GWR 6045 Bow-end Composite

GWR 6045 Bow-end Composite
6045 Shewing new body panels on refurbished framework.
Built By	GWR Swindon
Status	In service
Number	6045
Other numbers	DW150293
History
Built	1928
Designed By	Collett
Diagram	E132
Lot	1382
Type	CK
Length	57ft 4½in
Weight	31t 3cwt
Seats	24 first, 24 third
1962	To departmental service
1973	Preserved on SVR
2014	Restoration commenced
2020	Restoration completed
Carriages

Partially restored first class compartment

GWR 6045 is a 57' Corridor Composite (CK) carriage, having four first class compartments to seat 24 passengers and three third class compartments also to seat 24 passengers. It was built in 1928 to Lot 1392, Diagram E132, an early Collett design having flush sides and bow ends. It also has toilets at each end and external doors to each compartment on the non-corridor side. 6045 is a typical GWR vehicle from the 1920s; the first class compartments are trimmed in walnut and the third class in mahogany. It is the only survivor of 51 built.

The type were used initially on expresses and later on semi-fast cross-country services, including the Birmingham to Cardiff trains, which passed through Kidderminster.

Contents

6045 in departmental service

It was converted to a BTU Staff & Dormitory Coach in 1962 and saw Departmental use as No DW 150293.

6045 in preservation

It arrived on the SVR on 6 January 1973 from Bristol, having been bought the previous year by Robert Smallman for £200. Since then it had been stored in various locations on the SVR, but moved to Bewdley Down Yard in 2014 for restoration to begin. Work began in earnest in 2015; progress on the restoration was shown on the Great Western (SVR) Association website. In October 2018 the coach moved to Carriage Repair Works at Kidderminster and was completed in April 2020, the restoration costing around £150,000. It is turned out in the livery it carried in 1930.

It is now owned by the Great Western (SVR) Association.

On 17 October 2021 a special train ran with 1501 and the Great Western set to officially launch 6045, with special guest passengers involved in its return to traffic. Originally planned for May 2020, it was delayed by the 2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

See also

• List of carriages

References

Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey
SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition
Great Western (SVR) Association

Links

• 6045 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line
• 6045 on gw-svr-a.org.uk
• Restoration progress on gw-svr-a.org.uk