ESR creates a permanent David Shepherd exhibition coach
WORK is underway in the East Somerset Railway's Cranmore shed to turn a Mk.1 coach into a permanent exhibition space dedicated to the line's late founder and well-known wildlife artist David Shepherd.
BG No. 81156 was previously equipped for use as a kitchen car on the ‘Mendip Belle' dining train but was retired in August 2020 after three years' use in that role.
It has been replaced by Mk.1 BSK No. W35487, which has been transformed into a kitchen car with disabled dining facilities.
The BG (brake gangwayed) is now being fully refurbished as an exhibition coach.
At the end of the season, one of the ESR's operational coaches will take its place in the shed for a winter overhaul and repaint.
The project will then be mainly put on hold until next year, so completion could be up to two years away. When officially launched, the David Shepherd exhibition coach will be positioned at Cranmore station.
Livery has yet to be decided, with BR maroon or carmine and cream currently in the running.