BR 4399 Tourist Standard Open
| BR 4399 Tourist Standard Open | |
|---|---|
 BR Tourist Standard Open 4399 | |
| Built By | BR Swindon/Ashford |
| Status | Restoration in progress |
| Number | E4399 |
| Livery | n/a |
| Other numbers | NE4399 |
| History | |
| Built | 1957 |
| Diagram | 93 |
| Lot | 30319 |
| Type | TSO |
| TOPS code | AC21 |
| Seats | 64 standard (as built) |
| 1983 | Preserved on SVR |
4399 is a BR Mark 1 Tourist Standard Open (TSO). The ‘Open Second’ seats 64 passengers at tables, with three cross-vestibules to enable speedier loading and unloading of passengers.
Contents
4399 in service
4399 was built in 1956 to diagram number 93 of lot number 30219.[1] Interestingly, it was built in two separate locations. The chassis was one of a job lot constructed in Swindon, which was then moved, like flat goods wagons, down to Ashford in Kent, where the rest of the body was added.[2] The established practice of building coaches for the home region was coming to an end, and E4399 went into service on the Eastern Region in July 1957, where it remained apart from an allocation to the Northeast region between February 1967 and January 1968.[1] It lasted in British Rail service until 1983 when the new Inter-City high-speed trains made it redundant.
4399 in preservation
4399 arrived on the SVR in May 1983 from Heaton, being at that time privately owned by D Randall and P Fitzwater. 4399 ran for several years in BR blue and grey livery, until the Bridgnorth Carriage & Wagon team took it back to 1950s maroon with a quick repaint. However, it soon came out of service and languished in storage for many years, during which time ownership passed to the SVR Charitable Trust.
The Bridgnorth Carriage & Wagon team undertook significant restoration and modification to include disabled access in a similar manner to 4690, for which the Trust was awarded grant funding.[3] On 17 November 2017, 4399 made a return trip to Kidderminster to be turned for work on the second side, and after much work at Bridgnorth, on 1 March 2019 it was conveyed to Kidderminster works for mechanical and body finishing and painting prior to release for traffic.[4] 4399 will be finished in the early BR livery of crimson and cream, as built, and will run in Set C.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Longworth (2013) p.56.
- ↑ Peep Behind The Scenes leaflet July 2017
- ↑ 4399 on the SVR Charitable Trust web site
- ↑ GWR 9581 (Formerly 5043) Wheelchair and Buffet Progress 2019, LNER Carriage Group website, 3 March 2019 (Retrieved 3 March 2019)
SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition
Links
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