GWR 1145 Toplight 'Snake C' Passenger Brake

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GWRGreat Western Railway 1145 Toplight 'SnakeGWR telegraphic code signifying a passenger brake van C' Passenger Brake
GWR 1145 20160806.jpg
GWRGreat Western Railway toplight 'SnakeGWR telegraphic code signifying a passenger brake van C' Passenger Brake 1145 (2016)
Built By GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon
Status Static use
Number 1145
Other numbers 079038
History
Built 1922
Designed By ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922
Diagram K22
Lot 1301
Type SnakeGWR telegraphic code signifying a passenger brake van C, BG
Length 56ft 11¼in
Seats None
1973 Entered preservation
1984 Converted for use as Santa's Grotto
2009 Converted for use as shop

Carriages

GWRGreat Western Railway 1145 is a ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922 'Toplight' Gangwayed Passenger Brake (BG). This type of 'full brake', which was given the GWRGreat Western Railway telegraphic code "SNAKE C",[note 1] contained no passenger seating and was therefore classed as Non Passenger Carrying Coaching Stock (NPCCS). The internal layout consisted of a guard's compartment situated between two luggage compartments, the larger of which occupied more than half the length of the coach. A corridor along one side allowed passengers to pass through.

The SVRSevern Valley Railway is home to another SNAKE C, GWR 261, where further information on the type may be found.

GWRGreat Western Railway 1145 in service and preservation

1145 was built at Swindon as part of Lot 1301 to Diagram K22 and entered service in March 1922. It was renumbered W1145W by BRBritish Rail or British Railways, continuing in passenger service until August 1960.[1] It was then transferred into Internal UserRolling stock used for the railway’s internal purposes (stores etc.) at one fixed location. stock as number 079038.[2] With the internal guard's and luggage compartments removed, it was used for delivering DMUDiesel Multiple Unit parts to Swindon Works.

W1145W was purchased by Great Western (SVR) Association member Philip Fryer[3] and arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway from Bristol on 11 September 1973.[4] It spent Winter 1973-74 in the shed at Bewdley where it received a new canvas roof and a repaint into chocolate and cream.[5] In summer 1974 it was one four carriages requested for the following year's Rail 150 event at Shildon celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway,[6] although the time needed for full restoration meant that other carriages eventually attended instead.

Having been re-roofed, 1145 was used as a storage vehicle.[7] In spring 1984 the SVRSevern Valley Railway agreed with Philip that 1145 could be converted to provide a fourth Santa's Grotto at Arley,[8] for which internal partitions were fitted.[4]

In 1993 1145 returned to Bewdley for a 'much needed face-lift'. Despite never had a 'heavy overhaul', it was considered to be still in 'very good condition', requiring only attention to the steel panelling, repairs to the toplights, and a repaint.[9] In 1997 it was moved to Kidderminster to provide space in the yard at Arley for filming Oh Doctor Beeching! and the opportunity was taken for another repaint, the report in SVRSevern Valley Railway News noting that "This coach, along with the other two grottos, earns more revenue over the three-week Santa period than any other coach in the whole year, so it must be kept water-tight and smart to look at when in the siding at Arley".[10]

After the SVRSevern Valley Railway obtained replacement 'Grotto' vehicles in 1999, 1145 was "dumped unceremoniously out of use with its future very uncertain". In late 2008 the GW(SVR)AGreat Western (SVR) Association announced that Philip had donated the coach to them. At the time, the The LNER (SVR) Coach Fund were using LNER Pigeon Van 70759 as their Bewdley sales coach. In order to release 70759 for restoration, the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Fund agreed with the GW(SVR)AGreat Western (SVR) Association that, in return for the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Fund’s working members carrying out basic conservation and restoration work for static use,[note 2] 1145 would then be used as a shop jointly by the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway (SVRSevern Valley Railway) Coach Fund and the Bewdley Station Fund.[11]

The LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Fund duly began work on 1145. Some modifications to the original bodywork were required for its future use as a shop, but these were carried out in an easily reversible manner to avoid compromising a future restoration of 1145 as a working vehicle. The guard's compartment was reinstated and a sag in the roof corrected which had resulted from its absence over many years. SVR(H) funded a new roof canvas in recognition of the years of 'Grotto' service. The LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Fund resisted the temptation to paint the coach in a Doncaster 'scumbled teak' finish and applied a suitable GWRGreat Western Railway livery.[12] The restoration was completed with the coach in use in its new role by summer 2010.[13]

A re-arrangement of the sales shops at Bewdley took place during 2016. The smaller GWR 1399 Milk Brake, formerly the GW(SVR)AGreat Western (SVR) Association shop, became the Bewdley Station Fund Shop, while 1145 became The Great Western (SVR) Association Shop,[14] a role in which it has continued since. In 2023 the GW(SVR)AGreat Western (SVR) Association carried out a 'bottom half' repaint.[15] The 'top half' followed in 2024<ref>GW(SVR)A website news September 2024<ref>.

See also

List of carriages

Notes

  1. The telegraphic code SNAKE specified a Full Brake, of which there were four types, SNAKE A (6-wheeled), SNAKE B (8-wheeled), SNAKE C (8-wheeled with side corridor) and SNAKE D (8-wheeled with gangways).
  2. Much more work, particularly on the ends, underframe and running gear would have been necessary to return 1145 to operational condition.

References

  1. Longworth (2013) p.134.
  2. Longworth (2013) p.172.
  3. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 225, Spring 2024, p. 68., Obituaries: Philip Fryer
  4. 4.0 4.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Ninth Edition
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 31
  6. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 32
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Sixth edition, August 1977 and Seventh Edition, July 1980
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 71, General Manager's notes
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 110
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 124
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 164
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 165
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 170
  14. GW(SVR)AGreat Western (SVR) Association Newsletter, Summer 2022, "ChurchwardGeorge Jackson Churchward, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1902-1922 Passenger Brake Van Centenarians", Chris Haynes
  15. GW(SVRASevern Valley Railway Association) Facebook post 1 June 2023

Links