SVR wagons 2011

Always glad to see them Ian and I always enjoy seeing the work going on whenever I am at Bewdley - only wish the SVR made more use of the fantastic waggon fleet there.

 

Agreed, however, they do not carry passengers. I'm sure, esp with our current financial position, if you could come up with a revenue earning idea with our wagons, they would be prepared to listen

 

Invaluable Olly, thank you for reporting and for your work. I read it every week and I know it is widely appreciated

Patrick

 

Sorry for the delay this week.
I am hoping that we have finally sorted the brakes on 68501, although the way this problem keeps coming back, i'm not confident at the moment.
The china clay wagon also had some minor brake attention while the cattle wagon recoved some cleaning and painting on the frames, while the hole where the floor was on 40554 has recived the same treatment thankls to James and Pete (who has yet again spent his holiday from London, helping us out).
Not sure wether there will be an update next week, silly season is here again, and I havetwo gurads turns and a firing turn, and possiably a day at my payed job over the weekend, however, the wagons will be getting rather more of my attentions than the Royal wedding at the end of the month, so feel free to come and say hello.

 

sorry for trhe very brief report this week, but it is that time of year where our staff becomes depleated by duties on other departments,
When I was there on friday, the cattle wagon had had a substantial ammount of cleaning and priming done on the rock side of the chassis, with a god bit of rubbing down underneath. As I went passed in a guards van on sunday, she was outside, so I'm hoping that means the cleaning and priming is complete, but I'll have to get back to you on that.
Deppending on my finances, I may be away next week, I have to hope for more money so I can afford my trip, but regular readers should hope I'm still skint, in which case, you should get a more complete report.
Ian

 

Well this weekend started frustraitingly, with us trying to repair two shackles to put onto a warwell at some point, which took an awefull lot more effort than we expected.
I can report that my suspicions were correct when I said I expected the chassis of the Cattle wagon to have been spray painted last weekend, and this weekend, the interior got its frist coat of top coat.
The well floor for chaired sleeper wagon 40554 got the first of the new plates cut and drilled, soon to be fitted, it will be nice to be rid ofthe huge hole inthe floor, untill we take the next piece out of course.
Many thanks to the people who took advantage of the SVR's members weekend to have a look round and a chat, hope to see many more over the comming months
Ian

 

Been one of those weekends i'm affraid. Myself and Rod were dispatched to Bridgnorth to change the draw bars on the Warwell and check we could undo the buffers ready to change them at a later date, sadly, after an hour and a half of thumping with a sledge hammer, the draw bar still wouldn't move, we tried the buffers and broke the spanner, and returned to Bewdley in a less cheerfull mood.
The cattle wagon has recived a coat of top coat to the interior, while the mica B has had some patches of the frames re-painted.
40554 has had the southern end of the well flor finished off ready for a coat of paint and riveting
I'm affraid I am firing and guarding for the next two weekends, but I'll keep you as up to date as I can
Ian

 

Warwell Olly? {Scrabbles for SVR Stockbook}

LNER Warwell Well Wagon No. 314153 built 1944 in Gloucester for the WD as WD1150, and owned by SVR Association

Patrick

 

Not sure, it says Bogie Bolster on it, but it is a warwell, it currently has 2968's tender on it

 

The LMS bought some redundant Warwells and converted them to bogie bolsters. The bolsters in the centre of the well were built up to match the height of those at the ends. There was (and presumably still is) one at the GCRN (http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=5560) which had subsequently (but presumably pre-preservation) lost its bolsters and effectively become a Weltrol (you can't really call it a Warwell once it has lost its screw jacks as it wouldn't be fit for its original purpose). Maybe the LNER had similar conversions (certainly the LNER and LMS built special wagons for each other) and yours is one of those?

Just a wild guess though.

Phil

 

The wagon to which I referred was http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=2246, but I forgot to take a squint last weekend to see if it's the one supporting 42968's tender

Patrick

 

yeah, thats the one, would have to argue with their assesment of its condition!

 

...And it does look to be a bolster conversion as I described, with one bolster surviving on the shoulder of the well at one end and the stump of another visible at the other end. There would have been another one or two in the middle of the well as originally converted, and I think one at each extreme end too. One of the LMS wagon books has a photo of an LMS version, which as I say were very similar if not identical. I didn't know the LNER had any though.

Phil

 

not a conversion as far as i am aware

 

If it started life as a Warwell, it will probably still have its tank track grippers along both edges. That would be the giveaway. Certainly LMS 360332 at the GCR (from the batch bought by the LMS, this one converted as a boiler carrier) still has the tank grippers. There is probably a technical term for them but they're basically metal 'teeth' that stick up all along both sides. Maybe yours is different, but it looks very similar to me...

 

Built at Gloucester RC&W in 1944 for the WD, the SVRs bogie bolster B or WARWELL was initially allocated number WD1150, before being absorbed into LNER stock as 314153 after the end of the war. It was later sold to Patent Shaft Steel works at Wednesbury before arriving on the SVR in 1980, so, YES built as a warwell, NO, not a conversion, and YES and LNER wagon from 1945 to 1948

 

Well, the VCT photo clearly shows the base of two bolsters (one more intact than the other) and a distinct lack of screw jacks. Either it was a conversion, or it wasn't built as a Warwell. My money is on a conversion, probably when the LNER bought it in 1945 or very soon afterwards, as I know that the LMS had similar conversions and that the LNER and LMS shared construction of many 'special' wagons. But I am no expert on WD wagons - maybe someone will know for certain what it looked like when new.

Here are a couple which retains their screw jacks, for comparison:
http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=4520
http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=2959

If it is a bolster conversion (albeit with only one and a half bolsters remaining) it is arguably far more historically interesting than a 'standard' example of which there are several.

Thanks for the other historical details.

Phil

 

remember the life it had in industrial service, the screw Jacks probably went the same way as the correct draw gear, as it was also not built with GWR loco buffers (Nor the wooden dumb buffers she arrived with) or short wagon draw gear. Bearing in mind that as I previosly stated, she belonged to the patent shafts (name gives the nature of their business away) the bolster and bulk head are more likely from there

 

Well, it's quite possible the conversion was an industrial one, it just looks rather good. I'll have to try to dig out a photo of the LMS bolster version to see if the bolsters look the same. But for the LNER version I suppose we'll have to await the final volume(s) in Peter Tatlow's LNER Wagon book series. Although I can email him and ask if you like.

Meanwhile... have you found the WD number on it anywhere and if so, where? I'd quite like to have a closer look at LMS 360332 to see if I can find its original number, as I don't believe it is known.

Cheers,
Phil

 

its kind of the one mentioned in an earlier post...... WD1150, mentioned in our stock book and so in the records we have of the wagon, don't wish to sound rude, but the time spent working on it, swrearing at the wreched thing was a higher priority than looking for the WD number. Sorry i can't be of any more help, hope you understand my reasoning.