My first item of rolling stock :
This coach was already in situ in the back garden when we bought the house 32 years ago. Apart from the fact that we wanted a large garden so that we could have a dog (no thoughts of garden railways at that stage) the fact that there was a railway carriage in the garden helped to swing it for me. I'm sure you would all be with me on that one !
I must admit that for most of those years I have just taken it for granted as a useful place to hoard junk. It has always been in the back of my mind to restore it but the usual things got in the way, working, raising a family,diy and a classic car restoration which also became a long term project for the same reasons. However with retirement came a bit more time, (and unfortunately a bit less energy !) and I suddenly became aware that it was deteriorating and I had to do something to stop the rot - literally - and preserve what was left, so I have now made a start.
It is actually not as bad as it looks. There is some rot but it is still fairly sound structurally. The panelling appears to be mahogany rather than teak and in places has split and warped but is still solid. The worst problem is the doors, one or two of which have almost disintegrated. I will probably have to try and make some new ones using what's left as a pattern. That should test my woodworking skills !
I will post progress reports in future episodes but finish for now with what I know of the history.
The coach sits on its steel underframe. I assume it arrived here minus wheels and nearly all of its fittings, though how they got it to where it is I don't know. If anyone has any original GER T-type coach door handles knocking about I would be very pleased to hear from you, mine went missing long before my time.
For many years I knew nothing about what the coach was, and in fact only identified it definitely a couple of months ago. I guessed it might be Great Eastern as we are in GE territory and the old couple we bought the house from said they had been told it was brought here from our local station, Rochford, hauled by a team of horses. Despite looking all over it I never found any identifying marks until eventually I found a small GER under the paint stamped into some large brass brackets which go round the lower corners. I also found 515BT stamped into the timber headstocks which, being a bit slow, never meant anything to me until it suddenly hit me - coach no 515, Brake Third !
I thought the best people to help me confirm the identity would be the Great Eastern Railway Society so e-mailed them and in return received a far more comprehensive history than I had expected :
Yes it is GE brake third no515 to diagram 510
It was the final one of a class of sixty built at Stratford works for main line service in 1883 at a cost of about £320
It was withdrawn at the end of 1923
It is 27ft long and originally 8ft wide. During the 1890's it was transferred to the suburban service and in 1902 it was widened to 9ft
The first 40 of the class had a flush facia above the windows, the last 20 had recessed panels like mine
The first 45 had three compartments, the last batch having only two
So it is the last coach built of only 15 to that exact design so, who knows, it could be the last survivor. Incidentally the widening, which was apparently done to hundreds of the old 8ft coaches, was done by splitting the coach lengthwise down the middle and inserting a 1ft section, though about the only visible evidence is in the roof hoops where you can see a section has been spliced in the middle.
I'll leave it there for now, I'm nodding off, even if you're not !
Will post some pictures of the progress in due course
Brian
I look forward to your progress reports with great interest, good luck with the restoration.
