Mutual carriage swap in Devon

A mutual Mk 1 carriage swap has seen the South Devon Railway (SDR) send its buffet 4802 to the Dartmouth Steam Railway (DSR) in exchange for its CK (Corridor Composite) 16071. The buffet, previously a second open, was converted into a buffet/disabled access coach in 2009 by the SDR and has recently been stripped to almost a shell pending major structural repairs.

Preserved in 1985, 16071 has seven compartments (four First and three Standard), and is complete with original fixtures and fittings. It moved to the DSR from Llangollen in November 2020, where it had previously been in WR chocolate/cream, before being turned out in BR blue/grey. It then spent some time in store.

Since reopening post-covid, the SDR has been selling compartments at £45 per single trip, and these have been selling out on many trains. The addition of the CK will enable it to expand this market. In “reasonable condition,” the CK requires “less work than other carriages currently in our restoration queue,” says the SDR.