CONSTRUCTED in 1962 at WolvertonWorks, No. 35386 was built as aMk.1 Brake Second Corridor (BSK) coach using Commonwealth bogies as part of lot number 30699.
It was ‘borrowed’ temporarily in 1974, joining the Department of Mechanical & Electrical Engineers (DM&EE) and renumbered No. ADB975397. Its predecessor No. DB995000, a former LNER Test Car 2 dating back to 1951, had been part of a slip/brake test between Crewe and Winsford that had not ended well!
Accepted into the test equipment role, the interior was modified in 1976. An electrical generator was installed and several internal layout alterations were made. It is likely that this is around the time that the car was repainted into the traditional departmental red and blue livery of the DM&EE.
LAYOUT
A Perkins three-cylinder 20kVA diesel generator is located towards the ‘B’ end of the coach providing 240-volt AC power for on-board instrumentation systems, heating, lighting and cooking facilities. Diesel is stored in an underframe-mounted 90-gallon fuel tank. To the rear of the generator area, is an electrically driven 10-bar air compressor and a dedicated 150-litre air reservoir.
The workshop area within part of the original BSK luggage area has a useful workbench with a vice, battery chargers and secure storage for the instrumentation cables, tools, test gauges, spare couplings, brake pipes and other equipment.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
LNER puts remaining ‘91s' into warm store
The ongoing pandemic restrictions and major engineering works have resulted in the complete withdrawal of the last remaining ‘Electras’ from passenger service, although the plan is to resurrect them in the summer.
Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet (RBR) cars
A SURPRISING number of Mk.1catering cars have survived to see service on the privatised railway, in private operator and charter trains. They may turn up on anything from an enthusiast special to higher-end dining trains and have been formed in trains as prestigious as the locomotive-hauledBlue Pullman’ set, the ‘Great Britain’ tours operated by West Coast Railways and the ‘Northern Belle’ tour train.
Powerscene
Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.
End for Freightliner Class 86/6s
The company’s Class 86/6 fleet down to just two examples as seven locos are stored.
Service reductions as Covid cases increase
An increase in Covid-19 cases in early January saw the governments in Ireland and Northern Ireland impose stricter lockdown measures that impacted on public transport.
East West Rail funding go-ahead
Although it was expected, £760 million of funding has now been confirmed to build the Western Section of the East West Railway scheme.
Travellers-Fare with Hornby's Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet car
Hornby expands its range of retooled ‘OO’ gauge Mk.1 coaches with a brand new tooling for the Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet car (RB) and the Diagram 33 refurbished version (RBR). It models the vehicles in both original form, finished in BR maroon and Southern Region green, together with the RBR refurbished coaches. They remained in frontline service well into the 1990s, including Cross-Country workings.
Class 92 revolution
Despite its complex shape and high detail ratio compared to other modern six-axle locomotives, Revolution Trains chose the Class 92 to be its first 'N' gauge locomotive model.
Bottling it!
A dig into the Rail Express archive has revealed some rarely-seen photographs of the former rail-connected Express Dairy bottling plant in South West London, which today is the site of a large mosque.
1990s ‘N' gauge Class 950
Work on the ‘N’ gauge Class 950 Track Recording Unit project, a conversion based on a standard Graham Farish Class 150/1 model, is concluded by finishing the model in 1990s condition.
