BR 1682 Restaurant Buffet
| BR 1682 Restaurant Buffet | |
|---|---|
 BR Restaurant Buffet 1682 | |
| Built By | Pressed Steel |
| Status | In service |
| Number | E1682 |
| Livery | BR Maroon |
| History | |
| Built | 1961 |
| Diagram | 24 |
| Lot | 30628 |
| Type | RB |
| TOPS code | AJ41 |
| Seats | 23 unclassified (as built) |
| 1981 | Arrived on SVR |
E1682 is one of two BR Mk 1 RBs at the SVR. Further information on the type can be found under classmate W1667.
Contents
Contents
Service
No 1682 was built in 1961 by Pressed Steel to diagram number 24 lot number 30628. As built it had a weight of 39 tons and was fitted with Commonwealth bogies. It carried the number E1682 throughout a working life spent on BR's Eastern Region and unlike the majority of the RBs (including W1667), was never refurbished to become an RBR. It was withdrawn from service in October 1980[1].
Preservation
During 1981 a group of Bar Department volunteers at Bridgnorth were acquiring buffet car vehicles to run on the Railway. When E1682 became available, it was inspected and subsequently purchased by the SVR (BR) Buffet Car Fund,[2] arriving on the SVR on 11 April 1981 from Thornton Fields Carriage Sidings in East London.[3]
Following a quick overhaul, it entered service still in the BR blue and grey livery in which it had arrived. Over winter 1983-84 it underwent a more major overhaul at Bridgnorth, most of the work again carried out by the Bar Department staff with minimal supervision from the permanent C&W staff there. Welded repairs were carried out to two corner sections, part of the roof and door frames. All three of the narrow doors which extend the conventional doors to allow the passage of laundry baskets were re-skinned in galvanised steel. The internal timber work was stripped of its BR "Travellers-fare" grey paint and revarnished. In early April space became available in the Bridgnorth Loco Works paint shop and 1682 entered for repainting into the original BR maroon livery. The repainting was done using a spray gun, the first SVR coach to be so treated. With the overhaul complete, E1682 re-entered service later that year.[4].
Over winter 1986-87 E1682 underwent further work at Bridgnorth, with major repairs required to the kitchen floor where damp rot beneath the aluminium floor plates had become widespread. Over winter 1988-89 it received a 'quick respray' in 1957 Maroon livery with black ends, the work in both cases being carried out by Bob Florence.
Initially E1682 was only used as a bar car. However over time the Bar Staff renovated the kitchen equipment and began to offer an occasional grill service. They had also acquired First Open 3103 in 1984, with the aspiration of providing a full restaurant service. This came to fruition in 1989 with the introduction of the Severn Valley Venturer.[5]
During 1990 further repairs were carried out, completing the renewal of the kitchen floor.[6][7]
In 1992 the 23 seats were repaired and re-upholstered, a contemporary report noting that 1682 was "...the star of the Sunday dinner service, being operated by the Bar Dept." In 1995 the SVR Board decided that the quality and service offered by the 'Venturer' had reached such a level that its pricing structure would be brought into line with the Severn Valley Limited 'Limited'. In 1996, the Railway's promotional material advertised both services as 'Luncheon Trains', showing no difference between them.
E1682 continued in service on the Venturer, until just before the 2001 Autumn Steam Gala when a routine repair revealed a major problem with the gas plumbing. It was withdrawn from service and replaced in the Venturer set for the rest of that year by classmate W1667.[8] After repairs it re-entered service. Before to the 2005 Venturer season, both W3103 and E1682 underwent attention at Kidderminster Carriage Works. Hugh McQuade reported that W3103 underwent a 'proper job', but time for work on 1682 was limited and that year it ran in a "rudimentary 'one coat wonder' paint job" while awaiting its own major overhaul.[9] In the same year the SVRA raffle 'Carry on Noshing' raised around £10,000 towards the forthcoming 'C1' overhaul.[10]
In November 2007 the carriage was sent to Ramparts Workshop in Derby for renovation, using the proceeds from the sale of BR Mk 1 Buffet Car 1883.[11] After structural repairs including work on the gangways, doorways floor, it returned in late 2008 and after which it underwent further work at Bewdley, including a complete overhaul of the kitchen. It returned to Kidderminster for a bogie overhaul, returning to Venturer service in mid-2009.[12]
The photograph (top right) shows E1682 at Bridgnorth in March 2015, paired with First Open No M3103 for 'Severn Valley Venturer' catering use.
In early 2017 a shunting accident resulted in gangway damage to both E1682 and LMS Third Open 27220. The damage to E1682 was less serious, enabling a return to service for the following weekend.[13]
The Covid pandemic resulted in the withdrawal of dining services, and the opportunity was taken to repaint E1682 in October 2020 as a contract job funded by the Bar Department.[14]. At the end of 2021, the return of buffet cars and dining trains the following year was predicted and it was anticipated that this would include the Venturer pair of E1682 and M3103.[15] Although buffet cars are again in use and certain dining services have been reintroduced, the Venturer service has not resumed as of 2024[update]. E1682 is still owned by the SVR (BR) Buffet Car Fund.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ Longworth (2013) p.21.
- ↑ SVR News 121
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SVR Stock Book 9th edition
- ↑ SVR News 70, 71, 72, 74, 79
- ↑ SVR News 121
- ↑ Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey
- ↑ SVR News 82, 92, 97
- ↑ SVR News 140
- ↑ SVR News 151
- ↑ SVR News 152
- ↑ SVR News 160
- ↑ SVR News 161, 163, 164, 167
- ↑ SVR News 197
- ↑ SVR News 213
- ↑ SVR News 216
Links
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