GWR 4786 Full Third
| GWR 4786 Full Third | |
|---|---|
 GWR 4786 (corridor side), August 2026 | |
| Built By | GWR Swindon |
| Status | In service |
| Number | 4786 |
| Other numbers | DW 150208, KDW150208 |
| History | |
| Built | 1926 |
| Designed By | Collett |
| Diagram | C54 |
| Lot | 1369 |
| Type | TK |
| Length | 58ft 4½in |
| Weight | 30t 6cwt |
| Seats | 64 |
| 1986 | Arrived on SVR |
| 2010 | Replaced as dormitory coach |
| 2018 | Restoration started |
| 2026 | Entry into service |
GWR Collett Bow-Ended Coach 4786 is a standard 57ft Bow-Ended full third coach, designed by CB Collett and completed in 1926 to diagram C54, lot 1369 as part of a build of 79 vehicles. The internal layout as built seated 64 passengers in eight compartments, with a side corridor and a toilet cubicle at each end. 4786 was one of 279 such carriages turned out from Swindon between 1925 and 1929. Although seven of these vehicles have been saved, 4786 is the only one yet restored to original condition.[1]
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GWR Diagram C54
4786 in service[edit | edit source]
4786 was outshopped on 6 March 1926 in pseudo chocolate and cream panelled livery and upholstered in red moquette. After use in main line long distance services in the 1920s and 1930s, it graduated to cross-country and secondary services in the 1940s and 1950s, possibly including the Severn Valley branch.
4786 was withdrawn on 6th February 1960 and by 2 September 1961 had been modified for Departmental stock for signals and telegraph use as DW150208 at Shrewsbury. An undated photograph in the David Rouse collection shows the vehicle marked as 'S&Tw Reading'[2].
Departmental use ended at Shrewsbury in 1984.[3]
4786 in preservation[edit | edit source]
DW 150208 was originally bought by SVR(H), arriving from the Coleham Depot at Shrewsbury on 7 September 1986 along with former resident sister coach GWR 4872 (DW150209) which had been acquired by the GWR 813 Fund.[4] The coach was fairly complete, with a surprising amount of the original having survived and much of the framework in good order. By May 1987 it had been repainted in GWR "Camp Coach" livery and was in use as dormitory accommodation at Kidderminster.[5]
In winter 2002-03 the Great Western (SVR) Association ("GW(SVR)A") noted that they continued to monitor the situation with 4786 and would be keen to acquire if it became available.[6] In spring 2010 the SVR Board reported that the coach had been moved and was for disposal.[7]
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4786 on 17 April 2010 (Gareth Price)
After a period in storage, in March 2017 the GW(SVR)A exchanged GWR 9581 Wheelchair accessible Buffet Car (then GWR 5043 Full Third) for 4786 with the latter becoming their next project on completion of the restoration of GWR 6045 Bow-end Composite.[8]
4786 moved to Bewdley Down Yard in October 2018 for work to begin in earnest.[9][10] In August 2023 it was tripped to Kidderminster Carriage Repair Works, where it was lifted onto accommodation bogies to allow the overhaul of its own bogies to commence. It was also turned, before returning to Bewdley. In July 2024 it entered Bewdley paint shop for final body and roof repairs.[11]
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4786 on accommodation bogies, April 2025
Being from 1926, it was returned to the fully lined GW livery with pseudo panelling and the ornate garter crest, as found on the 'Toplights'.[12] Restoration was completed in March 2026 with a test run that month. The Association ran a Centenary Special Train on Saturday 11 April from Kidderminster to Highley, Bridgnorth and back, celebrating the official entry into traffic of 4786 and also the hundredth annivesary of its completion at Swindon on 6th March 1926.[13] It has since seen use in the 1920s GW set.
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4786 (compartment side), July 2026 -
4786 (corridor side), August 2026 -
One of the compartments
Other Diagram C54 carriages surviving into preservation[edit | edit source]
GWR 4886 was originally preserved on the SVR but broken for spares for 5883, 6045, 9055 and other GWR coaches. The seven Diagram C54 survivors as of 2026[update] are:
- 4786 SVR – restored 2026
- 5043 SVR – restored / rebuilt as Wheelchair accessible Buffet Car 9581
- 4546 (West Somerset Railway, ex-SVR in 1999, unrestored)
- 4553 (Didcot, unrestored)
- 5085 (Didcot, unrestored)
- 4777 (Honeybourne Airfield Trading Estate, under restoration)
- 4872 (South Devon Railway, unrestored)
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ GW(SVR)A GWR Full Third 4786 Appeal
- ↑ DW 150280(sic) at Machynlleth, undated (a photograph), David Rouse collection/813 Fund
- ↑ Longworth (2018) p.170.
- ↑ SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition
- ↑ SVR News 87, p.22.
- ↑ SVR News 142, p.57., G.W.R. (S.V.R.) Association Notes
- ↑ SVR News 169, p.7., Boardroom Notes
- ↑ SVRLive 30 March 2017 (via Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
- ↑ GW(SVR)A website (Retrieved 24 September 2018)
- ↑ Unarchived SVR Forum, 24 September 2018 (link broken)
- ↑ GW(SVRA) website, June 2024 news update
- ↑ GW(SVR)A news (Retrieved 18 May 2017)
- ↑ GW(SVR)A website
Links[edit | edit source]
- GW(SVR)A 4786 Restoration page
- GW(SVR)A Facebook page, with regular restoration updates
- GW(SVR)A stock page
- 4786 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line
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