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[[File: LNWR_76738_20160716{{Infobox wagon|image = LNWR_76738_20231014.jpg |caption = LNWR 76738 at Bridgnorth in 2023|construc = LNWR Wolverton|status = Cosmetically restored|wagno = 76738 (fictitious)|othernos = RNAD 338|designed = |diagram = 88|lot = |thumbwagtype = 'Tranship' 4-w non-ventilated van|300pxcapacity = 10 tons|righttelcode = | brakes = |built = 1910-1923|years1 = 1993|events1 = Arrived on SVR|years2 = 1995|events2 = Restored to usable condition|years3 = 2007|events3 = Cosmetic restoration|years4 = 2023|events4 = Re-purposed as sales coach|years5 = |events5 = |years6 = |events6 = }}"'''LNWR 76738 '''" is a London and North Western Railway Company 10-ton Goods Van. Its actual age and identity are unknown, although it is thought to have been built at Kidderminster in July 2016]]Wolverton between 1910 and 1923.<ref name=SB9>SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition</ref>
The van arrived ==Service==In 1919 the Government bought 500 goods vans from the LNWR on behalf of the SVR in November 1993 from Gosport, where it had been War Department. These were intended to be loaded with artillery shells in use by case the Royal Navy numbered RNAD 338Armistice talks with Germany broke down. Following arrivalThe 500 vans were supposedly new, the 1999 SVR stock noted it as being owned by Pat Goss and having although some may have been used in demonstration freight trains'nearly new'.<ref name=InfoPoster/>
Railway Heritage Register Wagon Survey<br>
SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition<br>
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The actual identity of this LNWR goods vans were built to carry general merchandise. Unlike [[GWR 93016 Mink 'A' Covered Goods Van|GWR 10 -ton Goods Van is unknown. It is thought MINK goods vans]] of the same era, they had a timber rather than steel chassis, and were also fitted with fold-down lower doors (which it no longer has) to have been built at Wolverton between 1910 aid loading and 1923unloading by porters in goods sheds<ref name=InfoPoster>Information poster on display in 2024</ref>.
Full details of this van's subsequent military service are unknown, although it ended its service as RNAD 338 at RNAD Bedenham, Gosport. Prior to that time it had received a number of alterations and repairs, including the replacement of the original doors by a set of 1950s BR goods van full-length doors. Some of external planks were also replaced by narrower Royal Navy planks, which can be seen to the right of the replacement doors in both pictures below.<ref name=InfoPoster/> ==Preservation==The van arrived on the SVR from Gosport on 22 November 1993,<ref name=SB9/> having been acquired by [[The GWR 813 Preservation Fund]].<ref name=SVR114>SVR News 114</ref><ref group="note">SVR News 114 and the wagon information poster on display in 2024 both refer to the GWR 813 Fund. The 1998 Stock Book named Paddy Goss as the owner.</ref> It was originally intended for static display at [[Kidderminster Railway Museum]] but when inspected by the [[Bewdley Carriage & Wagon Department]] in early 1995, it was found to be in good condition and considered suitable for operational use.<ref name=SVR114/> It therefore underwent a restoration was repainted in LNWR livery, notwithstanding the modifications to the original design. Before repainting, efforts were made to establish the van's true identity. LNWR wagon plates were removed by the LMS after 1923,<ref group="note">It is not clear in this instance if the plate was removed by the LMS themselves, or during the RNAD ownership</ref> and flatting down the top end plank where the painted number would have been displayed did not reveal a conclusive answer;<ref>SVR News 117</ref> possible options included 8, 3 or 5, 8, 5 or 3, 4 or 1. As a published photo exists of one of these vans in original 1910 condition and numbered 76738, the decision was taken to adopt that number as representing a known member of the class.<ref name=InfoPoster/> With restoration completed, "76738" spent some years in use in the SVR's [[Demonstration Goods Train]].<ref name=SB9/> In early 2007 it was one of three wagons selected for cosmetic restoration at [[Carriage Repair Works#Kidderminster_Carriage_Repair_Works|Kidderminster Carriage Works]] prior to exhibition in [[The Engine House]], the others being [[LNER 223162 Mineral Wagon|LNER Mineral Wagon 223162]] and [[LMS 730866 Goods Brake Van |LMS brake van 760866]]. Funding for all the restorations was provided by one of the agencies financing the setting up of the exhibition, with the work being carried out as a contract job by Mike Walker (owner of [[GWR 261 Toplight 'Snake C' Passenger Brake]]). By that time 76738 was 'on the brink of terminal collapse'. The body was affected by rot and fungus and required considerable heavy repairs before painting. A buffer beam fitted by the Navy was found to have been made of plywood, and was replaced with a more suitable one made of Iroko. A "new" roof canvas for the van was fitted using part of the former Arley [[Santa's Grotto]] marquee.<ref>SVR News 158</ref> 76738 duly took its place on display when The Engine House eventually opened in 2008. The Railway Heritage Register Wagon Survey includes a [http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=7929 photograph] of the van on display in [[The Engine House]] in 2010. It was removed from there during a re-organisation in April 2012.<ref>SVR News 179</ref>"Shunting Although restored to serviceable condition, it was felt that the van's age and wooden underframe made it unsuitable for further use in the Engine House (2)" [http://www[Demonstration Goods Train]].svrlive.com/Pages/EHShunt2.aspx SVR Live! articleIt then spent some years stored out of sight in [[Kidderminster Carriage Shed]] retrieved July 2015but was seen outside Kidderminster Carriage Works during late summer 2016. </refgallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">LNWR_76738_20160716. {{As ofjpg |LNWR 76738 at Kidderminster in July 2016|07}} it </gallery> In April 2023 76738 was seen outside repurposed as the [[Carriage Repair Works L.M.S. & B.R. Coach Department Sales Coach | Kidderminster Carriage WorksLMS & BR Coach Dept sales coach]], having previously been stored in at [[Kidderminster Carriage ShedBridgnorth]], selling books to raise funds for restoration work by the Bridgnorth Carriage and Wagon Department volunteers<ref name=InfoPoster/>. <gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">LNWR_76738_20230401.jpg | Newly opened as a sales coach, Bridgnorth, April 2023</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Goods Wagons | List of goods wagons]]*[[List_of_shops | List of shops and sales coaches on the SVR]] ==Notes==<references group="note"/>
==References==
<references />
==Links==
*[http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrustrhrp.org.uk/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=7929 LNWR 76738 (fictitious) Goods Van on vintagecarriagestrust.orgRailway Heritage Register On-Line] [[Category:Rolling stock, other than locomotives, at Bridgnorth]][[Category:Rolling stock owned by The GWR 813 Preservation Fund]][[Category:Featured articles]]<br>