RARE EAST COAST JOINT STOCK SLEEPER CARRIAGE RESTORED TO FORMER GLORY
Owners consider putting luxurious 1896-built First Class sleeper carriage up for sale.
Arare East Coast Joint Stock First Class sleeper carriage, which spent decades in the open on the Yorkshire coast, has been restored to its former glory. The carriage, No. 236, was designed by North Eastern Railway Chief Mechanical Engineer Wilson Worsdell and built in York in 1896 for use on the overnight expresses between King’s Cross and Edinburgh. It is one of only six complete surviving ex-ECJS vehicles, although remnants of at least one other are known to exist. Five other part-preserved bodies have been scrapped post-preservation. As built, No. 236 comprised two twin and five single sleeping compartments, a smoking compartment (which later became a sleeping compartment) plus a compartment for the attendant and two lavatories. Operated exclusively on the East Coast Main Line for the entirety of its 29-year working life, No. 236 was first used on a special press publicity trip in June 1896. Withdrawn in 1925, the body was removed and taken to Cayton Bay in Scarborough for use as accommodation in the holiday camp there; the interior layout was reconfigured to suit its new purpose. The clerestory carriage has remained in the ownership of the same family since 1949 and, since its removal from Scarborough for restoration, has been united with a 1920s Great Eastern Railway underframe (complete with appropriate Fox bogies) – it is presumed that the original was scrapped after withdrawal. Restoration started in 1995 and has been done to a bespoke standard. Since 2009, the carriage has been kept under cover in a purpose-built building in Newton-on-Ouse, just outside York. No. 236’s owners Michael and Gloria Smith said: “The carriage has not been restored back to a sleeping carriage – in which the compartments were very small – but more as a luxury unit, which consists of two bedrooms, a dining area, an office and two sitting rooms,
so that it is more functional as accommodation.” Once the finishing touches have been completed, Mr and Mrs Smith are considering selling the vehicle. “After 66 years in the same family, during which time the carriage has been loved, cherished and greatly enjoyed, we have decided the time has come for a change. “We will be very sad to see it go, but wish it well on its journey into the future. Having it in our lives has been an honour.” Once sold, it is very unlikely that No. 236 will form part of an operational rake as, says Mrs Smith: “It’s been restored to museum standard, so it really needs to be indoors.”