GWR 231 on the P&B Ry

Hello,

GWR 231 is a Clerestory coach that is in a very poor state on the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway.
The South Wales weather has gotten in to all its timbers as it has been standing outside unprotected for many years. It is a 'rebuild' rather than a 'New Build' That rebuild will take many years and cost in the region of £100K. plus.
I see that there is support for various 'New Build' Locomotives and lack of support for other 'New Build' Locomotives.
I wonder what sort of support this carriage might get by being promoted as a charitable trust?
It is a 'Dean' vehicle...though not of the kettle variety.
It is a crack pot idea.....an expensive crack pot idea! Yet it might just be possible that one day it will be able to be sat in....
Drawings...have the numbers and forms from the NRM.
Have been informed that there is a goood chance of covered accomadation.
Have spent the last three years looking into this project.
Your thoughts!


Nick
GWR 231

 

Go for it.

 

You will never know unless you try

 

Its the sort of crackpot idea I like - we can get rather unbalanced at times focussing too much on the loco at the front without thinking about the reason they are there - to pull something - and ensuring that is available.

 

Nick,
Brilliant I'm glad the 813 fund have come to take on the project. I think you organisation is probably the best one to tackle this project.

 

Hi Nick, just wondered what drawings were available from the NRM for it, the GWS at Didcot said they knew of none that existed.
AG

 

The NRM hold the bulk of the Swindon C&W Drawings but they're being catalogued at present so no information is available just yet.

However, the NRM's 'OPC' list has these two entries:

Microfilm aperture card 10096 - G.A. of 8 wheel family carriage (CLER) Lot 804 GWR 1896
Microfilm aperture card 15118 - Diagram of 8 wheel 46'6'' Family carriage Nos.231-39 L804 G31

I suspect that the latter is a 'weight drawing' which will be of little use in restoring the mortal remains of 231, but might serve for modelling purposes as it'll only give key dimensions & a plan view of the internal arrangements. I don't know how detailed the GA is, but if nothing else, it'll include a list of other plans that will serve as a shopping list as & when the collection is catalogued.

Pete S.
C&W Dept.,
GWS Didcot.

 

Ahh thanks a lot Pete, was hoping someone could help, I'll get after them and try to get the info.
Of what use it may be remains to be seen as its not going to be a BFO / Family Saloon.
Myself and a colleague are hoping to come to Didcot soon to gather some idea's / information etc. about Dean vehicles.
Regards

 

Coaches can benefit from grant funding. Although the heritage lottery fund aren't so keen there are plenty of other avenues as the North Staffordshire Rolling Stock Trust have found in obtaining funding for the NSR Coaches.

 

Clearly GWR 231 http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=50 is safe for now but what of two others that were at the P&BR.

THE VCT records the chassis of GWR 9605 http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=257 as presumed scrapped and GWR6479 http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=221 to be in good shape. Earlier this year a GWR chassis turned up at Wooler (Aln Valley Railway outpost) which I was told it had come from the P&BR and the body had recently been scrapped. My hunch is that this is 9605 but someone else assures me it is 6479. Anyone know for sure what the chassis now at Wooler is actually from?

 

Not so keen about the lottery funding route Nigel, more hassle than it's worth apparently, yes grant money would be great but there's so much paperwork!
Right Peter, 231 is certainly safe, no "for now" about it.
The chassis from 9605 was scrapped after component recovery on site at Blaenavon, it left the site in a skip.
6479 is in use as part of a two coach rake, "The Vintage Train" along with GER 3 / 63.
Whatever chassis has turned up at Wooler has not come from the PBR, at least not directly, unless it's from 5500/5539, which I believe are both still at the GWSR.
Regards

 

If you set up as a trust then the options for funding are greater. I think you've misunderstood my earlier post though, the Knotty trust found that the Lottery aren't supportive of projects such as this but other avenues of funding are, such as Scope. Keep in mind that the Knotty coaches have cost in the region of £120,000, most of which has come from grant aid and meant that both vehicles were completed in 4 years, a time scale that wouldn't have been possible without the external funding. If you are serious about this then find someone who has the time and the will to take on the paperwork, it will pay dividends in the long term.

 

Yes I think I may have, not really investigated all options available to us when it comes to additional funding, but will give it a little consideration when plans for the coach are a little more solid. Trying to find someone who can sit down and produce what these organisation's want to hear is quite a challenge, everyone I know would rather be cutting up trees to make wood rather than paper.
I'm hoping to have it in a running condition within 7 years, for its 125th birthday although that's certainly not a promise to anybody...

 

Drop me a PM here when you're thinking of dropping in so that we can compare calendars. Sooner rather than later might be good while we still have the mortal remains of 4-wheel Compo No. 290 around; the framing is mostly only fit for patterns, so is slowly disappearing as a new version evolves next to it.

Pete.

 

7 years.. Crickey good luck!

 

Thanks James, just need to make the dream a reality now

 

I look forward to seeing this vehicle restored in 7 years time!
Strange that no one was interested in this coach until my first posting and then......!
Off to Screwfix to purchase some rose tinted eye protection!

 

Thanks for the quick response, much appreciated.

Been back to the original source who said "Oopps sorry! Mean't, Llynclys not Blaenavon!

Apologies for now going off topic, but as a result of further enquiries have established that the chassis at Wooler is most likely to be that from either Siphon G 1019 or Siphon G 1046. Apparently one of these left Llynclys a few months ago as a complete vehicle but the body was quite rotten and has presumably been scrapped at Wooler. Anyone know which is the one that left Llynclys and know any more about what is happening with it?