A 125-year-old train which used to run on the oldest electric railway in the world has returned to the rails after decades in a garden centre yard.

The Volk's Railway car 9, affectionately known as the toastrack, was lifted onto the tracks along Madeira Drive as part of a plan to get the train running on the rails once again.

It spent the last 15 years under a tarpaulin in the Hassocks South Downs Nurseries & Garden Centre yard after plans to exhibit it at the centre fell through.

But hope for the train has been renewed after the Volk's Electric Railway Association hired out a huge crane and lorry to rescue the unit.

The Argus: The train in the yardThe train in the yard (Image: Tim Steven)

It is now asking for enthusiasts to reach deep into their pockets and help restore it to operational condition.

Secretary Tim Steven said he hopes future passengers will "once again be able to experience the uniquely bracing effect of travelling at the seaside on this open sided 125-year-old vehicle."

The train, built in 1898, was used on the Southend Pier Railway for around 50 years before they were earmarked for scrap.

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At the time, the Brighton Corporation had restored the Volk's railway but was in need of some cars to run the railway and cope with the busy holiday crowds, so they bought the unit and saved it from the scrapman - alongside an identical train in 1950.

They were converted and motorised for use on the Volk's, numbered eight and nine, running along the beach for the next 40 years, serving passengers between the pier and Black Rock near the Marina.

By the late 1990s, the train had served its time on the railway but stayed in the depot and running infrequent services.

In 2008, car nine was shipped off to the Hassocks garden centre where there were plans to exhibit it as part of the South Downs Heritage Centre, but these fell through and the train has spent its time under a tarpaulin in the yard ever since.

The Argus: The train being lifted back onto the tracksThe train being lifted back onto the tracks (Image: Carol Homewood)

Until Wednesday, June 7, when the train returned to the city for the 140th year of the Volk's Electric Railway.

A huge crane lifted the train onto the rails after a short trip from Hassocks, where enthusiasts will work to restore the unit.

Tim said: "We hope to get together a proper fundraising campaign to restore it. It was in such a sorry state so it needs proper workshops to take it apart and recondition it."