Pre-Grouping Carriages in Normal Service

Which would tend to correspond to the loco situation. I think the Foxfield have an NSR vintage train project.
I am NOT going to do another spreadsheet, my head still hurts from the loco one. And I didn't even get any mystery millionaires offering to fund a Small Ben or 4-6-4T new build....

 

If you approach the matter from the standpoint that each coach will cost £100k plus to restore, then the great majority of the surviving pre-nationalisation vehicles are condemned to rot away. Indeed, a fair proportion already have.

Rather than work on the premise that they must be restored to "as new" condition, why not consider a far cheaper alternative. The ex GNR vehicle that I mentioned up thread had ended its life on the big railway as a breakdown tool van, sans all seating and compartment partitions, toilets, window glass and gangways, all original doors screwed shut and with four sliding doors cut into the sides. At first glance it looked hopeless, which is probably why it sat around unrestored for over 30 years. However....the body frame was sound and because it had been a breakdown vehicle the running gear was in excellent condition. We needed a driving trailer and something with wheelchair accommodation and so, rather than wait for £100k to just turn-up (i.e. for ever) or leave it to rot away in a siding, we decided to restore it cheaply, to fulfill our requirements- DMU seats, doors that open on one side only (both our station platforms are on the same side of the line), no gangways or toilets, largely plywood sheathing inside and out, though it does have the luxury of steam heating! I can hear the chorus from HR C&W workshops up and down the land- "Utter heresy!"

It's not smart, no varnished teak, "original" repro LNER moquette or pseudo art deco light fittings, but it serves our purpose very well, the passengers like it and the whole job cost well under £10k. Plus, of course, should we or anyone else suddenly find ourselves with more money than we know what to do with, we still have a sound coach capable of restoration to original condition as a Corridor Brake First. On second thoughts, she's much more useful as she is.

 

Neither of which are pre-Grouping.

 

GWR can be...

 

Have a look at what the IOWSR have done with their four wheelers plus one LBSCR bogie coach 2403. Another 4 wheel coach is nearing completion. A chassis/underframe for another coach is nearing completion. Another historic vehicle looks like being the next project too.

Quite remarkable!

Shame about the delay with the still privately owned LBSCR saloon... It was hoped to be acquired by the IOWSR but I am not up to date with the details.

Cheers,
Julian

 

Can be but I don't think the set concerned is. Some could be, though; I don't know for certain.

 

That is sort of the approach taken by Stephen Middleton isn't it? Use plywood and painted finishes rather than teak and get it done. There's definitely room for both approaches, running restoration projects beat the hell out of rotting ones

 

That's right. We had Stephen's first project, a GER 6-wheel Engineer's Saloon, at Mangapps shortly after he completed it's restoration. It wasn't perfect; the interior, though very attractively done, owed a lot to imagination and surmise, but the only people who noticed were one or two GER Society members and even they admitted to being delighted that the previously derelict coach had been brought back to life. Since then it has been working regularly, earning its keep and encouraging its owner to rescue and, more importantly, restore more coaches.

 

Some are Churchward designs (pre-grouping), though it depends on the set formations whether the toplights are in the main GW set or as an extension of the diner. Most are Collett and a few are Hawksworth.

 

I did some of that for Stephen.

Sawdust.

 

Tanfield railway, only own pre grouping carriages and are very proud to have never owned a Mark 1. On every service day you are guaranteed to travel in original finish basic third class North Eastern Railway coaches.

Image stolen from Google.

 

Great! It is good that the IOWSR is not unique. Pity there are not more.

PH

 

And sometime soon the Tanfield should have a NER bogie coach ...

 

Foxfield have two running NSR 4 wheelers rebuilt from grounded bodies, with a mostly new build 4 wheel Brake on the way.
There is one more part restored NSR 4 wheeler at Churnet Valley which is on a 99 year loan to join the rest of the rake when it's done (I think the brake van is taking priority - at the moment the rake has a Shark ballast brake van painted the same colour to give it a guards van).

There are also some other wooden coach bodies at Foxfield awaiting their turn in a the queue - I think some are MR, but I can't recall all the details.

http://www.knottycoachtrust.org.uk/index.html

 

At the Mid-Suffolk we only run pre-group stock , our train at the moment is two GER 4 wheelers ,of 1875/6 and a GER horsebox of 1869 , all in regular service, albeit in MSLR
livery , we will soon complete another GER coach of 1863 ,also for service .

 

All you want to know about SVR coaches is on the wiki http://www.svrwiki.com/Carriages

Some of the later GWR ones are to pre-grouping order or design, from memory one was ordered in 1915 and delivered in 1928

Others can comment far more intelligently than me.

Patrick

 

And I've had *quite* a bit to do with the Knotty Coach Trust and their Heritage Train Project ...


(20 / 22 ft four wheelers don't cost an arm and a leg to restore when compared to the cost of bogies coaches)

 

Don't forget the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road, who had this rake in operation yesterday........


GCR, LC&DR & GNR respectively from memory.