Mid Hants Preservation Society Gifted LBSCR Coaches

"similar " is not the same "as used on the Hayling Island branch"

 

ya , I know.

 

To be fair the Mid Hants did once have quite a large collection of vintage coaches. 4 Bulleid, 5 Maunsell and 4 LSWR if I remember correctly. Unfortunately the management at the time had a very negative view of them, and saw them as eyesores taking up siding space. So they were sold on or scrapped to make way for more Mk2s. 4367 and 4211 would have gone the same way if it wasn't for a small group of volunteers constantly battling the management to keep them there.

It's a real shame those two Edwardian LSWR dining cars were got rid of. Both now at the Pontypool and Blaenavon, who I believe are now looking to dispose of at least one of them, as well as an Ironclad. Any chance the Mid Hants could take them back on?

Also relatively recently two Maunsell coaches were sold to Swanage. Shame they couldn't have been kept and restored as a prototypical push pull set (which is what Swanage is planning to do with one if them)

Having said that obviously I applaud the efforts of those restoring coaches at the Mid Hants, and am not trying to take anything away from them. Keep up the good work!

 

Taken off the Hayling Seaside Railways facebook page.... turning into the Mid Hants facebook messager it seems

NEW LIFE FOR 'HAYLING BILLY' CARRIAGES!

Four historic railway carriages, that once saw service on the Havant to Hayling Island ‘Hayling Billy’ branch line, are set to enjoy an new lease of life on the Mid Hants ‘Watercress Line’.

http://www.watercressline.co.uk/…/ed10e56395e867bb3ce0567e9…

The carriages which were, minus their wheels and under frames, once used on Hayling as bungalows and chalets. Were originally saved for posterity in the 1980’s by the ‘Hayling Railway Society’. A predecessor to today’s ‘East Hayling Light Railway Society’, who aimed to rebuild the Hayling Island to North Hayling Halt section of the original trackbed (Now the ‘Hayling Billy Trail’), as a standard gauge ‘preserved railway’. After the unfortunate demise of that adventurous scheme, three of the four were for the next three decades kept securely under cover at the Lower Tye Farm of the late Michael Camp, and are reported therefore to be in excellent condition. While sadly the fourth languished in the open air near to a nearby marina, and has consequently not fared nearly as well.

Many years ago, consideration was given to rebuilding one of the carriages, for use on the narrow gauge tracks of the Hayling Seaside Railway. Reducing its width to suit the 2ft gauge tracks of the Beachlands to Eastoke Corner line. But our volunteer’s experience of constructing brand-new, traditional timber-framed carriages from scratch, soon led us to appreciate that to do so would on one hand not have created a very good carriage, and at the same time been an inappropriate use of a priceless historic artefact. So while we are of course in a way sad to see them leave Hayling for pastures new, we wish our Watercress Line colleagues every success in their future restoration to running order. So that in time a full size ‘Hayling Billy’, may once more run on a Hampshire branch line.

Ian Edwards,
Volunteer PR Officer,
Hayling Seaside Railway.

 

Possibly behind an M7 and a Beattie Well Tank in addition to "Thomas"?

Chris:

 

how about Sutton from the Spa? ex hayling loco, its been under repair for ages,

 

You're not wrong about there having been carriages on the line, though most I think had been in departmental or LMR service or for a variety of other reasons weren't available for traffic as easily as the Mk1s and 2s which could be bought on Monday and used on Tuesday straight from BR. I am not particularly defending management views of 20 years ago, but I can understand them given the position the railway was then in (a position which continued really until 2000(ish) and which has taken some years subsequently to really shake off, so I stand by my comment that we weren't in a position to do much with historic carriages. The Maunsell carriages were transferred 10 years ago (so not that recently), and the LSWR carriages went to Sth Wales over 20 years ago.

 

Only just seen this. It's really good news. OK, we're talking about LBSCR coaches on an LSWR line but the Bluebell, an LBSCR line, has three LSWR coaches and no one complains. It would be good if these three vehicles were the beginning of a longer vintage train. I guess there are more coach bodies still out there, but probably very few that have been as well cared for as these three have been.

 

so, is this true? were the coaches used on the line?

 

I am not qualified to comment but all the photos I have seen of the Hayling Billy feature a Terrier and a Push Pull set

 

Unless someone somewhere has detailed lists of stock formations etc, i think the nearest you can get is "of a type used on the Hayling line" to me it doesn't matter if they saw use or not, they are examples of early LBSCR coaches,and are deserving of preservation, they, and the Bulleid coaches should see a change in the MHR, whilst they will not fit in the day to day operation, they, the brighton stock, will be an asset, ,The Bulleid coaches, if outshopped in blood and custard, would be right at home behind the ivatt, and if repainted in early 50's br black, or with British railways on the tender, the Schools, and if a RMB can be put into the same blood and custard, you have another rake,

 

It does matter.... because the justification for using them on the MHR is being stated that they were used on the "local" branch. To paraphrase what someone else said, a rke of LNWR or NER coaches would be just as relevant to the MHR

 

OK, if you want to be historically accurate, then most of the preserved railways have stock that is not typical of what would have ran, as for Justification, are you saying, that in your view they should not have been offered to the MHR? but instead to the bluebell, as its a brighton line? i dought if any of those 3 coaches ran on the hayling branch, but are typical of ones that did , they, once restored will be something new to the railway,and on galas will attract interest,just as the Bulleid rake will.

 

That's not my view at all. I just would prefer that an excuse to run them on the MHR is not manufactured. They should just be restored and used without twisting history. They in all likelihood never ran anywhere near the MHR or Hayling Island, so let's not be pretending they did. They are probably the only chance the MHR will get to have a vintage pre grouping train

 

thats one thing we both agree on, now, did mixed trains ever run on LBSCR routes ? does the MHR have any southern LBSC wagons to form a suitable rake, i actually think that the railway, once these coaches are restored will be a more interesting place , i can picture in my mind, 30925 at the head of a 4 car bulleid/ mk 1 rake waiting for the vintage train hauled by a suitably vintage tank even an suitable industrial saddle tank ,wouldnt look out of place, such as Charwelton,

 

Here's a thought that might work....paint them blue with LMR on the side and retreive Errol Lonsdale. Without checking I can't be sure but they had loads of ancient coaches on military railways...

 

I'd genuinely love that

 

Or paint them any colour you want then, and cover the seats in coal dust and put a grubby NCB engine on the front and treat it as a paddy train.

Gone to hide in the washing machine.

 

It's a re-cration I;d love to see, but the LMR is far more local to the MHR. Mind you if Ropley Coal Mine was operating it would be good....

 

I remember when Gordon and the S160 were in LMR blue on the Mid Hants....

Longmoor Military Railway at the Mid-Hants by Arle Images, on Flickr