LNER Coach Association reveals major developments for its fleet
THE LNER Coach Association (LNERCA) has unveiled several major developments that will make it one of the foremost railway carriage groups in the country.
Most significantly, it has taken out a five-year lease on an a 6000 sq ft industrial unit at Kirby Misperton, near Pickering – an off-railway workshop and storage area being next door to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway's own carriage bogie overhaul facility.
The building can accommodate three carriages and it is to become the group's main restoration base, with the group's allocated space in the Atkins shed at Pickering station (which it shares with the Pickering Wagon Group) to be used for the maintenance of the operable carriages in the NYMR-based teak train, which are now on hire from the association, with the hire fees used to pay for the maintenance of the carriage bodies and interiors. NYMR staff will carry out the mechanical maintenance.
The newly-acquired building will also provide workshop, storage, office and mess facilities. It also has space outside for car parking and possibly some external storage for bulky items. No tracks are envisaged as being laid in the building, with transport contractor Reids Heavy Haulage using special ‘skids' to manoeuvre carriages into and around the building on its flat floor. Although a somewhat unusual approach, it is a proven method that enables more flexible use to be made off the available space.
Allocation
The three initial vehicles planned for the building, the first arriving in the near future, are Gresley corridor third (TK) No. 23896, the LNERCA's next major restoration project – Thompson non-corridor Lavatory Composite (CL) No. 88339 and NER open first (FO)
No. 2119. No, 23896 is one of the former BR Eastern Region Control Train Cars for which it was converted into a generator coach and after being purchased for preservation, initially by Resco Railways, which later sold it to the LNERCA. Stored at Carnforth for many years, it was externally restored by Carnforth Railway Restoration & Engineering Services under contract. Attention will now turn to its internal restoration. As a mid-1930s built carriage, the interior finish made extensive use of Rexine for covering the upper walls and ceiling, although the corridor was still panelled with varnished teak matchboard.
The second vehicle due to enter the new workshop will be No. 88339, one of only two surviving examples of Thompson non-corridor carriages. Although it has been in use on and off since the very earliest days of the NYMR, it has not operated for some time due to its deteriorating condition, and for the past few years this has been stored under cover at Spennymoor, having been moved there to clear space for the construction of the NYMR's new carriage storage facility.
The opportunity has been taken to carry out extensive repairs to the timber framing and doors and this work is well advanced. The steel body panelling has been removed to gain access to the body framing and is to be replaced with new steel panelling. Once restoration is complete, Nos. 23896 and 88339 are both expected to become part of the NYMR teak train, although No. 88339 will probably be eventually displaced by a corridor vehicle when enough are available. Its role thereafter may be to form part of a non-corridor set for use at galas, paired with the two carriages being restored by the Hull & Barnsley Rolling Stock Fund, although it will also act as a spare vehicle to cover maintenance of the teak train.
No. 2118 has been stored on a farm near Malton in recent years, having spent the first part of its preservation life at the Great Central Railway. It was rescued from Bounds Green depot where it was used to house degreasing equipment and is now in a very poor state.
Conservation
It is planned to use its time under cover to stabilise and conserve its timber body frame to make it fit for long-term storage, as restoration is not seen as an option at present. It is, however, an important carriage, one of only two surviving examples of NER corridor stock – the other is NER open third No. 945, also part of the LNERCA collection, which is approaching completion of a 40-year restoration.
The LNERCA has expanded its fleet recently with the addition of two more coaches. Fully-restored Thompson ‘Flying Scotsman' buffet/restaurant car No. 1706, which was restored and based at the Llangollen Railway, has been placed in the care of the association by its owners, although they retain ownership.
It is due to move to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, where it will be kept under cover, as a result of the LNERCA part funding the extension of that line's carriage shed. It will be joined there by another carriage moving there from Llangollen, although in this case one purchased by the LNERCA, in East Coast Joint Stock corridor third No. 377. Built in 1907, it is one of the very earliest preserved examples to have received what became the characteristic Gresley domed roof.
To help fund all these developments the LNERCA is aiming to raise £50,000. An anonymous benefactor has offered to match every £1 donated by June 1 with a further £1, meaning that every £20 donated by a taxpayer is worth £45 when gift aid is taken into account.
➜ Donations to the appeal are invited either through www.LNERCA.org or by bank transfer to the LNERCA account at Lloyds Bank, sort code 30-64-64, account No. 27410460: use “MF”, followed by your surname as a reference. A Gift Aid form can be downloaded from the LNERCA website and sent to the Treasurer, Mr A Laming, 4 Orchard Lane, Sowerby, Thirsk, YO7 1NE, or scanned and emailed via the website address.