BR 1855 Restaurant Miniature Buffet
| BR 1855 Restaurant Miniature Buffet | |
|---|---|
 BR 1855 in 2015 | |
| Built By | BR Wolverton |
| Status | In use |
| Number | SC1855 |
| Livery | BR Maroon |
| Other numbers | E1855, M1855 |
| History | |
| Built | 1961 |
| Diagram | 99 |
| Lot | 30670 |
| Type | RMB |
| TOPS code | AN21 |
| Seats | 44 standard |
| 1983 | Arrived on SVR |
The design of the RMB was based on the bodyshell and seating of the Open Second which has sixteen tables between the two end vestibules, the larger of which includes two toilets. As adapted, the RMB retains the first four tables at the end with the smaller vestibule. The next four tables are replaced by the bar counter on one side of the coach and a circulating area with bench seating opposite. Beyond the cross-vestibule door, seven tables remain but the first table on the bar counter side is replaced by a storage cupboard.
Contents
1855 in service and preservation
1855 was built at Wolverton in 1961 to diagram number 99 of lot number 30670 and was fitted with Commonwealth bogies. It entered service in February 1962 in BR's Eastern region, numbered E1855. The carriage later saw service in other regions as:
- M1855 from June 1964 in the Midland region
- SC1855 from 1977 in the Scottish region[1].
Many RMBs were later refurbished with updated interiors and fluorescent lighting, although 1855 was not one of these.
At the end of 1982 the SVR authorised the acquisition of six additional BR Mk 1 carriages to expand the rolling stock fleet in anticipation of the forthcoming extension to Kidderminster. Five were bought in January 1983, including RMB 1855 which was privately purchased by Bob Florence[2] on behalf of the SVR (BR) Buffet Car Fund.
After arrival on the SVR from Inverness in March 1983,[3] it spent the following winter at Bridgnorth carriage siding resting on temporary bogies while the wheels were re-profiled and a damaged coil spring in the one bogie was repaired.[4] It was repainted in BR maroon livery over Christmas 1985, becoming the 17th coach to be repainted since Easter 1984, a rate of almost one per month.[5][note 1] After internal tidying up it entered service. During 1988, despite its maroon livery, it was in use in the crimson and cream and teak sets.[6]
The coach was repainted in late 1989 in time for that year's Santa Services, and the following summer around half the seat units were replaced with stock saved from scrapped RMB 1858.[7] 1992 saw a steam heat pipe replaced, brake cylinders changed and buckeye couplers replaced.[8] A large repair to the floor behind the bar was required in 1996, after years of steam and condensation from the floor level boiler had caused rot to spread up the bar wall and into the floor of the passenger saloon.[9]
In 1997 the coach received new wheelsets.[10] The seat bases and backs were also replaced while the coach remained in traffic; in some cases a seat set would be changed by 'travelling fitters' during a round trip watched by passengers who would then compete to move to the new seat as soon as the last nail was in, in order to be "the first" to use it.[11]
Set M, the BR Maroon set, underwent a programme of refurbishment during 2005-6. To speed this up, 1855 was sent away to Rampart Carriage Works at Derby in February 2006, where a seven-man team carried out welding and reconstruction work over a period of around four months. On return to Kidderminster, five full-time staff, assisted by up to six volunteers on certain days, spent another 1,000 manhours on the project. 1855 was completed on 4 August in time for the busy holiday and events weeks.[12]
In early 2012 RMBs 1853 and 1855 were both withdrawn for attention at Kidderminster. 1855 received reconditioned wheelsets, other minor repairs and a repaint.[13] A broken spring then resulted in 1855 missing several months of service including the 2012 Santa trains.[14] During 2013 the seats were rebuilt by volunteers from the Buffet staff.[15] In December 2015 the bogies were sent to Bristol for tyre turning; while on the jacks other work was carried out this involving seized tank drains and a leaking heat exchanger under one of the toilets[16]
In 2019 the train repairer team in the carriage storage shed completed the first light repair and repaint in the re-located scaffold platform there. 1855 returned to service in June having been finished in BR maroon circa 1964 livery, including a red stripe above the windows. Internal refurbishment included revarnishing all timber throughout and extensive renewal of door furniture on all six doors.[17]
1855 sees regular use as buffet car in the BR Maroon set.
See also
Notes
- ↑ The repainting prompted a report in "Railway World" that "Blue and grey livery has disappeared from the SVR with completion in maroon of buffet car 1855". In fact, Former resident TSO 4584 was still awaiting repainting.
References
Links
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