Severn Valley’s ‘Stove R’ restoration is now complete and open to visitors
FOLLOWING the completion of its long-running restoration, LMS‘Stove R’ six-wheeled parcels/guards brake van BGZ No. 2886 is now welcoming visitors at the Severn Valley Railway.
One of a type designed by William Stanier, No. 2886 was built in 1932 at Wolverton carriage works, complete with corridor connections. Under the LMS, the type’s code was CR or Stove R if fitted and under BR, BGZ. They carried such items as cash, whisky and mail. The nickname ‘Stove R’ comes from when a coal stove was fitted in the 1940s to keep the guard warm.
BGZs had many uses during their long life, but part of their downfall was that they were useful for storage and were therefore mistreated. They lasted on BR as late as the 1980s, but received serious abuse following vandalism after storage, windows being the first to go.
No. 2886 was preserved in 1970 as BR No. 32919, going to the then Dart Valley Railway, where it was repainted. However, it was not needed at the time so was moved by rail to the Severn Valley Railway two years later.
In 1973 it travelled to an open day at British Rail Engineering’s Litchurch Lane Carriage Works in Derby behind ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45110. It also managed two runs on the SVR as a brake that year.
Up to 1976 it served as a temporary bar car based at Bridgnorth, selling bottled brown ale, lemonade and plain crisps – thus becoming the SVR’s first bar/buffet. It needed extensive panel repairs by then.
That year, the then owner took it to Highley and stripped off the panels on one side, returning the following year to remove the other side.
No. 2886 then sat covered with a tarpaulin for several years until the 4150 Fund was looking for a suitable support vehicle for storage of parts and it was sold to the group. The ‘Stove R’ moved to Bewdley for replacement panelling, which was never completed. By 1998, it had once again reverted to storage use.
Steve Downs, of Bridgnorth’s carriage and wagon department, took up its cause. He bought it from the 4150 Fund and moved it to Bridgnorth, where it spent the next few years hidden under a tarpaulin north of the station.
In 2008, ownership was passed to the Severn Valley Railway Rolling Stock Trust, now the SVR Charitable Trust, so that the BGZ’s restoration could receive additional funding.
The vehicle is one of only two original examples to be preserved so the decision was made to restore it to as-built in LMS livery. Around six to eight Stove Rs are preserved.
It is unusual by having a cement floor, as the others had wooden floors. Sadly, the stove was stolen in 1998 but that was not original in this vehicle.
The overhaul restarted in 2010 with the objective of it joining the dining train as a reception vehicle but this did not happen – but maybe that is one for the future.
The same year it was awarded £9,251 of funding by PRISM, the Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material, to cover the cost of materials for rebuilding the bodyshell during the first year of the works.
As with most historic vehicles, rebuilds are not straightforward and donor parts, such as the roof beads, doors and locks, came from the nowdemolished body of coach No. 33002 at Didcot.
By 2015 the overhaul was well underway by Hugh McQuade and the
Bridgnorth team. With the internal works completed, a move was made to Kidderminster Carriage Works for bogie and mechanical works and exterior painting by Ronan O’Brien.
In 2018, No. 2886 was completed in LMS fully lined livery, and in April 2019 it appeared on public display for the first time at the Open House Weekend at Kidderminster.
However, plans were scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The original intention was for the coach to host a mobile exhibition for the repairs to Falling Sands Viaduct, but it became impossible for it to perform this role due to lockdowns.
The National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the project was extended to give the exhibition a longer life and now, in addition to showing the important role the Severn Valley Railway played in opening up trade routes for the region, the ‘Stove R’ now also tells the story of building the railway.
Part one of the new exhibition is inside No. 2886 at Kidderminster and part two is in the Engine House at Highley.
The BGZ is open most operating days and it is worth looking at the high standard of restoration of this historic vehicle, which now plays a worthy role in railway preservation.
Its final duty before use for the exhibition was over the Christmas period, when it served as a present store at Bridgnorth for the 2021 Christmas services.