WD 314153 Well Wagon

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WD 314153 Well Wagon
WD 314153 20150307.jpg
WD Well Wagon 314153
Status In service
Number 314153
Other Numbers WD 1150, E314153
History
Built 1944
Type Bogie Bolster Well Wagon
Capacity 50 tons
Telegraphic code WarwellTelegraphic code signifying an ex War Department Well Trolley / Bogie Bolster B
1980 Preserved on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1994 Overhauled

Goods Wagons

314153 is 50 ton capacity Bogie Well Wagon, built during the Second World War and originally intended for carrying tanks and other armoured vehicles.[1].

Service

The wagon was built by GRCWGloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in 1944 for the War Department, hence the original telegraphic code 'WarwellTelegraphic code signifying an ex War Department Well Trolley'. Its registration number was WD(M) 1150, although the original wagon number is unknown.[2][1]

Post-war, the wagon was allocated to the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway where it received the number 314153. It was also converted to a 'Bogie Bolster B' by mounting raised bolsters in the well section. After service with BRBritish Rail or British Railways(E), 314153 was sold for industrial use and ended its working life at the Patent Shaft Steel Works in Wednesbury.[1][3] On arrival in preservation, it was fitted with rubber "dumb" buffers, thought to have been fitted whilst in service at Patent Shaft.[4]

Preservation

314153 was acquired from Patent Shaft by the Severn Valley Railway Association, arriving on the SVRSevern Valley Railway from Wednesbury in November 1980.[1] Although initially appearing in a sorry state, it was put to use housing boilers, the first of which was that of 5690 Leander during the locomotive’s last major overhaul.[3]

314153 finally underwent an overhaul in summer 1994. As well as being stripped and repainted, a number of mechanical issues present since arrival on the SVRSevern Valley Railway were addressed. One of the bogies which had been fitted back to front was refitted correctly, enabling the hand brake to be made to work. The wagon was provided with a complete through vacuum pipe for possible future working on the line, although the brake cylinders were not connected. The overhaul also included the fitting of replacement axlebox covers and repairs to a cracked axlebox.[3][5]

314153 has continued in use as a boiler storage wagon at Bridgnorth, as seen in the photograph outside Bridgnorth boiler shop. As evidenced by the coal stored on the wagon, it is occasionally used as an outdoor test bed for boilers, with live steam tests being required before boilers are certified for use in service.

Gallery

See also

List of goods wagons

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book Ninth Edition
  2. Railway Heritage Register Wagon Survey
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 111
  4. T. Wilmore on SVR Unofficial Facebook Group, accessed 2017-10-18.
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 113

Links

WD 314153 on vintagecarriagestrust.org