today.”

If the charity is successful at securing the final £100,000 of funding, the building could be open to the public as early as the autumn.

To support the project, visit the Woodstone Wharf Station website.