The railway has received two major legacies

The donation is from a man who lived in the south of England.

It follows an earlier bequest of �100,000 from the estate of the railway's former president, David Clarke.

Great Central Railway, which is based in Loughborough and operates historic steam trains, has been plagued by financial troubles in recent years.

The railway's chief executive, Graham Oliver, said: "We have received a letter from a firm of solicitors in the south of England informing us that one of our shareholders has died leaving us one third of his estate (approximately �120,000)."

The shareholder, who has not been named, drew up his will in 1992 following the railway's share re-launch at Marylebone Station.

'Not cheap'

Railway chairman John East said the two bequests would put the railway on "firm footing".

"When we have paid off our debts, we will have a small amount to invest in the future of the railway as well as putting something aside for the future.

"Cash flow on a railway like ours will always be tight and we will always be short of money, but we never expected a double track main line to be cheap to run.

"We'd like to thank all our friends who have helped us recently - we're looking at some interesting opportunities and who knows what might be possible in the near future."