LNER 24068 Composite Corridor Brake
| LNER 24068 Composite Corridor Brake | |
|---|---|
 LNER Brake Composite Corridor 24068 | |
| Built By | LNER York |
| Status | In service |
| Number | 24068 |
| Other numbers | 10078, E10078, E10078E, GE10078E |
| History | |
| Built | 1937 |
| Designed By | Sir Nigel Gresley |
| Diagram | 175 |
| Lot | 700 |
| Type | BCK |
| Length | 61ft 6in |
| Weight | tba |
| Seats | 12 first, 24 third |
| 1972 | Preserved on SVR |
| 1982 | Entered service as GE10078E |
| 2000 | Fully restored as 24068 |
| 2010 | Gifted to the Charitable Trust |
24068 is a Vestibule Brake Composite Corridor (BCK) designed by LNER CME Sir Nigel Gresley. It has a welded underframe with a teak body and a Rexine interior in art-deco style. It has two first class and four third class compartments seating 12 and 24 respectively, together with two toilets and a guard's compartment at the end next to first class[1].
Contents
Contents
Service
24068 was outshopped at York in 1937 as one of 13 built as Lot 700 to Diagram 175 for use in the LNER's north eastern division (Gresley's numbering system classified vehicles according to the operating division to which they were allocated and made no distinction as to the type of vehicle). It was renumbered 10078 in the 1943 renumbering of LNER locomotives and carriages. Following nationalisation it became BR number E10078, E10078E and finally GE10078E after the Great Eastern section received its own prefix.[1] During BR ownership the varnished teak panelling was painted crimson and cream and later maroon.
Most similar carriages were withdrawn in 1964 awaiting conversion to carflats, but GE10078E had just been outshopped after an overhaul and was therefore spared. However it apparently never returned to traffic but was stored in sidings at Leeman Road, York until 1968[2].
Preservation
GE10078E was purchased for preservation from York by Dr Geoffrey Noon, but not before seats, internal doors and many fittings had been removed. It became the SVR’s first Gresley Coach when it arrived on 9 September 1972.[3] In summer 1974 10078 was one four carriages requested for the following year's 150th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway event at Shildon,[4] although the time needed for restoration meant that other carriages eventually attended instead.
By autumn 1976 10078 had received a new roof canvas and some attention to body panelling, although much re-panelling in teak-faced ply remained to be done, as did the interior refitting.[5] The carriage returned to Bewdley paint shop the following summer for further work on restoration into varnished teak livery with work continuing intermittently through 1978.[6] After ownership passed to The LNER (SVR) Coach Fund in 1979 work was resumed on the compartments, with a small team replacing ceilings and applying new rexine to the walls and fittings. Dr. Noon had supplied many interior fittings including LNER mirrors and pictures to help with this.[7] Work continued slowly with all the third class walls and ceilings re-rexined and seats installed by Spring 1981.[8] In April 1981 the carriage was moved into Bewdley Goods shed. By summer 1982 about three quarters of the exterior has been stripped and varnished, replacing panels as necessary using all the re-usable teak off 16600 (scrapped in 1980).[9] Sapele wood was also used as a teak substitute for some of the exterior panels on cost grounds. Although still unfinished and un-numbered, the carriage was eventually pressed into service in September 1982.[10][11]
Because the external renovation was not complete, no signwriting or lining out was carried out although the original LNER number 24068 appeared inside the guard's compartment. To assist the traffic department (who were accustomed to a carriage's running number being painted on the outside rather than on the guard's van ceiling!) Hugh McQuade offered to apply BR transfers. York works reputedly continued to outshop carriages in unlined teak until 1952, so it was considered appropriate to use the post-1946 number GE10078E. That remained as the carriage number until 1992 when, after ten years' SVR service, dragging brakes necessitated a withdrawal from service due to wheel flats.[12][13].
After withdrawal, the carriage was stored in Kidderminster yard awaiting a brake and bogie overhaul, a new roof canvas, some new panelling and attention to the interior. However in spring 1997 K4 3442 'The Great Marquess' was about to be repainted from apple green into BR black, and with open third 43612 just completed there was a chance to run a five coach 1930s LNER train. 10078/24068 was therefore briefly returned to working order to act as the brake coach, becoming the first vehicle through the SVR's new paint shop at Kidderminster in the process.[14] It duly appeared with the K4 and four other teak coaches at various events and photographers’ charters. The full overhaul then began in October 1997 and was completed in spring 2000, interrupted by a brief appearance (using a spare set of bogies)[15] at the SVR's 1998 Autumn Gala in a six-carriage teak set with ex-LNER B12 4-6-0 8572 from the North Norfolk Railway. Following the overhaul the was in lined 1937 LNER livery as 24068.[16]
As part of the original restoration, the missing internal doors had been replaced by some in an early GNR style. During the early 2000s a number of later rexine-style doors were refurbished and the opportunity was taken to replace the doors in 24068 with these, allowing the period-correct GNR doors to be used in the restoration of GNR 2701.[17]
In early 2008 24068 was observed to be riding low. The Gresley carriages have the springs inside the bogie frames where they are largely unseen. Once the body was lifted off the bogies, four broken coil springs were found, some in as many as five pieces. The damage was thought to be due to the carriage being overloaded during the 'GI wedding' on several successive 1940's events. Replacement springs were fitted with a return to traffic in June 2008.[18]
24068 was one of three coaches which in December 2010 were gifted by the LNER (SVR) Coach Fund to the SVR Rolling Stock Trust (now the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd), along with 43600 and 70759.
By summer 2016 24068 was suffering from a leaking roof due to the boards coming loose on the framework and causing canvas splits. To minimise further damage it was therefore decided the carriage would be withdrawn from service as soon as the conversion of Brake Third 24506 was complete, only reappearing for the Flying Scotsman and Pacific Power events. Its next overhaul was scheduled to commence in January 2018 when it was hoped to improve and re-upholster the seating. The roof canvass would also have to come off to allow the standard remedial work (see 43600). It was also hoped to replace a few of the 1980s sapele panels before re-varnishing the exterior. The carriage was returned to use in time for the 2018 Christmas services without all these repairs being carried out.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Longworth Vol 1, GWR and LNER (2018) p.261.
- ↑ SVR Charitable Trust
- ↑ SVR News 26
- ↑ SVR News 32
- ↑ SVR News 41
- ↑ SVR News 44, 49
- ↑ SVR News 54, 56
- ↑ SVR News 59
- ↑ SVR News 64
- ↑ SVR News 66, 78
- ↑ LNERCF & LNERCG Newsletter 53
- ↑ SVR News 69, 82, 104
- ↑ SVR Charitable Trust
- ↑ SVR News 122
- ↑ SVR News 129, 132
- ↑ LNER (SVR) Coach Fund
- ↑ SVR News 142
- ↑ SVR News 164
Links
- LNER 24068 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line
- 24068 on lnersvrcoachfund.org.uk
- 24068 on svrtrust.org.uk
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