Changes

|othernos = LNER: 9131.<br>, BR: E9131, E9131E

|years2 = 20141987-92|events2 = Re-entered serviceRestoration

'''LNER Buffet Car 643 ''' was built during Sir Nigel Gresley's tenure as CME of the LNER. At the time the 'Gresley teaks' were designed by , Oliver Bulleid (later appointed CME of the Southern Railway in 1937) was in charge of LNER CME Sir Nigel Carriage and Wagon activities.<ref group="note">Bulleid served as Personal Assistant to Gresley at the GNR before World War 1, becoming Manager of the GNR Wagon and built Carriage Works after the War. When Gresley became LNER CME at York grouping, he again appointed Bulleid as assistant. With Bulleid's carriage background, it is likely he had significant input into the carriage designs.</ref> Bulleid believed in 1937 up-to diagram 167-the-minute, "fashionable" interiors for his special vehicles. 643 had an attractive art deco interior finished in Rexine; in this case gold and red. It is a 'Vestibule' Corridor Buffet Car <ref>SVR News 91, LNER (SVR) Coach Fund Notes, Richard Gunning</ref> In addition to the galley and as built had bar, loose seating was provided for 24passengers in the form of tubular chromed chairs.The Gresley Buffet Cars outlasted his other passenger carriages, with some continuing in BR service as late as the mid-1970s<refname=Longworth>[[Bibliography#Other References|Longworth (2018)]] p. 259.</ref>.

643 was one of six a batch of 15 built for at York in 1937 as Lot 761 to LNER Diagram 167.<ref name=Longworth/> Six of these (numbers 641-44 and 49-50) were allocated to the Great Eastern section Division for use on excursions and cross country expresses, and is believed to have been used on including the then new fast five coach Liverpool Street-Cambridge services (known colloquially as "Beer Trains"). In common with other Gresley buffet cars of the period it had electric cooking facilities powered by two large 9KVa axle driven dynamos (or landlines when stationary) , along with an attractive art deco interior finished in Rexine; in this case gold around 2 tons of batteries which also powered the fans and red. Loose seating was provided in the form of tubular chromed chairscarriage lighting. <ref name=SVR104>SVR News 104</ref>

In November 1943 the LNER renumbered its LNER-built carriage stock and 643 became 9131. At Nationalisation in 1947 BR 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'''.<ref name=Longworth175>[[Bibliography#Other References|Longworth (2018)]] p.175.</ref> Sometime  At some time during the late 1950/1950s or early 1960s period it , E9131E was extensively rebuilt internally, the result being similar in appearance to a BR Mark 1 Buffet Car such as [[BR 1682 Restaurant Buffet|1682]]. The electric cooker was replaced by a large gas cooker with gas cookinggrill, 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.<ref name=SVR104/> It also had an enclosed bar, and MK Mark 1 style grey Formica interior decordécor. While in BR service the varnished teak exterior was overpainted, initially with 1950s Crimson and Cream livery and later with BR Maroon.<ref name=SB7>SVR Stock Book Editions 7 (1980) and 8 (1990)</ref> It received a third repaint in BR blue and grey livery (first introduced in 1965), in which form it survived continued in BR ownership until 1977use on passenger services into the mid-1970s. The final 6 Gresley Buffet Cars including E9131E were withdrawn from service around the end of 1976<ref name=Longworth175/>.

===643 in preservation=Preservation==643 arrived on the SVR on 16 November 1977 shortly Shortly after withdrawal by British Rail and in their then current livery of blue and grey. It BR, E9139E was initially purchased for the SVR by Messrs. Gardner Shaw, a Brierley Hill soft drinks firm. It arrived on the SVR from York on 16 November 1977.<ref>SVR Stock Book Editions 7 (1980) and 8 (1990)<name=SB7/ref> Following arrival The restoration work which was required before it could enter service was quickly restored externally to varnished teak liveryundertaken at Bewdley, and saw service (with one largely cosmetic intermediate overhaul) until being withdrawn to be comprehensively restored over 4 years by the [[LNER Coach FundManpower Services Commission]] volunteers to team. Stripping the layers of paint revealed the original internal and external condition 'BUFFET CAR' legend still visible in 1987the wood underneath. Just before withdrawalMissing parts of the running gear were replaced, a broken upright and broken door were attended to and several other panels replaced.<ref>SVR News 48</ref> 643 (as it had become) entered service at the 1978 '[[Christmas services|Mince Pie Specials]]', being the first of the SVR's Gresley carriages to be restored into varnished teak livery.<ref>SVR News 49, 50</ref>  643 was one initially plagued by a number of 'teething problems' attributed at the coaches used time to its rushed restoration.<ref>SVR News 52</ref><ref group="note">The quality of other M.S.C. restorations around that time was also later found to be less than ideal.</ref>. During 1981 it was in use in the filming of GWR set, although already looking 'very tatty'.<ref>SVR News 64</ref> It received heavy bodywork repairs at Bewdley in 1983-4, at which time the television series [[Hannay]]roof was re-canvassed. <ref>SVR News 71, 73</ref> It subsequently ran for also received a short time with 'face lift' at Bewdley in early 1976 when it was re-lined. During that year the LNER (SVR) Coach Fund obtained and installed a set of original loose LNER chromed buffet chairswhich 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!<ref>SVR News 79, 80, but proved much more popular with passengers after these were replaced with BR Mk1 second class "2+ 1" seating.81</ref>

By 1998643 was withdrawn from passenger services after the October 1987 diesel weekend, ownership some nine years after first entering SVR 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 LNER Teaks had been passed worked together as a set for at least 30 years, although the occasion was somewhat marred by the producer having "LBSCR" 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 [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLC | SVR(H)]].<Refref>SVR News 87</ref> 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.<ref name=SVR91>SVR News 91</ref>  When the restoration of 643 began, only one other Gresley 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.<ref group="note">Richard Gunnings' restoration notes in SVR 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 LNER Regions, evidenced by their different original numbers (GER and GCR respectively).</ref><ref name=SVR91/> 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 SVR's behalf by the NYMR-based LNER Coach Association.<ref>SVR News 96</ref> The carriage then spent 15 weeks at Kidderminster while the bogies received attention and the exterior work completed on the other side.<ref>SVR News 101</ref> 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 SVR buffet cars). The four year restoration was eventually completed in the first half of 1992.<ref name=SVR104/>  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 BR Mk1 second class "2+ 1" seats for the 1995 season.<ref>SVR News 122</ref><ref group="note">The chairs were then borrowed by the DMU Group for their dining service, where they were found to be perfectly acceptable. They have since left the SVR for another heritage railway.</ref> In 1997-98 643 spent 18 months on bogies borrowed from [[LNER 7960 Kitchen Composite|Composite Diner 7960]] while its own bogies were refurbished.<ref>SVR Stock Book 9th editionNews 127</ref><ref group="note">Catering vehicles are mounted on "heavy" bogies to accommodate the extra weight of kitchen equipment.</ref>  643 underwent a quick overhaul in 2002, and the seats were re-upholstered in 2006.<ref>SVR News 142, 153</ref>. Most recently it returned to service in April 2014, following after a 4 month overhaul and visit to the paint shop.<ref>SVR News Winter 2014 - Kidderminster Carriage Notes188</ref> In early 2016 ownership was transferred to the [[Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd|SVR Charitable Trust]], and . 643 regularly forms part of [[Carriages#Set_N|Set N]], the LNER & GNR Teak carriages.