GWR 1116 Full Third
| GWR 1116 Full Third | |
|---|---|
 GWR 1116 Full Third | |
| Built By | GWR Swindon |
| Status | In service |
| Number | 1116 |
| Other numbers | W1116W, 079157, 99231 |
| History | |
| Built | 1938 |
| Designed By | Collett |
| Diagram | C77 |
| Lot | 1593 |
| Type | TK |
| Length | 60ft 11¼in |
| Weight | 31t 9cwt |
| Seats | 64 third |
| 1969 | Entered preservation on SVR |
GWR Corridor Third (TK) 1116 is one of four such coaches on the SVR, together with 1086, 1087 and 1146. By the time they were built in 1938, CME Charles Collett had introduced more modern designs to succeed the 'bow-ended' stock. These included large picture windows to replace the external door to every compartment, with access to the coach being via vestibules at each end. Following a GWR policy decision in late 1937, the 1938 design was built to a more restricted loading gauge as used by the LNER and LMS, such vehicles being identified by a yellow disc on the body ends. The 1938 design also reintroduced two extra entry doors on the corridor side.[1] These particular coaches have 8 compartments each seating 8 passengers, plus a toilet at each end of the coach.
Contents
Service
All four were built at Swindon as part of Lot number 1593 to Diagram C77, with 1116 entering service in June 1938.[2] Post-nationalisation, passenger service continued with BR(W) with the carriage initially being re-numbered W1116 at nationalisation and then W1116W following the introduction of BR Mk 1 coaches in accordance with normal practice.
1116 continued in passenger service in the BR Western Region until April 1965, when it withdrawn and transferred into Internal User stock as number 079157. It then formed part of GWR's 9-coach Swindon test train which was used for load testing of diesel locomotives, the full list of coaches being[3]:
| IU Number | BR(W) Number | Coach type | Current status |
| 079151 | W7362W | Brake Corridor Composite, Diagram E159 | Preserved Dean Forest Railway[4] |
| 079152 | W536W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved at Didcot [5] |
| 079153 | W1146W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved SVR |
| 079154 | W1086W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved SVR |
| 079155 | W7313W | Corridor Composite, Diagram E158 | Preserved at Didcot [6] |
| 079156 | W7284W | Corridor Composite, Diagram E162 | Preserved SVR |
| 079157 | W1116W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved SVR |
| 079158 | W1087W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved SVR |
| 079159 | W1111W | Corridor Third, Diagram C77 | Preserved at Didcot[7] |
Preservation
Early in 1969, BR decided to dispose of the Swindon Test Train. SVR member David Rouse negotiated the purchase of the complete train for preservation, with four of the coaches being acquired by the GWS at Didcot.[8] Four TKs and Corridor Composite 7284 were bought for the SVR by various groups and individuals including Great Western (SVR) Association member AJ Turley[note 1] who secured 1116. All five SVR coaches arrived on 19 December 1969, in or near running order.[9]
1116 was one of the coaches used in the SVR's first public train hauled by 3205 on opening day, 23 May 1970.[10] By winter 1971/2 only 1116 and 1146 remained to be fully restored,[11] with 1116 having received only a 'quick repaint' and 1146 stored awaiting missing fittings.[12] In the event 1116 was the last of the five Test Train carriages to be fully restored. Completion of its restoration in autumn 1976 was given impetus by the creation of the SVR's [The Severn Valley Railway on the main line#SVR Carriages used on the main line in preservation|GWR main line set[13] which was first used on a diesel hauled trip from Bewdley to Paddington on 15 November 1976. 1116 received the TOPS number 99231. The main line use ended in 1978, with 1116 and the other GWR carriages continuing in regular use on the SVR.
In 1984 proposals were made for the SVR to make around 8 items of coaching stock available for the following year's GWR 150 celebrations, with 1116 or 1087 being considered as a representative example of a Collett corridor third.[14]
During 1986 1116 entered Bewdley paint shop for its 10-year overhaul. Repairs involved stringers, re-panelling and new door skins. New batteries were installed and both toilets were re-commissioned. The seats were re-upholstered in a specially made green rep material, and the coach was repainted in the later type Hawksworth livery (thought at the time to be a first in preservation). 1116 re-entered service in the GWR 'mixed' set in 1987.[15]
1116 received a full repaint both inside and out, panel repairs and new upholstery in 2003 and a mechanical inspection and overhaul in 2006.[16] It was repainted again between May and July 2019, on this occasion in Bridgnorth paint shop, with the locks receiving attention at Kidderminster.[17][18] It is finished in GWR 1934-42 livery featuring the 'shirt-button' roundel.
In September 2023 it entered Bridgnorth Loco Works paintshop for a paintwork/varnish refresh, one of several carriages that received attention there.
The Great Western (SVR) Association stock list includes 1116 but notes that it is still owned by one of their members.[19] 1116 is normally used in set GW2.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Presumably the same AJ Turley who published The Railway at Kidderminster in the 1940s in 2005
References
- ↑ Harris (1966) p. 104.
- ↑ Longworth (2018) p.55.
- ↑ Longworth (2013) p.172.
- ↑ RHR Online, 7362
- ↑ RHR Online, 536
- ↑ RHR Online, 7313
- ↑ RHR Online, 1111
- ↑ SVR News 157
- ↑ SVR Stock Book Third Edition, August 1971
- ↑ SVR News 168, 40th Anniversary
- ↑ SVR News 22
- ↑ SVR Stock Book Fifth Edition, September 1974
- ↑ SVR News 41
- ↑ SVR News 73
- ↑ SVR News 81,85
- ↑ The Great Western (SVR) Association, 1116 overhaul (Retrieved 10 October 2019)
- ↑ GW(SVR)A Newsletter, Summer 2019
- ↑ SVR News 207
- ↑ The Great Western (SVR) Association stock list (Retrieved 10 October 2019)
Links
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