Last T stock for sale (Spa Valley)

Indeed I had. Wondering how to respond - if at all. Sad.

Went to the SPA Valley in 2010 when they were supposed to run both coaches for a special LT event. Only one was available to run. However, I covered it photographically for Underground News and the feedback from them was excellent. It seems as though the LT side of it has gone downhill since then. We are most likely going sometime next weekend, which was planned long before this was posted, but am in two minds whether to make myself known or not.

Or the Buckinghamshire railway centre?

I guess re-equipping them would be out of the question?

You missed off the capital at the beginning of the sentence.

Maybe T Mobile could sponsor the restoration!

Only half (6 cars) of the 1927 MV batch was vacuum braked and worked with 15 cars of dreadnought stock. The rest of the fleet was Westinghouse air braked and ran initially with bogie stock and later purpose built trailers. The cars in question fell into the latter category. The 3 trains of vacuum braked stock were converted to Westinghouse from 1935.

The wiki artical on the T stock is fairly authoritive, being based on info in 'Steam to Silver'.

What became 'T' stock motor cars did work with trailers of Ashbury stock that had been converted to electric sets, in place of the converted motor cars of that stock.

There are differences between the control equipment of Sarah as now, as at the time of Dreadnought service, and of the T stock, and thats before you get into brakes and motors and gearing. It is a pity that more of the Met compartment stock wasn't kept, frankly, as its debateably what could be formed including all of whats left, even before you get to questions of authenticity.

A caption from a picture of the opening of the Stanmore branch springs to mind though. The picture is of a multiple unit including MW or MV motors, a pullman and the Rothchilds saloon, and a few dreadnoughts. The comment was that it must have caused the electrical engineer at Neasden some headaches in getting the wiring to match and work! I bring it up because given the changes the innards of the Met-Vic locos and the T stock motors underwent over the years, perhaps the most practical way forward would be to start with making something similar to what went before but compatible with what there is now.

Or... if you realy wanted to maximise potential sources of income... some kind of electro-diesel gubbins?

For info, these were stored out in the open when i visited last summer, at Groombridge:

wavygravy.smugmug.com/Trains/South-Trip-Day-1-Hampshire/i-FbNQFcb/0/M/P1110004-M.jpg

Now March 2014 and still no buyer. Probably because they would need some serious attention before they could become useful to a preserved railway.

I wonder if a preservation group could be put together?...............

maybe they should either scrap it or put in safe place till buyer is found

Is the LTM not interested in buying them? They could be kept in ruislip?

Presume no interest from Bucks Railway Centre (Quainton) either, which is a great shame. I'd hate to see these scrapped.

This has been dealt with some time ago but....

The trouble with these cars is that their traction equipment was removed some time ago. They are at best useful as Driving Trailers. I'm not sure where or if any equipment could be found to get them running. I don't really think C stock motors could be adapted nor the MA/Compressors either. T stock used Electro-Pneumatic equipment which is very different to the PCM used on the more recent stock. They would need vacuum brakes to operated with Dreadnoughts which they did not originally have!

I'd hate to see them scrapped though. Can we club together the 20K needed?

You would have to cable the dreadnoughts to form what in North Eastern parlance is called a 'control set', although I don't think that would be prohibitive. One of the cars could then run as a Driving Trailer, with a MetroVick at the other end.

How many Dreadnoughts can be found in serviceable condition? I spotted some MET coaches in TV's 'Poirot' a while back, the camera carefully keeping the round top of the door out of shot, so they must be still around.

It wouldn't be necessary to fit the original spec. running gear, at least not initially. Ex-SR gear could no doubt be adapted as a stop-gap measure. Many a pre-war Morris or Wolseley has survived with a Minor 1000 engine and 'box dropped in, (and arguably been a better car for it, although I couldn't possibly comment).

It isn't a great deal of money. We're not trying to re-create a 5BEL. Storage is probably going to be the major consideration.