Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2009 17:37:10 GMT
While I was typing the stuff about the District line four-wheeled brake third elsewhere a thought entered my head. Are there any Metropolitan Railway rigid 8-wheel coach bodies still extant on the beach at St Helens on the Isle of Wight or have they finally succumbed. I know that they were still there a couple of years ago as I recieved two completely opposite answers about the prospects of preserving one from two members of the Isle Of Wight Steam Railway (one said that it was being considered while the other said that it was totally out of the question!). I made a trip to photograph them some twenty years ago and there were at least twelve of them there then. I know that times are tough and preservation of such an item would involve an awful lot of time, effort and money but it would be a real shame if these vehicles fell by the wayside after all this time.
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
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Post by roythebus on Jul 11, 2009 19:01:47 GMT
I suggest you contact the IWSR again. they have an awful lot of grounded bodies in their collection, but haven't heard of a Met 8-wheeler there yet!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2009 19:20:57 GMT
As far as I am aware the MET bodies are still in use as beach huts at St Helens.
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
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Post by roythebus on Jul 11, 2009 20:13:20 GMT
I've just posted a link from thsi to the KESR site to try and find out about their one.
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
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Post by mrfs42 on Jul 11, 2009 20:57:06 GMT
Am I getting truly confused if I'm labelling the rigid 8-wheelers as 'long charleys'?
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Post by tubeprune on Jul 12, 2009 7:46:28 GMT
Am I getting truly confused if I'm labelling the rigid 8-wheelers as 'long charleys'? Or "Long Charlies" but no, they are recorded as having been called that. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2009 8:52:08 GMT
According to the K&ESR link thier vehicle may be part (4 compartmentys only) of a rigid 8-wheeler. The St Helens bodies were complete. The last time I saw them they still had the original door handles and some even had 'smoking' etched in the windows.
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,275
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Post by roythebus on Jul 12, 2009 9:06:12 GMT
Oh, and I thought etched windows was a modern phenomenon!
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,275
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Post by roythebus on Jul 12, 2009 11:14:14 GMT
My colleague Chris Taggart of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway says: "There are still carriage bodies at St Helens, but I'm not sure which ones; I'll ask Pete Jardine. There is some information on the carriage bodies we currently own on our website. There is a policy document called 20-20 vision, which is referred to in the Strategic Vision, which identifies carriage bodies, which we currently don't own, but would like to if & when they become available. Strategic Vision is on the website". www.iwsteamrailway.co.ukPete Jardine is the IWSR's carriage boffin. |
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,275
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Post by roythebus on Jul 12, 2009 19:55:53 GMT
And this reply from Jonzdad on the KESR website:
"I believe this came up in a Terrier article relatively recently. You would have to do some digging through back numbers but, if I remember it correctly, the body jointing at one end suggests what the KESR has was part of a longer vehicle."
So, District Railway no.8 on the KESR could well be a Met 8 wheeler, or part thereof.
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Ben
fotopic... whats that?
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Post by Ben on Jul 12, 2009 20:07:41 GMT
Wasn't the district 4 wheeler the one that was found in two halves and mounted on a modern underframe? Or was that a different carraige?
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
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Post by roythebus on Jul 14, 2009 6:20:43 GMT
Jonzdad has found the following on the KESR website and throws further doubt on their 4-wheeler:
"The number 100 seemed to fit the general description of a batch of District Railway coaches built by Ashbury's in 1884, including some four-compartment first class examples. However the No. 100 amongst these had five compartments and was second class.
It has been suggested that the two ends of a longer coach were mistakenly spliced together and a Metropolitan Railway rigid 8-wheeler of some time later than 1868 has been put forward as the possible candidate. This theory fails however as the cut between the two halves was irregular and the portions fitted together exactly. During the course of an intermediate overhaul during 1999 the panelling of one end was removed and renewed. It was observed at that time that the framing, although perfectly sound for its function, appeared to have been cut back from an originally longer structure. This seems to add weight to the theory that No 100 was originally part of a Metropolitan 8-wheeler and not the entire body of a District Railway vehicle."
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,275
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Post by roythebus on Aug 17, 2009 5:55:45 GMT
As an aside to the main thread, when I worked as a guard on the Isle of Wight in the early 1990's, we'd just restored the North London Railway four-wheeler, and very nice it looked too.
A lady passenger commented how nice it was and how much better it was than the trains on her line. "What line is that" we asked. "The North London Line" she replied. Hmmmmmmm.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2009 16:06:32 GMT
The IoW Steam Sailway is one of my favourites. A couple of years ago my Wife and I took the girls over for the 'Santa Specials'. The girls got to see Santa, the Wife got a mince pie and a glass of sherry and I got to ride in the four-wheeled Ventnor west push-pull set. Result!
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