Carriage & Wagon Report, November 2006
by Richard Johnson, 19th November 2006

Another couple of months have passed since the last report, and as usual, a considerable amount has been achieved.

Work on the refurbishment of our maroon SK (Corridor second) 25743 has continued relentlessly. The exterior paintwork is now virtually complete, and is a very rich deep maroon; two undercoats and two topcoats having been applied. The interior is in the process being thoroughly cleaned, and internal paintwork is being freshened up. There is no point in spending too much time on the interior until all the external sanding and grinding is finished, in view of the amount of dust created. The final thing to be done is that all seats will be deep cleaned.

The maroon BSK (corridor Brake second) 35308 remains outside being worked on. The disabled compartment is having a major revamp, and new internal sliding compartment doors have been fitted to it, which will keep it much more private, and ‘user friendly’. Internally, it will be repanelled in places, where the original match boarding had remained, and new flooring will be fitted. The fluorescent lights being installed will now work directly from the guard’s compartment (previously they had to be switched separately, as this was the former luggage area).

BSK 35308 together with the ex-GWR Toad mess van (now being converted into an Upholstery van) being worked on

As was mentioned last time, when we lifted the coach on the jacks we found three distorted brake shafts, and these have been removed and replaced. New brake blocks have been fitted to one bogie and the brakes have been adjusted. The whole system now works far better than it did previously. Work is on-going on the body; in particular work has been undertaken on one of the guard’s doors and a luggage door which were seriously suffering from rot. They will both be ready to rehang shortly.

When 25743 is finished in about a fortnight, we shall start work on the maroon RMB (Miniature Buffet) 1876, and give it precisely the same treatment. The two TSO’s 4763 and 5042 remain outside being worked on internally as time permits.

We have been very fortunate to obtain another RBr (Restaurant Buffet refurbished) No.1965, pictured right. This has come from MOD Bicester where it has been based for about 20 years, but was declared redundant some months ago. This coach is very similar to our existing RBr 1675 (although not identical). The layout inside is slightly different, as when built in the 1960’s it was classified as RU (Restaurant Unclassified). However it still has the large kitchen area, a buffet counter and seating for 23. We shall refurbish this as we did the other RBr. I have attached a photo of it, which is unfortunately rather dark, but I hope shows enough detail.

Having only just got used to using one RBr this year, On-train catering do not need this second one at the moment. But it will be ideal for when we begin to run regularly from Broadway, and the round trip will be virtually 1½ hours long. The coach is virtually complete in all respects. It is currently pained in drab army green (inevitably), but the body is sound enough. The first job is going to be to take up all the chequer-plate flooring, and examine the condition of the plywood sub-floor. It is bound to need replacing in some areas, as this is a common fault with these coaches. When they were used by B R, it was common practice to wash out the coach after a shift by sloshing a bucket of water over the floor, and sweeping it through drain holes. Inevitably, much of this water seeped under the chequer-plate and rotted the sub-floor.

There has been comment on another part of the website about the proposed carriage shed at Winchcombe. With the point being inserted in the running line after Christmas to give access to the yard for this, I thought you might like to know what is planned. A drawing prepared by Roger Hawkins before he died, shows a 5 road shed, about 380 ft long. This will allow five 6 coach rakes of coaches to be parked under cover. It will be sited on the land where S&T currently store all their important acquisitions.

Once it is built, all service coaches will be based at Winchcombe rather than at Toddington as is now the case. The plan as I understand it is that guards would book on at Winchcombe to prepare their train for the days work; the coaches would be collected by a loco from Toddington, and would be returned to Winchcombe at the end of the day.

The final thing we have done recently is to begin a long planned reorganisation of our workshop. The GWR Horsebox has been moved from its position to another area of the shed, and the area it occupied has now been concreted over permanently. This will allow us to re-site our benches, and tools and will give us much more space to work in. The enhanced working area, with our splendid space heater will create a very agreeable environment to work throughout the winter months.

As the next report will be in early 2007, it seems an opportune time to wish you all a very happy Christmas.