GWR 2233 Corridor Brake Third

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GWRGreat Western Railway 2233 Corridor Brake Third
GWR 2233 20150517.jpg
GWRGreat Western Railway Corridor Brake Third 2233
Built By Metro Cammell for BRBritish Rail or British Railways(W)
Status Static use
Number 2233
Other numbers W2233W, DW150401
History
Built 1950
Designed By HawksworthFrederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1941-1948
Diagram D133
Lot 1732
Type BTK
Length 64ft 0in
Weight 31t 2cwt
Seats None (32 third as built)
1990 Entered preservation on SVRSevern Valley Railway

Carriages

Corridor Brake Third (BTK) 2233 was part of Lot 1732 to Diagram D133, the last Lot ordered by the GWRGreat Western Railway.[1] It was a HawksworthFrederick Hawksworth, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1941-1948 design and was built for BRBritish Rail or British Railways(W) by Metro Cammell. In addition to the guard’s compartment it had four third class compartments seating 32, with one toilet.

Service

W2233W, as it was numbered by BR(W), entered service in October 1952. On 5th March 1966 it formed part of a Great Western Society special to the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway.[2]

In November 1966 it was renumbered DW150401 having been converted for DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. use as an RCERegional Civil Engineer(ing) staff and dormitory coach. It was withdrawn from that role in 1990.[3]

Preservation

2233 was one of four such coaches purchased by SVR(H) in 1990, arriving from Radyr on 30 August, the others being 2148, 2214 and 2218. Originally all four were intended for breaking up to provide a source of spare wheelsets and other spares. However, the wheelsets proved little better than those they were intended to replace.[4]

The SVRA organised various raffles to raise funds for converting coaches for volunteer sleeping accommodation at Bewdley and Kidderminster to replace the long-serving 9082 and 9084. 2233 was the vehicle selected to become the 'new' accommodation at Bewdley. The design consisted of five double-berth compartments for occupation by regular working volunteers, while at either end there would be berths for occasional visiting volunteers in common rooms of four berths and six berths respectively. A kitchen/dining area suitable for light snacks was included, together with the facility to add a toilet at a later date. The end corridor connections were blanked off. The work was completed in 1996, with 2233 becoming available for use in January, 1997.[5] 9082 was subsequently deemed 'surplus to requirements' and left the SVRSevern Valley Railway in 2005.

The 1999 stock book suggested that another of the batch of four was earmarked for a similar conversion for use at Kidderminster. In the event, 2214 was scrapped in 1999 with the bogies, drawgear and doors being saved, while 2148 and 2218 left for a private site in Kidderminster on 25 July 2001 where they were subsequently scrapped. 9084 continued in use as sleeping accommodation at Kidderminster, where it may still be seen in the bay platform.

Sister vehicle GWR 2242 Corridor Brake Third moved to the SVRSevern Valley Railway in 2019.

See also

List of carriages

References

  1. Harris (1966) p. 155.
  2. The S&D Telegraph. The journal of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, February 2021 issue
  3. Longworth (2018) p.175.
  4. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 137, p.76.
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 127

Links