LNER 643 Buffet

From SVR Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway 643 Buffet
LNER 643 20190723.jpg
643 at Highley in July 2019
Built By LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway York
Status Operational
Number 643
Other numbers LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway: 9131, BRBritish Rail or British Railways: E9131E
History
Built 1937
Designed By GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941
Diagram 167
Lot 761
Type RB
Length 61ft 6in
Weight 33t 0cwt
1977 Preserved on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1987-92 Restoration

Carriages

Interior view of LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Buffet car 643.

LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Buffet Car 643 was built during Sir Nigel GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941's tenure as CMEChief Mechanical Engineer of the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway. At the time the 'GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 teaks' were designed, Oliver BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 (later appointed CMEChief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway in 1937) was in charge of LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Carriage and Wagon activities.[note 1] BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 believed in up-to-the-minute, "fashionable" interiors for his special vehicles. 643 had an attractive art deco interior finished in Rexinean early form of vinyl used by the LNER for wall coverings in teak coaches; in this case gold and red.[1] In addition to the galley and bar, loose seating was provided for 24 passengers in the form of tubular chromed chairs. The GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 Buffet Cars outlasted his other passenger carriages, with some continuing in service as late as 1977, being the last wooden bodied coaches on BRBritish Rail or British Railways[2][3].

Service

643 was one of a batch of 15 built at York in 1937 as Lot 761 to LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Diagram 167.[2] Six of these (numbers 641-44 and 49-50) were allocated to the Great Eastern Division for use on excursions and cross country expresses, including the then new fast five coach Liverpool Street-Cambridge services (known colloquially as "Beer Trains"). In common with other GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 buffet cars of the period it had electric cooking facilities powered by two large 9KVa axle driven dynamos (or landlines when stationary), along with around 2 tons of batteries which also powered the fans and carriage lighting.[4]

In November 1943 the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway renumbered its LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway-built carriage stock and 643 became 9131. At Nationalisation in 1947 BRBritish Rail or British Railways initially allocated a 'region of origin' E prefix, replaced in the early 1950s by a prefix showing the region of allocation and suffix showing the region of origin, resulting in a final number of E9131E.[5]

At some time during the late 1950s or early 1960s, E9131E was extensively rebuilt internally, the result being similar in appearance to a BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mark 1 Buffet Car such as 1682. The electric cooker was replaced by a large gas cooker with grill, 4 rings and an oven, supplied from two 32lb propane cylinders. This allowed two thirds of the batteries to be done away with and the two generators to be replaced by a single generator of 4.5 KVa capacity.[4] It also had an enclosed bar, and Mark 1 style grey Formica interior décor.

While in BRBritish Rail or British Railways service the varnished teak exterior was overpainted, initially with 1950s Crimson and Cream livery and later with BRBritish Rail or British Railways Maroon.[6] It received a third repaint in BRBritish Rail or British Railways blue and grey livery (first introduced in 1965), in which form it continued in use on passenger services into the mid-1970s. The final 6 GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 Buffet Cars including E9131E were withdrawn from service around the end of 1976[5].

Preservation

Shortly after withdrawal by BRBritish Rail or British Railways, E9139E was purchased for the SVRSevern Valley Railway by Messrs. Gardner Shaw, a Brierley Hill soft drinks firm. It arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway from York on 16 November 1977.[6] The restoration work which was required before it could enter service was undertaken at Bewdley, largely by the Manpower Services Commission team. Stripping the layers of paint revealed the original 'BUFFET CAR' legend still visible in the wood underneath. Missing parts of the running gear were replaced, a broken upright and broken door were attended to and several other panels replaced.[7] 643 (as it had become) entered service at the 1978 'Mince Pie Specials', being the first of the SVRSevern Valley Railway's GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 carriages to be restored into varnished teak livery.[8]

643 was initially plagued by a number of 'teething problems' attributed at the time to its rushed restoration.[9][note 2]. During 1981 it was in use in the GWRGreat Western Railway set, although already looking 'very tatty'.[10] It received heavy bodywork repairs at Bewdley in 1983-4, at which time the roof was re-canvassed.[11] It also received a 'face lift' at Bewdley in early 1976 when it was re-lined. During that year the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway (SVRSevern Valley Railway) Coach Fund obtained and installed a set of original LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway chromed buffet chairs which had been acquired via the North Norfolk Railway and National Railway Museum. Some attention was also required to the steam heat system after an 'in-service' failure resulted in the passengers receiving an unwanted sauna![12]

643 was withdrawn from passenger services after the October 1987 diesel weekend, some nine years after first entering SVRSevern Valley Railway service. On the following Monday and Tuesday it was used to film the railway scenes for the 1988 television series Hannay. This was probably the first occasion that four restored LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Teaks had worked together as a set for at least 30 years, although the occasion was somewhat marred by the producer having "LBSCRLondon Brighton & South Coast Railway" stickers applied to the carriages. With filming finished, work began the following day on a comprehensive overhaul and restoration to original internal and external condition, which would be carried out by LNER Coach Fund volunteers, although by that time the carriage was owned by SVR(H).[13] It was originally thought that having had recent body work carried out, and having a relatively simple interior, the work would only take around 12 months to complete.[14]

When the restoration of 643 began, only one other GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 Buffet Car had been restored to original condition. 51769 (later E9128E) had been completed to an exceptionally high standard by Steve Allen on the North Norfolk Railway, and the Coach Fund intended to use it as the model for their own restoration. However the strip-down revealed a number of significant internal differences. Many contemporary photographs of Buffet Car interiors were available, although not attributable to individual carriages, which suggested a common 'theme' but with some variations. Significant extra research work was therefore undertaken in an attempt to restore 643 as closely as possible to its actual original condition rather than just as a 'generic' Buffet Car. One of the features found during the strip-down was remnants of the red and gold rexine, a finish previously unknown to the restoration team but subsequently found in a contemporary artist's impression.[note 3][14]

At the same time the bodywork turned out to be in worse condition than anticipated, requiring substantial repairs to the frames and replacement of all the exterior panels. By summer 1990 a new ceiling had been fitted and painted, the new counter had been installed and work on fitting new teak panels on the first side was in progress, using new teak purchased from Burma (via Thailand) on the SVRSevern Valley Railway's behalf by the NYMR-based LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Coach Association.[15] The carriage then spent 15 weeks at Kidderminster while the bogies received attention and the exterior work completed on the other side.[16] Use of gas for cooking was discontinued, electricity being supplied by a small 10KVa diesel generator more suited to the slow speeds of a heritage railway than the original system of axle-mounted generators and batteries (this system proved unreliable in day-to-day service and was eventually replaced with the standard gas system used on all the other SVRSevern Valley Railway buffet cars). The four year restoration was eventually completed in the first half of 1992.[4]

643 subsequently ran for a short time with the original loose chairs, but these were found to be a deterrent to passengers and were replaced with BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mk1 second class "2+ 1" seats for the 1995 season.[17][note 4] In 1997-98 643 spent 18 months on bogies borrowed from Composite Diner 7960 while its own bogies were refurbished.[18][note 5]

643 underwent a quick overhaul in 2002, and the seats were re-upholstered in 2006.[19]. Most recently it returned to service in April 2014 after a 4 month overhaul and visit to the paint shop.[20] In early 2016 ownership was transferred to the SVR Charitable Trust. 643 regularly forms part of Set N, the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway & GNRGreat Northern Railway Teak carriages.

See also

List of carriages

Notes

  1. BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 served as Personal Assistant to GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 at the GNRGreat Northern Railway before World War 1, becoming Manager of the GNRGreat Northern Railway Wagon and Carriage Works after the War. When GresleySir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London & North Eastern Railway 1923-1941 became LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway CMEChief Mechanical Engineer at grouping, he again appointed BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948 as assistant. With BulleidOliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway 1937-1948's carriage background, it is likely he had significant input into the carriage designs.
  2. The quality of other M.S.C.Manpower Services Commission restorations around that time was also later found to be less than ideal.
  3. Richard Gunnings' restoration notes in SVRSevern Valley Railway News later suggested that only Diagram 167 Buffet Cars built before 1937 had features such as pelmets and curtains as per 51769's restoration. Both were part of Lot 643 and 51769 although they were allocated to different LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway Regions, evidenced by their different original numbers (GERGreat Eastern Railway and GCRGreat Central Railway respectively).
  4. The chairs were then borrowed by the DMUDiesel Multiple Unit Group for their dining service, where they were found to be perfectly acceptable. They have since left the SVRSevern Valley Railway for another heritage railway.
  5. Catering vehicles are mounted on "heavy" bogies to accommodate the extra weight of kitchen equipment.

References

  1. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 91, LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway (SVRSevern Valley Railway) Coach Fund Notes, Richard Gunning
  2. 2.0 2.1 Longworth (2018) p. 259.
  3. The Scottish Railway Preservation Society website (Retrieved 30 August 2021)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 104
  5. 5.0 5.1 Longworth (2018) p.175.
  6. 6.0 6.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Editions 7 (1980) and 8 (1990)
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 48
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 49, 50
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 52
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 64
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 71, 73
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 79, 80, 81
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 87
  14. 14.0 14.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 91
  15. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 96
  16. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 101
  17. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 122
  18. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 127
  19. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 142, 153
  20. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 188

Links