LMS 149 Buffet Car

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LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 149 Buffet Car
LMS 149 20150718.jpg
LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 149 Buffet Car
Built By BRCWBirmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, Smethwick
Status In service
Number 149
Other numbers 9355, M9355M, CTL2S
History
Built 1936
Designed By StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944
Diagram 1915
Lot 954
Type QF, TO (as built)
Length 57ft
Weight 31T (plated 30)
Seats 27 third (60 as built)
1971 Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1986-87 Refitted as Bar Car 149
1996 Operated in chocolate and cream as 9355
2006 Reverted to maroon and 149

Carriages

Interior of LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway Buffet Car 149

LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway Buffet Car 149 began life as LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway Open Third (TO) 9355 and was designed by W A (later Sir William) StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 following his appointment as CMEChief Mechanical Engineer to the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway.

Construction and service

9355 was built by the BRC&WBirmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company at Smethwick in 1936 as lot number 954 to Diagram 1915, that diagram being for the ‘excursion version’ of the Period III Vestibule coach ('Vestibule' being the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway term for an Open coach) which included 7½ seating bays giving 60 seats rather than the normal 56. Lot 954 was plated at 30 Tons rather than the actual weight of 31 Tons.[1] Following nationalisation, BRBritish Rail or British Railways re-numbered the coach M9355M in accordance with normal practice for an ex-LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway carriage in use on the BRBritish Rail or British Railways London Midland region. Service with BRBritish Rail or British Railways continued until December 1964.[2]

After service with the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway and BRBritish Rail or British Railways, 7511 and 9355 were acquired by Gilt Edge Carpets (formerly Carpet Trades Limited) of Kidderminster for use as a mobile carpet showroom, the train being hauled by former SVRSevern Valley Railway resident 61994 The Great Marquess.[3] The two carriages carried the numbers CTL1N and CTL2S respectively[4]

Preservation

Gilt Edge Carpets donated it to the SVRSevern Valley Railway in 1971. On arrival on 23 August the interior had pegboard clad walls with no internal fittings. It was initially used as a Bar Car with loose plastic tables and chairs. During 1977 the Manpower Services Commission helped carry out a renovation which saw the exterior re-panelled to resemble a StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 Buffet Car and the interior refurbished with a more traditional décor including 3½ bays of ex-BRBritish Rail or British Railways fixed seating and a counter; the vehicle was also rewired and fitted with calor gas equipment.[5] After a repaint it re-entered service in summer 1978.[6]

In 1981 9355 moved to Bridgnorth, where what began as a simple repaint “turned into the usual nightmare of rotten panels and even more rotten timber, all of which had to be replaced, emphasizing the need again for covered accommodation.”[7] After a further short period of service further major work was again required. During 1986 all the old panels were removed to reveal “the usual rot and decay”. The bottom edges of the roof were cut back and new sections welded in. The affected parts were renewed and the opportunity taken to add two extra doors and move three windows to make 9355 look much more like 131, the vehicle it was modelled on.[8] Following the conversion to this design of a 1930s LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway Buffet Car with 27 seats, 9355 was given the fictitious number 149 as a continuation of the original 1932 145 - 148 Bar Car series.[9]

In April 1996 it was repainted in GWRGreat Western Railway livery for use in the SVRSevern Valley Railway Dining Car set.[10] It remained in this condition, numbered 9355, for ten years. In 2006 it was again repainted in LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway livery as 149[11] and now is regularly used in the LMS Maroon set (Set L). With the exception of the half-bay near the vestibule, it is fitted with the same style of table lamps as fitted to LMS 7511 Restaurant First Open. It was again repainted in 2020 at Kidderminster Carriage Shed[12] and in 2023 at Bridgnorth Loco Works.

149 is owned by SVR(H)[13].

See also

List of carriages

References

  1. Jenkinson & Essery (1977) p. 130.
  2. Longworth (2019) pp.260-261.
  3. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Ninth Edition
  4. LMS Carriage Association
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 44, 45, 46
  6. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 48
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 59
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 83
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 85
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 119
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 156
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 210
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Ninth Edition

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