Didcot launches £180k bid to restore Dreadnought as new
A £180,000 appeal has been launched by the Great Western Society to rebuild one of the most important but yet unrestored carriages in the heritage sector – the sole survivor of George Jackson Churchward’s revolutionary GWR ‘Dreadnought’.
No. 3299, a third-class example built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon company in 1905, was acquired by the society in 1964. It was initially stored at its former base on the Totnes Quay branch and has been at Didcot Railway Centre since December 1967 but has yet to run in traffic there.
When Churchward was appointed as GWR Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1902 he set about modernising the Swindon empire’s locomotives and rolling stock.
His first major change in coach building came about with the 1904 introduction of the Dreadnoughts carriage to replace the dated 50ft clerestory coaches.
The Dreadnoughts were 70 feet long, nine feet and six inches wide, had external doors only at the ends and in the centre of the coach, and could carry up to 72 passengers compared to the clerestories’ maximum of 48. It was the first GWR coach design to exploit the loading gauge to the maximum. The width and extreme body profile of the Dreadnoughts meant that the doors had to be recessed, so that the handles and grab irons did not foul the loading gauge and so that the doors could be made flat for easier hanging, resulting in their distinctive appearance.
The side corridor unusually changes sides halfway along the coach, possibly with the intention of better weight distribution.
Naval nickname
Their nickname came from HMS Dreadnought, a 527ft long battleship also built to a revolutionary design around the same time, and which entered service in 1906.
The Dreadnoughts were unpopular with staff and passengers, and only saw a few years’ service on the ‘Cornish Riviera Limited’ before being replaced and relegated to less-glamorous traffic.
No. 3299 was built in 1905 as part of the last batch of Dreadnoughts as a spare coach to fill in for maintenance on the main sets and to bolster summer holiday capacity.
After being withdrawn from passenger use in 1951, it was used at Newquay as a dormitory for summer service catering staff. It was bought by GWS member David Rouse, who gifted it to the society.
The scale and extent of the work needed to restore No. 3299 has resulted in it being sidelined into the far reaches of the Didcot carriage shed for several decades – until now.
The quality of recent restorations carried out by Didcot’s carriage and wagon department, especially on Victorian carriages, has shown that the team has the required capability and skills to tackle the Dreadnought – and create the ideal coach to be hauled by the society’s awardwinning new-build Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend.
Accordingly, exploratory and preparatory work has been carried out in order to compile a proper restoration plan. Much exterior panelling has been removed to survey the condition of the timber framework beneath it.
“Considering that the coach stood in the open at Newquay for many years providing sleeping accommodation for dining car crews – and then fulfilled the same function at Didcot for more than another 20 years, it has survived remarkably well,” said the society’s carriage and wagon manager Mick Howse. “The timber bottom rail, cant rail, waist rail, gangway ends, and doors all require extensive repairs or renewal, as does at least the top layer of the floor boarding.
“There is evidence of accident damage to one corner of the coach which will have to be addressed.
“Although the internal bulkhead, corridor screens and compartment doors are intact, the compartments themselves were stripped out when the coach was converted for the sleeping accommodation, so the interiors will need to be fully rebuilt from scratch, including the manufacture of period upholstery and many fixtures and fittings.
“New window frames and droplights will also need to be made throughout and be glazed with safety glass to meet current safety standards.
“The coach will have to be rewired completely, the steam heating system overhauled, and the body sides fully repanelled inside and out, with new gangways fitted, plus roof repairs yet to be assessed.”
Appeal fund
To raise the money to overhaul
No. 3299, the society has set up the Edwardian Carriage Fund and has appealed for donations.
If for any reason the Dreadnought project is unable to proceed, money in the fund will be made available for use in other projects, which could include the restoration of the society’s two Churchward Toplights, Nos. 3963 and 1159.
➜ To donate to the Edwardian Carriage Fund, visit didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk or send a cheque or postal order made payable to Great Western Society Ltd to: Richard Croucher, Dreadnought Appeal co-ordinator, Great Western Society Limited, Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 7NJ.
Alternatively, make a bank transfer to The Co-operative Bank (sort code 08-92-99, account number 65459434) for the credit of Great Western Society Limited.