GWR 1146 Full Third

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GWRGreat Western Railway 1146 Full Third
GWR 1146 20210423.jpg
GWRGreat Western Railway Full Third 1146
Built By GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon
Status In service
Number 1146
Other numbers W1146W, 079153, 99232
History
Built 1938
Designed By CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941
Diagram C77
Lot 1593
Type TK
Length 60ft 11¼in
Weight 31t 9cwt
Seats 64 third
1969 Entered preservation on SVRSevern Valley Railway
2015 Re-entered service following overhaul

Carriages

GWRGreat Western Railway Corridor Third (TK) 1146 is one of four such coaches on the SVRSevern Valley Railway, together with 1086, 1087 and 1116. By the time they were built in 1938, CMEChief Mechanical Engineer Charles CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 had introduced more modern designs to succeed the 'bow-ended' stock. These included large picture windows to replace the external door to every compartment, with access to the coach being via vestibules at each end. Following a GWRGreat Western Railway policy decision in late 1937, the 1938 design was built to a more restricted loading gauge as used by the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway and LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway, such vehicles being identified by a yellow disc on the body ends. The 1938 design also reintroduced two extra entry doors on the corridor side.[1] These particular coaches have 8 compartments each seating 8 passengers, plus a toilet at each end of the coach.

Service

All four coaches were built at Swindon in 1939 as part of lot number 1593 to diagram number C77, with 1146 entering service in August of that year.[2] Under BRBritish Rail or British Railways, the coach initially became W1146 at nationalisation and W1146W following the introduction of BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mk 1 coaches in accordance with the normal BRBritish Rail or British Railways renumbering process.

1146 continued in passenger service in the BRBritish Rail or British Railways Western region until April 1965, when it withdrawn and transferred into Internal User stock as number 079153. It then formed part of GWRGreat Western Railway's 9-coach Swindon test train which was used for load testing of diesel locomotives, the full list of coaches being:

IU Number BRBritish Rail or British Railways(W) Number Coach type Current status
079151 W7362W Brake Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard., Diagram E159 Preserved DeanWilliam Dean, Chief Locomotive Engineer of the Great Western Railway 1877-1902 Forest Railway[3]
079152 W536W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved at Didcot [4]
079153 W1146W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved SVRSevern Valley Railway
079154 W1086W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved SVRSevern Valley Railway
079155 W7313W Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard., Diagram E158 Preserved at Didcot [5]
079156 W7284W Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard., Diagram E162 Preserved SVRSevern Valley Railway
079157 W1116W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved SVRSevern Valley Railway
079158 W1087W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved SVRSevern Valley Railway
079159 W1111W Corridor Third, Diagram C77 Preserved at Didcot[6]

Preservation

Early in 1969, BRBritish Rail or British Railways decided to dispose of the Swindon Test Train. GW(SVR)A member David Rouse negotiated the purchase of the complete train for preservation, with four of the coaches being acquired by the GWSGreat Western Society at Didcot.[7] Four TKs and Corridor Composite 7284 were bought for the SVRSevern Valley Railway by various groups and individuals including The GWR 813 Preservation Fund who secured 1146. All five SVRSevern Valley Railway coaches arrived on 19 December 1969.[8]

By autumn 1974 7284, 1086 and 1087 had been fully restored and were in passenger service, while 1116 had received a quick repaint. 1146 had spent a period stored until missing fittings became available[9] but work was nearing completion, one of the major jobs being the replacement of four interior doors.[10]

Between 1976 and1978 the SVRSevern Valley Railway provided a rake of GWR carriages for use on main line excursions. By the time of the first tour on 13 November 1976, restoration of all five ex-Swindon test train carriages had been completed and they formed part of the set.

1146 underwent an overhaul at Bewdley which began over the winter of 1981-82. The external doors were all sound and the frames were generally in good condition apart from an issue with splitting of the bottom stringers due to water getting in and rusting the bolts securing the uprights to the bottom stringer. All the old bolts were replaced and the wood made good. All the panels were removed and replaced, and new corridor canvasses fitted. The roof was sound and required little work other than re-bedding the water tanks and the vents. Mid 1982 saw 1146 out of the Paint Shop, still in GWRGreat Western Railway 'galvanised' livery, while 9369 went in.[11] In the yard, work continued on the interior which had a complete makeover including painting, graining and varnishing, apart from the seats which were still in reasonable condition. The toilets were also returned to working order. 9369 left the paint shop but was replaced in turn volunteer accommodation sleeper 9084 which had sprung a leak. 1146 was eventually completed in late 1983.[12]

In late 1988 1146 returned to the paint shop for a quick repaint, the interior still being in reasonable condition. This was completed in time for Christmas running, before returning to service in the Severn Valley Limited set.[13]

1146 received another repaint at Bewdley in late 2000, also moving to Kidderminster Carriage Works for a lift and bogie overhaul, plus replacement vacuum brake cylinders. However it then spent most of the winter and following spring waiting to return to the jacks after being ousted by the urgent need to fit air braking to 60009 Union of South Africa's support coach.[14] A further repaint at Bewdley followed between July and September 2002 as part of a programme to improve the appearance of the whole GW2 set which had become a source of much negative comment at the time.[15]

In spring 2014 1146 was the first of the GWRGreat Western Railway coaches to go to Bewdley for overhaul as part a programme to repair a number of them in time for the forthcoming 2015 50th anniversary celebrations.[16] The overhaul, which included repainting in the Bewdley carriage paint shop in GWRGreat Western Railway 1934-42 livery featuring the 'shirt-button' roundel, was completed in time for a return to service in spring of 2015.

During the early hours of Boxing Day morning 2017, 1146 was one of two coaches vandalised at Kidderminster (the other being GNR Corridor Composite No. 2701). A flash appeal by the SVR Charitable Trust raised more than £13,000 to help pay for the repairs, which involved stripping and repainting both coaches over a 6-week period.[17][18][19]

In September 2023 a paintwork/varnish refresh was completed at Bridgnorth Loco Works paintshop, one of several carriages that received attention there.

See also

List of carriages

References

  1. Harris (1966) p. 104.
  2. Longworth (2018) p.55.
  3. RHR Online, 7362
  4. RHR Online, 536
  5. RHR Online, 7313
  6. RHR Online, 1111
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 157
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Third Edition, August 1971
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Fifth Edition, September 1974
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 33
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 62, 66
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 67, 69
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 90, 92
  14. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 137
  15. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 142
  16. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 186
  17. Shropshire Star
  18. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 201
  19. SVRSevern Valley Railway Charitable Trust accounts to 30 June 2018, p.5

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