Met 353 leaves Boston Lodge

This morning in the Top Left Hand Corner of Wales...

 

Looking very nice indeed.

 

Stunning, is there any news on where it's going? I recall reading that it would be heading to a preserved line for running in etc.

Chris

 

Ummm - not wishing to be picky..... buuuut when we restored the Met set at the Bluebell the solebars were found to be painted light brown / umber colour to match the varnished teak. Can't remember the colour name but look at the NYMR teak sets, the Bluebell Metropolitans or the GN saloon. The good Mr Salmon at Horsted will no doubt give you the details.

Does look smashing though.

 

I can almost smell the varnish through the computer screen!

Quaint door shape as well

 

It's so that the doors can, in emergency, be fully opened in a tube tunnel without fouling the sides. The Bluebell Mets are similar.

Tom

 

Fantastic, looks like Boston lodge have done a first class job,

 

It's funny how a purely functional design feature can often create something ascetically exceptional.

Probably a pain to restore/maintain though, could maintainers of this (or the similar Mets) comment?

 

It does look smashing.
Is this the first standard gauge vehicle to traverse the Cob, or even run on the FR?

 

Yep. First SG vehicle across the Cob in 2011 when it arrived. It's gone to the GC at Loughborough for trials. Ten coats of varnish, btw.

 

Ascetic | Define Ascetic at Dictionary.com

 

Ha ha! Well done for spotting the deliberate mistake

 

Stunning job

 

Funnily enough this is the second time I've seen this mistake in about a year - the other was in an official scope document at work which required an indication/alarm panel in a control room to be 'ascetically pleasing'. So I was ready for you!

 

Some photo's on flickr of her being tested, at up to 50mph!

Chris

 

Excellent job, but why no carpet in First Class?

I understand that it is dual braked, did they test both systems?

 

I believe the old drawings specify lino, perhaps it is yet to be fitted.

 

I think 353 is around 8 years older than the Bluebell coaches, so the application of light brown paint to the solebars may have been something that came later (i.e. early Edwardian period rather than late Victorian)? - Also, I seem to recall the VCT Met carriages have a mixture of black and brown painted solebars???

 

Its a Metropolitan Railway carriage so the compartment flooring would need to have stood up to very high density (inc. 1st class) commuter traffic. If anything had been fitted on the floor it would have needed to be very robust, and therefore unlikely to have been carpet.

 

The Mersey Tunnel Railway coaches, built in 1885 , had linoleum in the first class compartments with the addition of an Axminster rug incorporating the company's monogram.

Bob.