GWR 6913 Brake Composite

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GWRGreat Western Railway 6913 Brake CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard.
GWR 6913 20200919.jpg
GWRGreat Western Railway 6913 Brake CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard.
Built By GWRGreat Western Railway Swindon
Status In service
Number 6913
Other numbers W6913W, 079134, 99240
History
Built 1934
Designed By CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941
Diagram E148
Lot 1508
Type BCK
Length 57ft 0in
Weight 30t 9cwt
Seats 12 first, 32 third
1974 Preserved on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1979 Entered service
1980 Took part in Rocket 150 at Rainhill
1985 Used as the SVRSevern Valley Railway's main line support coach

Carriages

GWRGreat Western Railway 6913 is a Gangwayed Brake CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. (BCK) designed by GWRGreat Western Railway CMEChief Mechanical Engineer Charles (C.B.) CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941. The term 'composite' refers to a carriage having more than one class of seating, in this case two first class and four third class compartments seating 12 and 32 respectively. The coach also contains a lavatory, only allowing space for a cramped guard's compartment with no separate luggage area. CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941's design no longer included the 'bow-ends' which he discontinued in 1933, but now included a riveted rather than canvas covered roof[1].

Service

6913 was built at Swindon in July 1934 as lot number 1508 to diagram E148. After nationalisation 6913 continued in service with BRBritish Rail or British Railways(W), initially as W6913 and later as W6913W after the further renumbering caused by the introduction of Mk 1 stock in the early 1950s.

In December 1962 6913 and sister coach 6912 were transferred into Western Region DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. Coaching stock for Engineer's use as sleeping cars at Radyr in Cardiff, South Wales, for which they received the DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. numbers 079134 and 079133 respectively[2].

Preservation

6913 and 6912 arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway on 5 December 1974 from Radyr, having been acquired by the Great Western (SVR) Association[3].

In 1976 the SVRSevern Valley Railway prepared a rake of carriages for use on the main line. Both 6913's axle bogies were transferred to other carriages, with 6913 temporarily receiving defective axles including one from Siphon G 2926.[4] Later that year 6913 received attention as a stop-gap project between work on the main line set, including attention to the roof and gutters, replacement of rotten body panels and removal of gangway connections for recanvassing.[5]

Restoration continued at Bewdley as a long term project. By late 1977 6913 was externally nearly complete and awaiting painting.[6] After an appeal for volunteers, internal fitting out began in late 1978[7] Final painting was carried out in summer 1979 after which 6913 entered service.[8]

In May 1980 6913 was one of three SVRSevern Valley Railway coaches to take part in the Cavalcades at the Rocket 150 celebrations at Rainhill.[9] It was subsequently selected for use as a support brake coach for main-line running in the Great Western 150 celebrations, receiving a mechanical overhaul including newly refurbished bogies plus a repaint in early 1985. For main line use it was given the TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. number 99240. It was used in that role by 7819 Hinton Manor during a double-headed outing with 6000 King George V from Bristol to Plymouth on Easter Sunday 7 April 1985, and the return leg with 7819 and deputy 4930 Hagley Hall standing in for the King on the Bank Holiday Monday.[10][11]

In early 1992 6913 underwent an overhaul at Bewdley, including attention to the bottom stringers (the wooden timber rail on which the rest of the body sits) and to the cantrails (the timber or steel members at the top of the framing which support the roof hoops). A number of panels were also replaced and then 6913 was repainted internally and externally in 1934 livery. The first class seats were also reupholstered before a return to traffic.[12]

On 17-19 March 1997, four sequences for the film The Land Girls were filmed at Crowcombe on the West Somerset Railway. The train consisted of two of the SVRSevern Valley Railway's GWRGreat Western Railway CollettCharles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Great Western Railway 1922-1941 coaches, 6913 and Full Third 1146, which were transported by road from Kidderminster to Minehead and back especially for the filming. Tyseley's pannier 7760 and the WRS's small prairie 4561 provided the motive power.[13] The Land Girls was released in September 1998.[14]

6913 received a 'brief repaint' at Bewdley in April 2002.[15] In late summer 2009 it underwent a number of repairs at Kidderminster, including to the drawgear, the steam heating system, the vacuum pipework to the Guard's compartment and the brake cylinders. 6913 borrowed a spare set of GWRGreat Western Railway bogies to take part in the Autumn Steam Gala while its own bogies were being reconditioned.[16]

6913 is finished in GWRGreat Western Railway 1928-34 chocolate and cream livery featuring the ‘coat of arms’ logo, and it underwent a partial repaint in 2022[17]. It is normally used in the Severn Valley Limited dining set (Set S), although in 2020 it was part of the GWRGreat Western Railway set used during the 2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It remains owned by the Great Western (SVR) Association.

Sister coach 6912

6912 was acquired at the same time as 6913, also arriving in December 1974. In summer 1979 it was based at Highley,[18] but by 1986 had been condemned and broken up. Some body parts were used in the restoration of Siphon G 2926 which had arrived in March 1975 as 6912's proposed replacement.[19] 6912's frame was later used on the West Somerset Railway in the restoration of 1896 GWRGreat Western Railway Clerestory Sleeper 242 (later 9038), for which it was shortened by 17 inches. When 6913 was broken up, 6913 became the only surviving example of the 40 Diagram E148 BCKs originally built[20][2].

See also

List of carriages

References

  1. SVRNews 65
  2. 2.0 2.1 Longworth Vol. 1 (2018) pp. 175.
  3. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 35
  4. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 42, 50
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 43
  6. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 46
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 49, 50
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 52, 53
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 56
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 76, 77
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 162, "Ray Tranter's Dream, a tribute", Martin White
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 102
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 127
  14. The Land Girls on IMDb
  15. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 142
  16. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 168
  17. Branch Lines, December 2022
  18. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 52
  19. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 85
  20. Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey

Links