Changes

|othernos = W34754, E34754, ADB975127ADB 975128

|topscode = [[:Category:Carriage Type BSK|AB21]] (as built), QPV

}}The '''34754''' began life as a '''BR Mark 1 Brake Corridor Second Corridor ''' (BSK) seats , seating 24 passengers in 4 compartments. The GuardA more detailed description of the BSK can be found under sister coach [[BR 35219 Brake Corridor Second|35219]]. It was later converted by BR into a mess & tool van, a role it still fulfils for the SVR's area which occupies around half the carriage includes a large luggage compartmentPermanent Way department.

==34754 in service and preservation==B34754 was built at Wolverton in 1955 to Diagram 182 (AB21), Lot 30157. It began entered service in the Western region as W34754 in May 1956, moving to the Eastern region and being renumbered E34754 in September 1968. In January 1973 it was converted for Departmental use as a breakdown mess & tool van at Cambridge, receiving the Departmental number ADB 975127.<refname=Longworth>[[Bibliography#Other References|Longworth (2013)]] p.161.</ref>

34754 arrived on In January 1973 it was converted for Departmental use as a breakdown mess & tool van at Cambridge, receiving the SVR on 17 November 1997 from PeterboroughDepartmental number ADB 975128 and [[TOPS code|TOPS category code]] QPV.The new internal layout consisted of the toilet and the first two passenger compartments in their original locations, a kitchen, handwash and overall drying area, a mess room, and locker/tool area<refname=SVR128>SVR Stock Book Ninth EditionNews 128, pp. 36-38, ''Permanent Way Tool/Mess Van'', Cedric Jameson</ref> The body of this coach was put on the bogies of coach 34414 (the body of 34414 was scrapped). It carries the  ===34754's Departmental number DB 975128 (ADB 975128 being the number originally carried by 34414)<ref>===[[Bibliography#Other References|Longworth (2013)]] pstates that E34754 was allocated departmental number ADB 975127 with ADB 975128 'carried in error'. It similarly states that E34414 (see below) was allocated departmental number ADB 975128, with ADB 975127 'carried in error'. However other sources suggest that E34754 carried ADB 975128 in use, including pictures on departmentals.com (see links below).  ==34754 in preservation== Up to the mid-1990s, mess facilities for the Permanent Way staff while working lineside consisted of a brake van with no washing or toilet facilities and only crude cooking arrangements, with tools being carried in a separate tool van.248Permanent Way Manager, Gerry Carter therefore began investigating the possibility of acquiring a tool/mess coach to improve the conditions for his staff.<ref name=SVR128/ref> The first coaches that Gerry inspected had either been robbed or vandalised. However in mid-1997, two of SVR's full-time C&W staff visited the North Norfolk Railway to inspect carriage bogies for possible purchase. A conversation revealed that the NNR had acquired ADB 975128 for its bogies only, although the body and is owned by [[interior were complete. The coach was inspected at Peterborough where it was in store, after which a deal was struck whereby the SVR Permanent 's P-Way Fund‏‎‏‎volunteers would purchase the coach body for £500. The entire coach including the bogies would then be transported to the SVR, with the NNR sharing the transport costs including the return of the bogies back to Norfolk.<ref name=SVR128/> The coach arrived at Kidderminster on, or shortly after, 30 October 1997.<ref group="note">The contemporary report in SVR news gives the arrival date as 30 October 1997; the 1998 Stock Book states 17 November 1997.</ref> It was quickly lifted to enable the bogies to be returned, with ADB 975128 being place on a temporary set of bogies as part of the same lift. The Kidderminster C&W staff offered the use of the [[Carriage Repair Works|Kidderminster paint shop]]over the Christmas break which allowed the roof to be striped, who restored repaired and repainted. The next few months were spent in Kidderminster yard while a start was made on stripping out surplus parts of the interior and converted it replacing rotten bodywork.<ref name=SVR128/>  An ambitious plan was developed to convert the coach to a driving trailer with 'Blue Star' multiple working equipment and driving desk fitted, with the intention that it could be used to drive with the train locomotive at the rear. A new internal layout would comprise the Driving end, emergency equipment in the first compartment, a passenger compartment, a kitchen/mess room, a handwash / overall drying area, a toilet relocated to the middle of the coach (approximately where the original guard's compartment was), and the tool area (potentially including a generator).<ref name=SVR128/>  In practice late September 1998 the coach, still on its temporary bogies, was moved to [[Bridgnorth]] where the conversion would be carried out. Around the same time J.J. Smith was informed of a similar coach 34414 (later ADB 975127) which was in storage at Scunthorpe and due to be scrapped. A visit by Gerry Carter and Brian Bessey confirmed that although it was in poor condition, it stood on a good set of bogies for which Railtrack wanted £1,000. It was due to be transferred to the scrap yard the following day, but quick negotiations confirmed it was easier to purchase the whole coach, which was transported to the SVR around the end of October 1998. The body of 34754 was transferred onto the bogies from 34414, with the body of 34414 then being broken up in early 1999.<ref name=SVR128/> The internal conversion was subsequently completed by owners [[The SVR Permanent Way Fund‏‎‏‎]], partly funded by £1,500 from the [[SVRA]].<ref name=SVR128/> Although use as a driving trailer has not happenedin practice, and it sees regular use as the Civil Engineers' Mess and Tool Van.It carries the Departmental number DB 975128 (rather than the ADB 975128 it carried when preserved). <gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">BR_34754_20200219.jpg|34754 at Highley, February 2020, seen from the Driving EndBR_34754_Kidderminster.jpg|34754 (ADB 975128) in Kidderminster yard shortly after preservation, seen from the same end (picture: [[David Williams|David C. Williams]]) </gallery>