Isle of Wight Steam Railway Carriage and Wagon updates

Thank you kindly !

 

There is encouraging progress to report on the restoration of the Railway’s three SECR carriages. While work on the bogies of Brake 3rd 4149 is progressing at Havenstreet, the underframe has been sent to Bartlett’s of Tenby for rebuilding. In the meantime, there is further good news in that the restoration appeal has passed £100,000 although the total cost is likely to be in the region of £200,000. Further details of progress and how to donate can be found on the website here:

http://www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/historic-carriages-appeal.aspx

 

The latest Carriage & Wagon News has just been published on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway Web site.

The headline new this month is the decision to fast-track the underframe overhaul of SECR Saloon Composite 6375. The body was taken off the underframe last week, the frame will now be cleaned and stripped down before replacement of solebars and headstocks. The frame of SECR Brake 3rd 4149 is already at a contractor, Bartletts of Tenby, for similar work.

All three of our Chatham bogie coaches require heavy underframe repairs, corrosion caused by years of exposure to salt water on Ryde Pier caused them to be withdrawn from service in recent years. Details of the repair programme, and the appeal to support it, can be seen here.

 

The latest wagon rebuild project is making really amazing progress. The Wagon Team, lead by John James, have reassembled the framework of an LBSCR 10-ton coal wagon today from oak timbers that have been prepared over the last few months. Have a look here.

 

I Have a question about the former Brighton Bogie coaches, on the IOWSR, Are these effected by the same corrosion issues as the Chatham coaches , or is it to do with the type of steel used to make the under frames? the SECR was said to be tight, so was the steel used of a inferiour type to what the brighton used for its coach underframes? , or in later days was most of the surviving coaches the SECR type with brighton vehicles only being used as strengthening vehicles? i just find it strange that there has been no talk of having to repair the brighton coaches.

 

We have four LBSR bogie coaches; brake third 4168 has had a major frame rebuild, full third 2403 is on a 'donor' frame that was extensively rebuilt beforehand. The other two, 2416 and 6349, remain fully fit for passenger service.

Full details of the carriage fleet can be seen on the IWSR website.

 

Is this a closed shop facebook as it isn't any good to me.

 

As Islander has stated 4168 is on a heavily repaired underframe (new solebars, headstocks etc) 2403 is on a more modern underframe, 2416 had a body off major underframe repair in 2014 which involved new headstocks and 6349 had minor repairs at the beginning of this year.

Every single one of the original bogie coaches has had extensive underframe repairs, so no the SECR did not use inferior quality steel, indeed the SECR underframes are amazingly complex compared to the very simple LBSCR designs. They have all suffered from the time that they spent travelling up and down Ryde pier, lots of salt water spray!

 

Try clicking on the link or look at my Flickr site

 

Hello,
The FB link here works for me.

Nick

 

Try this link

https://www.facebook.com/IWSR-CW-happenings-611820685590574/

 

As part of the verification plan for the repair of the SECR carriages I have just had a tensile strength test done on a piece cut out of one of the 100 year old underframes. The original steel is indeed of very good quality as Gary has said. Unfortunately sea water is chemically very aggressive. It is interesting to note that the two SECR birdcage brakes on the KESR from the same batch of underframes have not suffered such corrosion.

From the early 50s onwards most of the carriage sets in use by BR on the Island were approximately 50/50 Brighton & SECR so both types went up & down the pier several times a day.

 

The December 2015 edition of Carriage & Wagon News is now available on the IWSR website. Headlines this month are:

• The drive to return our three SECR bogie coaches to service continues. The underframe of Brake Third 4149 is at a contractor for repair whilst the bogies are being overhauled at Havenstreet. The underframe and bogies of Saloon Composite 6375 are stripped for assessment, it is hoped to get 6375 back into traffic during 2016.
• Our current 4-wheeler restoration project, LBSCR 3 Compartment Brake Third 4115, is making impressive progress now. The exterior is pretty much complete, fixed glazing in place and the bodywork looking quite smart in green undercoat.
• The wagon team are well on the way to finishing off the two 10-ton LBSCR coal wagons being restored with the aid of a PRISM grant.

 

The standard of restoration the IoWSR achieve is amazing, it sets the standard. The new sheds (Train Story, i prefered Changing Trains as a name) hopefully will mean less time spent on repaints and more on restoration.

Will it be confusing to have two coaches numbered 4115? The chance of having two carriages that shared the same number in different times in history must be low. It will look interesting if ever they are in the same train.

 

Think it is unlikely both will be in the same train as the one we're currently working on in C&W is a 4 wheeler and the other will be on bogie underframe. Unlikely but not impossible.

 

GCR managed to have two coaches numbered 1852 for many years. Both buffets, too.

 

I have seen mixed 4-wheel and bogie trains on the railway i am sure that i have had a ride in a mixed set many a time. Did both 4115s carry the number all their time on the IOW under the SR?

 

Yes both 4115s did carry that number on the Island, do not forget that the Island had its own numbering system under the SR.

Mixed sets will be very unusual in the years to come as more coaches enter service.

 

The latest Carriage & Wagon News has just been published on the IWSR Web Site. A lot of winter maintenance work going on at the moment, the 2016 operating season starts on 17th March, not far away now!

Repairs to SECR Brake Third 4149's bogies have reached a significant milestone with all riveting work now completed. Work continues towards getting the two bogies back on their wheels.

Progress is being made on our current restoration projects, LBSCR 3 compartment Brake Third 4115 and LBSCR 10-ton coal wagon 28345.

 

As a follow up to the latest C&W News, a series of pictures showing the results of another week of work by the C&W team is now on the C&W Facebook page; the first of SECR Brake Third's refurbished bogies is now back on wheels and the repainting of LBSCR 10-ton coal wagon 28345 continues.

Havenstreet Station now has a live Webcam!