Bluebell Railway General Discussion

When 950 came to the Bluebell it was purely for storage, as part of the deal that brought in the owner's O1 loco. It was already in a terrible state by then, with the steel underframe and bogies corroded to paper thickness in places. However the teak body structure remained relatively good. The owner declined to provide a tarpaulin to protect what remained, so the Bluebell Trust paid for one (they come in at around £4k per coach), which C&W staff and volunteers fitted. Following the owner's death we were able to establish that the owner's estate had no interest in it. It was a lovely vehicle in its heyday, but in the condition it's now in, is beyond our resources to recover - it's just a collection of body structure timbers with no roof, floor, interior or exterior, sitting on an underframe and bogies that are so corroded they are mainly holding themselves together by force of habit - we have three other Birdcage Brakes, all in far far better condition, so the decision was taken to dispose.
The KESR have recently disposed of the shell of their second birdcage to the IoW Steam Railway, where it will be converted (as were other Birdcage brakes shipped to the island) into an 8-and-a-half compartment non-brake coach. I have inquired as to whether the IoW would be interested in 950 as a source of spare body timbers or for any other purpose, and they are not. We will be recovering anything off it we can use for other restorations.