Swanage Wagons 2016

Not necessarily a railway that you would expect this sort of thread from, but I thought I'd start a thread to update on developments with the SR's fleet of wagons, on which slow progress is being made to improve the number and range of wagons we have available for both galas and for charter events.

To re-cap on progress over the last 12 months, a total of 5 'new' wagons have been outshopped and added to our expanding freight set; SR 8-plank open S59342 (outshopped in SR brown), BR Conflat L B738718, BR Pipe B740044, SR 'Ling' S63002 (outshopped in SR 'Engineers Red') and SR Queen Mary S56284, the most recent vehicle to enter traffic on the morning of 28 December. For the last three of these it is the first time they have seen service since arriving on the Swanage Railway. If I've managed to drive the computer right, an image of a couple of these should (!) be attached.

The first project for the new year is 'Blue Spot' fish wagon number E87675. This was withdrawn on the morning of our Winter Warm Up event on December 28 with a defective Oleo buffer; having been shunted out of the train it was put in the loco shed and the buffer removed for replacement with one from a vehicle currently out of traffic (we have 3 of these vehicles currently dotted around the railway). The wagon is in fundamentally good order though, so while its in the loco shed we'll give it a bit of a tart-up and sort out a few rough edges on it; it may even be another step in learning to signwrite, as this one has always just been finished in plain BR ice white without the famous 'Blue Spot'.

I will finish with a note of caution though; as a lot of the work on the running wagon fleet is done by 2 members of paid staff in their spare time, with the assistance of volunteers as and when they are available, updates may be a little sporadic depending on what's going on in our 'proper' jobs. I will try and provide at least a monthly update though, if this is of interest?

 

Keep the updates coming.
Any news on vehicle restoration is always wanted by a goodly number of us on here.

 

I should have mentioned, there are also two volunteer groups on the SR who are also involved in wagon restoration, one group in the goods yard at Corfe Castle, and one group in the Goods Shed at Swanage (who are responsible for the recent outshopping of Queen Mary S56284, and work that is currently ongoing on 'refreshing' the other Queen Mary, S56289). I will try and ensure the updates include work done by them as well, particularly as the Corfe Castle group's current main project is the MPD's breakdown van; one of those vehicles that you forget all about its condition until you need something from inside it in a hurry, and the door gear comes off in your hand...

And yes, that is said from experience!

 

Do you have any drawings for the Blue Spot van? The LNERCA has an example of the LNER version on which it is based and ours is in terrible condition, so we are trying to find a drawing showing the construction of the body framing. At the moment the chassis is with a contractor for rebuilding.

 

Always good to see someone from another railway keeping us up to date with what is going on, sometimes its good to hear other people's ideas!

 

Hello,
A lot of the Swanage covered goods vans have non authentic roof covering.....shed roof covering.....canvas looks better and lasts far far longer......
A thought.

Nick


Yes the 813 Fund uses canvas on all it's restored vans.

 

Although canvassing a roof is very labour and time intensive, it is possible that it is just not a practical proposition to do it.
As an aside, the 813 fund does not uses canvass on ALL of it's restored vans.

 

Most of ours on the GCR are heavy duty shed roofing material. We lost one in the recent storms but I know why (wasn't tucked under properly above the doors - guilty as charged!). Generally they have been a good low maintenance solution whereas I gather canvas roofs need regular repaints - we just don't have the time or resources. Some plastic sheets were tried a few years ago but they went porous with sunlight and then trapped the rain against the wood, we're still reaping the 'benefits' now. So roofing felt it is, I'm afraid. Although I might be persuaded to do S48564 'properly' when its turn comes due to the curvature on the roof and the way the ends are clamped with wood.

Apologies for hijacking the Swanage thread.


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