LMS 24617 Corridor Composite

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LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 24617 Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard.
LMS 24617 20150718.jpg
LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 24617 Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. (2015)
Built By BRBritish Rail or British Railways Derby
Status In service
Number 24617
Other numbers M24617, SC24617M, W24617M
History
Built 1949
Designed By StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944
Diagram 2159
Lot 1500
Type CBC, CK
Length 60ft 0¾in
Weight 30T
Seats 24 first, 18 third
1968 Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway

Carriages

LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 24617 is a Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. (CK), the term 'composite' denoting seating for more than one class. It is the only running LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway porthole corridor composite in the world.[1]

The LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway had begun to build the first batches of all-steel, welded construction coaches by 1938, although the Second World War and post-war rationing of steel interrupted this programme. Sir William StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944 was succeeded as CMEChief Mechanical Engineer of the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway by C E FairburnCharles Edward Fairburn, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1944-1945 in 1944 and H G IvattHenry George Ivatt, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1946-1948. CME of BR (London Midland Region) 1948-1951 in 1945. Although neither produced any new carriage designs, they did implement some of StanierWilliam Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1932-1944's style changes. Among those was the port-hole stock, echoing that used by the 1938 streamliners.

In 1947 the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway began construction of a new all-steel composite carriage, No 24500, to Diagram 2159. The steel framing and all-welded construction gave a slightly more rounded profile than the earlier timber-framed stock.[2] It has four First class and three Third class compartments each seating six passengers, with a lavatory at each end. By the time this was completed in early 1948 the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway had become part of British Railways. BRBritish Rail or British Railways went on to build a total of 240 of the type over the next two years, the first 75 in LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway colours but without the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway branding and the remainder including No 24617 delivered in the new crimson and cream colours[3].

Service

24617 was built by BRBritish Rail or British Railways at Derby in June 1950, as part of Lot number 1500 to Diagram 2159. On entry to service in that year it would briefly have carried the number M24617, the 'M' denoting its LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway origin. BR changed its numbering system in 1951 to account for the introduction of the new Mark 1 stock, resulting in it becoming SC24617M, the prefix indicating it was one of a batch allocated to BRBritish Rail or British Railways's newly-formed Scottish region.[4]

24617 was later transferred to BRBritish Rail or British Railways's Western Region, becoming W24617M. It served in the Western Region until 1968, when it was declared surplus to requirements by BRBritish Rail or British Railways at Didcot only weeks after a full works overhaul and repaint in BRBritish Rail or British Railways maroon livery[2].

Preservation

24617 was acquired for preservation by the L.M.S. & B.R. Coach Fund. It was one of seven vehicles to arrive on the SVRSevern Valley Railway from Didcot on 28 August 1968, the other two GWRGreat Western Railway and four LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway carriages having been acquired in a 'package deal' by various groups and individuals. From the time of their arrival it was always intended that the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway vehicles would eventually be restored to LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway livery,[5] although with 24617 being in virtually ex-works condition it was unlikely that would take place in the immediate future.

A visit by the Stanier 8F Society to the Derby Litchurch Lane Carriage Works Open Day in August 1972 resulted in an invitation for 8233 and three LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway coaches to be exhibited at the following year's Open Day on 11 August 1973. Repairs to Corridor Third 12992 took longer than anticipated and in July a late decision was made to send 24617 instead, being both Derby built and in the best condition of the 1968 batch.[6][5] Time constraints allowed only for a quick repaint and lettering of 24617 in the same BRBritish Rail or British Railways Maroon livery, which was carried out at Hampton Loade.[6]

24617 was the carriage that Richard Hannay (Robert Powell) boarded at the start of the railway scenes in the 1978 film The Thirty Nine Steps. 24617 and the other carriages from the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway set used in filming were given 'Midland Railway' decals as the film was set in 1914, although the BRBritish Rail or British Railways era number W24617M was left unaltered.

During 1979 the first class seating was re-upholstered and the windows re-bedded.[7] The following summer a number of panels were replaced, particularly on the corners, followed by a quick rub down and coat of paint, partially lined and lettered in LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway 1947 style, ahead of a planned withdrawal from service at the end of the season for a full repaint and reupholstering of the third class.[8]

No work had been necessary on the running gear apart from routine maintenance until 1984. 24617's bogies were different from the other spare LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway ones in that the access for the dynamo pulley belt is on the opposite side, so when a bogie overhaul became due, instead of a simple bogie swap, 24617 had to stand on a spare set of bogies (ex 27218) while its own were dismantled, descaled, repaired and painted. In summer 1985 the external doors were re-skinned and an exterior repaint in 1946 LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway livery was carried out.[9]

In winter 1986-7 it received nearly new (1985) battery sets and the third class compartment ceilings were repainted. The following winter the third class corridor walls and doors were cleaned down and re-varnished and attention was also given to the first class fold-up armrests, the latter after a passenger tried to claim a refund due to the arm-rests having had the stitches picked out by other first class passengers![10]

By the end of 1988, 24617 had not missed a season in service in its first twenty years. The annual winter inspection, as it had become, included first class seat repairs, both toilets being redecorated, and one gangway given adaptor equipment for use with BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mark 1 stock.[11]

As a result of its all-steel construction, repair issues on 24617 are more akin to BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mark 1 stock than the earlier wooden-framed vehicles. In late 1991 repairs were undertaken at Bewdley during which a quantity of life-expired panelling was cut out, especially on the corners and roof edges, with new panelling being welded in. The vehicle was then repainted and returned to traffic, although later that year it spent another short period out of service while a broken spring and loose horn guides were attended to at Kidderminster.[12]

At the end of 2001, 24617 had still not missed a season in service, although it had not had a full works visit since the work at Bewdley ten years earlier. On this occasion the repair and renewal work at Kidderminster took some 759 man-hours over a period of six weeks, followed by a further 450 man-hours in the paint shop for priming, filling, flatting, surfacer, undercoat, gloss, lettering, lining and varnishing. 24617 was completed at the end of March 2002.[13]

In 2007 the former owning group, the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway & BRBritish Rail or British Railways Coach Fund, donated all its vehicles including 24617 to the SVRSevern Valley Railway Rolling Stock Trust (now known as the SVR Charitable Trust).

By December 2008 24617 had completed an unbroken record of 40 seasons in service. It returned to Kidderminster paint shop as part of a refresh of the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway set which had been in progress for several years, interrupted by the 2007 Storm Damage. The windows received new skates and springs throughout, while a new gangway canvas was fitted at the third class end. The vestibule floor at the same end had become rotten and was renewed. The entire interior was rubbed down and re-varnished, after which all the ceilings were cleaned and repainted. Externally the paintwork was refreshed although without a full repaint on this occasion. The seats were also re-covered with fabric paid for by the Rolling Stock Trust.[14]

At the end of 2022 24617 entered Kidderminster paint shop for "the biggest overhaul of its 72-year life." Investigation of leaks in both toilet roof areas were found to be due to a combination of corroded roof skin and porous water tanks. Unusually each toilet had two water tanks, possibly intended for long-distance work. These were replaced by one new stainless steel tank per lavatory, fabricated by a local Bridgnorth firm.[15].

Most of the LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway carriages have gunmetal frames which do not suffer from corrosion, but 24617 has the SVRSevern Valley Railway's oldest set of aluminium windows. All 14 windows were removed and refurbished, including replacing whole lengths with new aluminium bar. New toughened glass was also fitted.[15]

The interior received a major revamp, with the old varnish being stripped from the veneered panels. During this work, repairers found pencilled scribblings on the exposed walls from those who built the coach. Some form of spelling test was in one compartment, piecework rates were calculated elsewhere, and a roll call of the assembly team appears on another wall. The team documented all the original graffiti in the coach which remains untouched hidden behind veneer panels, added to with a 2022 team roll call of volunteers and paid staff.[16] The coach was also rewired to replace the original rubber-coated wiring. By the 2023 Open House Weekend the first class compartments were sufficiently complete to be displayed together with working compartment lights and wall lights.[17]

Other work carried out included replacement of the linoleum flooring, gangway bellows, upholstery, and restored tables. The coach was repainted, not in the normal LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway pre-war Period 3 livery but in 1948/9 British Transport Commission livery, numbered M24617. It re-entered service in time to appear in the 2023 Autumn Steam Gala, maintaining its record of running at least one day in service in every season since its arrival in 1968[1].

24617 normally forms part of the LMS Maroon set (Set L), notwithstanding that it was not built until after nationalisation.

See also

List of carriages

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Branch Lines, September 2023
  2. 2.0 2.1 Charitable Trust 24617 page
  3. Jenkinson & Essery (1977) p. 110.
  4. Longworth (2018) p.208.
  5. 5.0 5.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Second Edition
  6. 6.0 6.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 29
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 51, 54
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 56
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 72, 77
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 84, 87
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 90, 92
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 102, 104
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 139, 141
  14. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 164, 167
  15. 15.0 15.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 221
  16. Branch Lines, December 2022
  17. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 222

Links