Chatham coach and Midland crane into works at IoWSR
RESTORATION work has commenced on what will be the first working London, Chatham & Dover Railway bogie coach in preservation, at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
No. 4115, an 1898-built Brake Third, was the first grounded body to be acquired by the IoWSR, in 1975. It is to be placed on the underframe of Southern Railway ‘elephant van' No. 4589, suitably shortened by 5ft by removing a section from the centre, while one of its compartments will be converted for wheelchair access.
Sent to the island in 1933, No. 4115 was withdrawn from service in 1948 and grounded on a farm at Atherfield, near Chale.
Despite a lengthy period outdoors, “the upper works are in remarkably good condition for its age,” said IoWSR director Simon Futcher.
It is the first of four LCDR bogie coaches that the line hopes to restore, creating a rake representative of the 1930s, with an appeal to be launched shortly.
Veteran crane
Also brought into the Carriage & Wagon works at Havenstreet recently was Midland Railway six-wheel crane No. 429S.
Built in the 1860s (the exact date is unknown), it was sold to the Isle of Wight Central Railway in 1912, a year after Holman F Stephens briefly served as the line's engineer.
It survived until the end of steam on the island in 1966 before being preserved, and was used extensively in the railway's early years – including installing the buffer stops at Wootton – but has been out of use for about 30 years.
Its metalwork and mechanical parts are sound but all its timber must be replaced, with new wood already acquired. It will be returned to working order, although it is unlikely to be used for anything more than demonstration purposes.
It is believed to have last received a major overhaul just after the First World War, said Pete Jardine of the C&W department: “We have an Isle of Wight Central Railway engineer's report from 1917 that basically condemned it – but it was certainly in use in 1920.
“The railway received its payout for First World War earnings in 1918, so we suspect it was rebuilt then – they had some money for once.”
Lottery funds
The crane and LCDR coach are the last in a series of restorations funded by a £489,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2002, which also paid for the construction of Havenstreet Carriage & Wagon works for the purpose (see panel).
Another Lottery-funded project currently in the works is Isle of Wight Railway Oldbury four-wheel First carriage No. 21. Lower panels have been refitted and seat frames are under construction. A kit of parts for its new timber chassis was acquired during the restoration of sister Oldbury, Composite No. 10, for the BBC's Great Rail Restorations programme in 2017.