VIEW FROM THE VESTIBULE As the time comes around to start put- ting The Droplight together, there is always the slight worry - will there be enough material? There were no such worries this time, which is an indica- tion of the level of activity over the past year - a lot has been going on be- hind the scenes to ensure that the LMSCA has a sustainable future, and as far as the `nuts and bolts' side of things is concerned, 2003 was a very successful year for acquiring spares. CONTENTS Indeed, at the time of writing a team has been rescuing gangways for future The Chairman's Ventilator 2 use, in a combined effort with other Finance Report 3 groups. A big `thank you' is due to Time Spent Wisely? 4 everyone who has helped in any way. Membership Report 4 2004 should be an interesting year, 3031 Progress (TK2) 5 with efforts concentrated on finishing Scouse Gold 7 3031 (TK2), and taking the initial steps with the NRM Third Open 7828, not LMSCA and the Carriage forgetting (fingers crossed) the result of Convention 9 our application for charitable status. The LMSCA the National We are fast approaching our first Railway Museum and 7828 10 AGM as mentioned elsewhere. When The Third Open Years 1923-2003 12 we say we would like to see you, we Progressive Railway Carriage really mean it! We also realise that Lifting and Repairing 15 many of you live a fair distance from Scotland Trip 2003 21 Derbyshire and travelling can be diffi- cult at this time of year, but if you pos- Shake, Rattle and Roll 22 sibly can, do please come along. Notes and News 23 Season's greetings to you all. Jestoration! 23 David Winter (Editor) The LMSCA Vehicles 24 Opinions expressed by contributors are Cover design from an Eric Treacy not necessarily those of the LMSCA photograph © NRM, Catalogue No. MH-ET LS 769 © LMSCA 2003

1 THE CHAIRMAN'S VENTILATOR

In the Summer issue of `The Droplight' I mentioned the negotiations which were in hand for the long-term loan of LMS carriage No 7828 from the National Railway Museum. Eventually, on the 15` h October, 7828 was delivered on a low-loader. The carriage is described elsewhere in this edition. Our task over the next two or three years is to restore it to a condition worthy of the NRM. The first stage will be to conduct a thorough survey of the carriage to establish in detail what work has to be done and report back to the NRM. Restoration work can then start in earnest. At this stage we will need to have assembled a team to carry out a wide range of jobs requiring a variety of skills. I am therefore appealing to our members to come forward and join in this project which when completed will give us a vehicle which can be run in Peak Rail train and allow us to experience the way we travelled all those years ago. 5 We are approaching the first AGM of the Association, which will be held on the 31 ` January, when I hope that as many of our members as possible will be able to attend. As well as the formal business meeting we are expecting that the NRM carriage LMS 7828, and LMS 3031 will be available for members to inspect when they will be ex- changing places in the shed. It will also give an opportunity for members to meet and discuss common problems. Finally, the latest on our application for registration as a charity is that we received a response from the Charity Commission to our application which asked a number of questions about us. A comprehensive reply has now submitted and we are awaiting further developments. These matters, it seems, are not to be hurried.

John Leather

Should our chairman worry about a rival organisation? DW

2

FINANCE REPORT

I thought I had better write a short paragraph in this issue as we are holding our first AGM in January and all members will receive a Statement of Accounts for 2002-3 with their AGM notification. Our current surplus although never as great as I would like, you can never have too much money, remains satisfactory for the Company's current level of expenditure. The first AGM covers the period until May 2003, so far this financial year 2003-4 our income is of the order of £1000 however, our expenditure over the same period has been of the order of £3000 and therefore we cannot realistically pursue any significant new purchases for the remainder of this year. A large proportion of our income con- tinues to derive from membership, sales and donations. In the latter respect we have three members who donate regularly by standing order each month amounting in total to nearly £600 per annum. If any member wishes to donate a regular amount, however small, drop me a line or email and I will send details. The guaranteed annual income generated in this way is extremely helpful in defraying our day to day running ex- penses and in facilitating forward financial planning. The Company's application for charitable registration is ongoing. The Commission- ers have been in contact with us again and we are required to provide them with more information about our proposed activities, specifically to their expectations regarding these. We have recently completed this report and await the Commission's response. You will of course be informed as soon as we have any more information. I hope to meet some of you at the AGM in January, meanwhile may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year and may I thank you again for your continuing support towards the Company's endeavours. It really does help the people at the 'sharp end' to know that others support what the Company is trying to achieve.

Derek Mason

The Trustees would like to thank the following for their kind donations received during the year:

Keith Battersby from Swinton John and Alison Leather from Matlock Mick Bond from Sheffield Adrian Lewis from Higham Ferrers Roger Burgess from Bury St Edmunds Garry Marks from Crewkerne Harvey Coppock from Chesterfield Derek Mason from Belper Cliff Fraser from London Trevor Riley from Derby Donald Grindon from Macclesfield Peter Stanley from Derby John Holden from Lytham St Annes David Summer from Newton Vince Kay from Chesterfield Alan Taylor from Long Eaton James Knibbs from Milton Keynes Arthur Whitaker from Buxton

3 TIME SPENT WISELY ? It is our custom, mainly for insurance purposes, to record shed working times and it soon became obvious that it would also be useful to identify how much was being spent on individual projects. Costs are based upon unskilled labour priced at £6.25 per man hour (£50 per manday) which is the rate used by the Heritage Lottery Fund for calculating matching funding contributions. The results for the last financial year from 1 s ` June 2002 to 31 st May 2003 are as follows:

Project Time (hours) Equivalent cost (£.p)

3031, LMS period 2 TK 1852 11,575.00 86183, BR GUV 84 525.00 Carriage shed building 710 4437.50

TOTAL 2646 16,537.50

Derek Mason

MEMBERSHIP REPORT I apologise for no report appearing in our summer issue, it got missed for technical reasons at my end. I would like to express a warm welcome to this years new members. They are:- Richard Johnson of Solihull, Terry White of Markfield, Sean Martin of Matlock, Andrew Bodden of Manchester, Donald Grindon of Macclesfield, Glyn Jones of Chesterfield. I would like to thank those of you who renewed your membership this year and I hope you will all feel sufficiently interested to renew again in 2004 - I look forward to hearing from you all in the New Year. You will find with your membership renewal form with this issue and what I have called a skills register form which I hope you will fill in and return to me. A very happy Christmas and New Year to you and yours.

Alison Leather

4 3031 PROGRESS (TK2) How many people does it take to write a Droplight article? In this case three - Derek Mason and Alan Taylor bring progress up to date, and Alison Leather relates how she made some droplight straps from, what else, but leather! (Ed.) The last straight approaches for TK2 as all the major repairs have now been com- pleted. Alison has spent many hours filling and sanding the beaded side with spread- ing quality stopping compound until a glass finish was obtained ready for painting. Also the ends, gutters and false windows have been painted in gloss black. Any more painting will have to wait for warmer weather now unless we can get hold of some heating equipment that is? On the compartment side, Derek and John have been working on the cant rail where large sections of cantrail had to be cut out in addition to those already cleared leaving only about 30% of the original intact. This all had to be replaced in sections and sanded down to match the roof contour before the gutter could be replaced. Fortu- nately no roof board replacement was required but the job was made much more difficult by the new felt roof covering fitted earlier. Short sections of guttering of the correct profile were then fitted 'dry' along the whole length and then sealed to the roof - again made more difficult by the uneven roof covering. The gutter ends were finished with metal flashings and the gutter itself cleared to protect the end grain and aid water drainage. Both rainstrips have been fit- ted and sealed to the roof by John and Alison. A start has now been made on fitting the door furniture and the droplights. Each 'set' of furni- ture comprises components from several dif- ferent carriages, but all the pieces are original, some being recovered from Scotland, the origi- nals being in a sorry or non-existent state. The lower panels have been given the Dave Winter treatment and now sport a gloss varnish finish you can comb your hair in! The first door was really easy, as all the components fitted rela- tively easily with little fitting required. How- ever the second door now boasts parts from period 1 (16155 and 3251), period 2 (3031) and period 3 (7555) doors and these, although compatible, took more time to fit. One whole day was spent removing the metal strip which holds the droplight in the 'up' posi- tion and which didn't work somehow. This The paint goes on. Alan Talor was eventually found to be fitted upside down, it was also bent and damaged! By whom and

5 3031 as DM395801 captured on the `big railway' at Warrington Peter Stanley for how long we can only guess! But it had been secured with eight rusty steel screws which all had their heads removed and the shanks drilled out leaving half inch holes which then had to be plugged. The offending metal strip was then refitted only then to find that the droplight itself was deformed. Using an ingenious method (another Alan invention!) comprising three sash cramps, five blocks of wood and a one woodworking bench, the offending aluminium drop- light frame was 'bent' slowly back into its correct alignment, removing the glass first that is! After all this the whole was reassembled and everything worked, just two more doors to go! Inside Alan has restarted work on the compartment side panelling and display boards which will be covered in material purchased by John and Alison. TK2 will shortly be going into hibernation until it is warm enough to complete the painting and final out shopping of the old girl as the new exhibition carriage. This will enable the NRM's 7828 to come inside for investigation and planning of the work required to be undertaken. The Droplight Straps We needed new straps for the droplight windows in the doors of 3031 which we are currently restoring as our exhibition carriage. One alternative was to get some made by a saddler but this would have cost in the

6 region of £20 each. The other option was to make them ourselves, I decided to have a go! About 8 years ago we got permission from a local farmer to remove any useful parts from an LMS horse box. One of the items we kept was the piece of hide from the side of the horse's stall, it was in reasonable condition. My first job was to clean the leather with saddle soap, the next to cut it to suitable size for the straps. I decided that it was appropriate to saddle stitch all the necessary seams. I consulted our local cobbler about thread and she recommended nylon thread rather than standard linen thread on the basis that the nylon thread would be stronger. She agreed to sell me a reel but the order went astray and in the end she gave me suf- ficient thread for the job. I haven't done any leather work for more years than I care to remember, but it started coming back to me! I had to use a pin vice with a darning needle to mark the holes for the stitching, years ago we used a special fine bradawl. LMS straps have a piece of dowel enclosed in the strap at the bottom to prevent it going behind the gap in the door panel and thus becoming lost. With all the necessary stitching done - 4 seams on each strap I treated the finished strap with neatsfoot oil to feed and restore the leather. Finally I went back to my friendly cobbler and borrowed a punch for a few hours and my husband made the necessary holes using the punch and a hammer. The job is now done and I just hope that the leather and my stitching are strong enough to haul up and lower the windows!

SCOUSE GOLD I had an unexpected telephone call a few weeks ago from a friend in the railway busi- ness as he remembered that we were interested in LMS carriages. His task was to dispose of some redundant coaching stock that had been lying around in Liverpool for some years and was consequently badly vandalised and severely fire damaged. It is quite remarkable how ingenious yet destructive some citizens can be when boredom takes a grip, apparently to gain access even jacking apart the vertical members of newly erected 8 foot high palisade fencing! Most of the coaches were modem and consequently of no interest to us, however one, reportedly in a terrible state, was worth further investigation. An LMSCA team consisting of Alison and John Leather, Dave Turnock, Harvey Coppock, Alan Taylor, Dave Winter plus myself was assembled, travelling in three cars and two vans setting out early on the appointed day. With each tongue firmly planted in each cheek and seven sets of crossed fingers we began our 'questionable quest'. Around 10.30am we met up at Liverpool, put on our safety clothing and had our mandatory safety induction course. We made our way down the yard and then, we

7 saw it. Grief, after the initial shock, as you do, we had a cup of tea and a raft of bacon 'sarnies' from the local cafe! Ahem ... to continue, the LMS coach had been a 1935 BTK, converted in the 60s to a tunnel inspection vehicle. The whole roof is flat with half the body length including doors cut down to sill level. Inside at the 'high' end there are the remains of a small workshop and steps from there onto the roof. The whole thing has been set on fire and the local brigade, in the course of putting out the fire, has 'carefully removed' large sections of body panels and interior partitions. The odour and consistency of the re- sidual debris was 'unusual' and throughout the vehicle required a good thrash with a 'Dyson'. "Are you sure this used to be an LMS carriage, we asked?" We had been warned, hadn't we! Seriously, if we ignore the body and the interior, the equipment below the solebar had not been modified, unusual for an ex-passenger now depart- mental vehicle. The complete braking system was intact and inside too the brake col- umn had survived the fire. Suffice it to say that during the remainder of the day and despite the torrential rain, we succeeded in removing the buffers, buffer shanks, draw- gear, brakegear and linkages, brake blocks, axlebox covers, oil pads, vacuum cylin- ders, DA valves, footsteps and a host of other items. A veritable pot of gold. The light began to fail by 6.00pm and we were, by then, becoming tired. We called a halt to recovery work and loaded all our precious components very carefully into the vehicles for transport home. Homeward bound Alan, Dave T and I called in at Mac- clesfield for some refreshments (fish, chips and a large steaming mug of tea) which we voraciously consumed whilst coincidentally marvelling at just what useful stuff you could find on a burnt out wreck! Derek Mason

The LMSCA demolition gang take a breather with their `victim'. Alan Taylor

8 LMSCA AND THE CARRIAGE CONVENTION For the past four years a carriage convention has been held to bring together as many carriage restorers as possible from all over the country to share information, learn from each other and talk carriages. Previous venues have been the Embsay and Bol- ton Abbey Railway, Bluebell Railway, The Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway and this year the Midland Railway Centre. The 2003 event was held over the weekend of 27th and 28th September. Most delegates brought small displays that were put in the restoration shed at Butter- ley, which had been cleared out with the help of members from the LMSCA the pre- vious day. The event began with a train ride to Swanick Junction, where everyone was lead up to the tin tabernacle church on the site, and was welcomed by organiser Lee Sharpe. Two talks were given, one by well respected carriage restorer Steven Middleton who is based on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway on the restoration of carriages and the need for more carriage restorers. The other talk was given by Jon Tyler from the Deeside Railway near Aberdeen (!), on the technicalities of becoming a charity and its advantages for obtaining grants and gift aid etc. Afterwards the delegates were split into three groups and we were then shown around the site. A couple from the Telford Railway demonstrated steam bending of wood, the vintage carriages were opened up to be viewed and 'tried out' to many gasps of 'we're not worthy!' We even managed to get to view the inside of the Midland Rail- way's Royal Saloon. Most of the visitors were taken aback at the standard of the res- toration. One said "If I can only manage half as good a job as that I'll be over the moon!" Derek Mason of the LMSCA felt truly inspired by being able to go into the L&Y dynamometer car and sat in the same seat in which Sir William Stanier sat to view his locomotives under test. That was until someone pointed out the toilet and that he probably sat on that too! The LMSCA took a variety of display boards showing the work undertaken on the LMS Period 2 Third Corridor currently under restoration and information on the other vehicles under the care of the LMSCA. Displays of photos from the numerous visits to the carriage graveyard of Scotland were also exhibited along with the 'carriage ex- change' notice board looked after by Harvey Coppock, plus a short video of the LMSCA exploits was played. The evening catering was provided by Peak Rail's Alan Wooley, who did an excellent Barbeque for the 78 delegates. Alison Leather of the LMSCA served a tasty vegetable soup that she had spent the week before prepar- ing. Everyone present certainly enjoyed the food and it was an ideal opportunity for everyone to mingle and 'network'. Such events really do encourage and motivate us to carry on with our various pro- jects. So it is with more vigour that we press on until the next year's Carriage Restor- ers Convention, which is due to be held at the Vintage Carriage Trust on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Alan Taylor

9 THE LMSCA, THE NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM AND 7828

Sometime in 1996 shortly after the first LMS carriage owning group was formed at Peak Rail the idea was put forward that the National Railway Museum should be ap- proached to enquire if their LMS carriage, No 7828, might be available for an outside group such ours to restore to a state which it deserved. No 7828 was built at Derby works in 1925 and is a 3` d Class open saloon having a seating capacity of 56 arranged with tables with four seats to a table. Nothing unusual s about that you may think, but at that time tables were generally reserved for dining cars and the long-distance passenger would normally travel in a carriage with com- partments and a side corridor. It was to be the first of many open saloons which the LMS were to produce over the next two decades. They became a normal component of express trains and were particularly popular for excursion trains. Following our contact with the NRM a reply was received inviting us to visit York to see the carriage and to talk to the museum staff. At that time 7828 was situated in the open-air without protection which made it particularly easy to inspect, both inside and outside. The first impression was that here was a carriage that really didn't need a great deal doing to it to provide a fine example of an early LMS design which could be run in a train. Inside it appeared to be almost complete and with most of its fittings either attached or readily available. Externally panelling and beading had been fitted but had been painted only in primer. Closer examination however revealed that the roof needed repair and recovering. In addition the side panelling would require complete replacement. A number of other areas of restoration would have to be tackled and we came away to consider what we should do. After some reflection we decided that such a job was beyond our capabilities at that time. We didn't then have the shed and our facilities were therefore primitive to say the least. The NRM was duly informed and we learned much later that they felt the same way about us. In the years that followed it has remained at York, part of the time has been spent inside and more recently under a tarpaulin slowly deteriorating as carriages do with- out attention. How did this carriage come to be at York in this semi-restored condition with no-one to care for it? Investigation into its history reveals an interesting story. This carriage along with several others of pre-war vintage had been formed into an `emergency control train' in the 1960's which, in the event of an invasion or other catastrophe, would become a mobile seat of government. By the late 1970's this con- cept seems to have died and the train was left languishing at Craven Arms where it was discovered by David Jenkinson, then at the National Railway Museum. A scheme

10 was put in hand to restore the train for the NRM to run trips from York using their own steam locomotives. The work was put in hand at the BR Carriage Works at Derby as an exercise for apprentices to practice their skills. As this work was in full swing the closure of Shildon Wagon Works was announced and work was to be trans- ferred to Derby. The result of this meant that the shop restoring the carriages would be required and restoration therefore stopped overnight. The carriages were eventu- ally returned to York in the early 1980's and 7828 has been waiting for its turn for restoration since then. In December 2002 the LMSCA Trustees turned their attention once again to 7828. It was decided that now that the association had facilities for carriage restoration and members had in recent years gained valuable experience in restoration work we could in a position to be considered favourably by the NRM. Accordingly contact was made with the NRM which resulted in a further visit to look at 7828 and discussions with the curators on what could be achieved. The condi- tion of the carriage had further deteriorated, particularly the roof where water had leaked in and some wet rot had developed. The museum authorities were keen for the LMSCA to take over 7828 for a 10-year loan period, with the possibility of an extension. The restoration would be completed in three to four years and the carriage could then be run during the remaining years for special occasions. The arrangements for the restoration are that the NRM will fund new materials and the LMSCA will provide the labour, tools and insurance. Following the negotiations, which were held up pending satisfactory insurance ar- rangements, the carriage arrived at Rowsley on the 15` h October 2003. Since then the brass fittings and other valuable items have been removed for safekeeping and an inventory of all items is being prepared. It is expected that 7828 will enter the shed in January following which a more de- tailed survey will be carried out before restoration work commences. John Leather

In the very first issue of The Droplight, we reprinted a very detailed article from Railway Gazette October 12 1923 entitled "Mass Production of Railway Carriages" which outlined the changes in production techniques at Derby that had drastically reduced carriage building times from approximately six weeks down to six days (not including painting). The vehicles featured in the article were Third Opens like 7828. As John mentions above, the "open" was not a common vehicle at the time, and the article refers to "the new vestibule or centre corridor type of carriage, providing seats for 56 passengers, two on each side of the centre gangway" as if to emphasise the layout. Also mentioned are the cranked seat ends, giving more room at elbow level for those walking along the gangway and the clear space beneath the seating for storing suit cases and similar baggage. (Ed.)

1 1 A Period I Third Open under construction at Derby in 1923. Railway Gazette

Our Chairman photographs 7828 at the NRM in 1996. DW THE THIRD OPEN Y 12 7828 Interior in 1996. The seats have been treated with moth-proofing powder. DW

7828 Interior in 2003 showing the damaged roof. The seats are at the NRM. Alan Taylor YEARS 1923 - 2003 13 View of Finishing Roads Nos. 4, 5 and 6. Railway Gazette

Carriage being lifted onto Temporary Bogies. Railway Gazette

14 PROGRESSIVE RAILWAY CARRIAGE LIFTING AND REPAIRING Methods Introduced at Newton Heath Works, Manchester, L.M.S.R. Reprinted from the Railway Gazette 8 July 1927 by kind permission of Railway Ga- zette International, plus an overview of what happened later at Newton Heath under the LMS by Barry C. Lane (Ed.) During the last decade the modem railway carriage has increased In dimensions, also numerically, while the shop accommodation has remained stationary; it has, there- fore, become necessary that more modem methods should be employed so that gen- eral repairs could be dealt with in the prescribed periods, or that an increase in shop area and staff should be provided - a procedure which would involve a considerable amount of capital outlay. With this in view, a progressive lay-out, planned especially for the lifting and repairing of carriage stock, has been instituted at the Newton Heath Carriage and Wagon Works of the L.M.S.R. by Mr. E. J. H. Lemon, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent, under the direction of Mr. R. W. Reid, formerly Carriage and Wagon Superintendent and now Vice-President for Works and Ancillary Undertak- ings. The provision of extra accommodation at these works was impossible, and the scheme subsequently evolved enabled the floor space and plant available to be util- ised much more economically than has been the case in the past. To accomplish this object definite principles were laid down to he worked to, such as (1) the elimination of manhandling of materials as far as possible; (2) moving the job to the man, and not the man to the job; (3) allocating definite work to a given po- sition; (4) supply of materials to be anticipated; (5) allocation of men to specified operations; (6) first operation to balance with the last; (7) all movements after definite intervals of time; (8) constant supply of carriages for repairs; and (9) good lighting, heating and comfortable working. This system differs from the old method, as it enables work to be carried on on all sections of the carriages simultaneously, thus speeding up the time the vehicles are in the works.

The New System Detailed.

When first considering the proposed progressive carriage repair system, thought was given to the necessity of curtailing the amount of shunting required to reach the shops from the traffic sidings, and it was decided to utilise a shop built in 1914 having di- rect access to the sidings, besides being adjacent to the paint shop, both shops being provided with a large area of tracks leading direct to the shop doors. The area of the shop selected is 126,808 sq. ft., and consists of one main building 484 ft. long by 262 ft. wide, the height from the running roads to crane tracks being 30 ft. The roof is of the weaving shed pattern with north lights. It is heated by warm air from a Sturtevant Plenum heating and ventilating system, the cold air being passed over steam coils and heated, and distributed all over the shop by means of ducts. This air can be drawn 15 back and passed out again if necessary; it can also be washed by means of the water service provided, which is generally done in warm weather to keep the shop cool. The accompany- ing folding plate shows the general lay-out of the shop. (Unfortunately this superb plan can- not be reproduced here. Ed.) The shop is divided up into five bays, and each bay contains three roads, the lifting bays being equipped with 10-ton cranes, two in each bay, and a 20-ton crane over roads No8. 7, 8 and 9, this crane dealing with six-wheeled and minor stock on No. 9 road. Artificial lighting is car- ried out with gas-filled 1,500-watt, 200-volt lamps, so arranged as to give an even distribu- tion of light over the whole area. One section at the end of the shop has been allocated for bench work to deal with the interior furniture of car- riages and the repairing and testing of vacuum brake and steam-heating equipment. The shop is also provided with a pneumatic hammer and smiths' hearths for the reconditioning of buffing and drawgear. A wheel plant has been installed for turning up wheels, and consists of four wheel lathes (two of which are equipped with grinding attachments), two journal lathes, wheel balancer, together with a spot welding appara- tus. The shop is provided with boshes for deal- ing with the cleaning of axle-boxes, and also with an electric capstan, together with a number of free bollards on the various runs. A new Ransome & Rapier 40-ton bogie car- riage traverser has been introduced at the east end of the a shop for drawing carriages in and out of the various runs, and also for traversing the vehicles to the paint shop for painting. Vac- uum and steam testing, and also gas-equipment testing, can be carried out at any point. In the case of gas-lighted stock during the course of interior repairs, carriages are lit up by gas from their own cylinders, which obviates the neces- sity of men having to procure a light to carry on their duties, and they are thereby enabled to

16 proceed with their work without any inconvenience. In addition, the particular roads on which this work is carried out are also fitted with portable electric lamps at inter- vals along the staging. The artificial lighting utilised for attending to the underframes, the taking down and putting up of brake cylinders, gas cylinders, and the electrical gear, as the case might be, whilst the carriages are on temporary trucks, is provided by means of flood light- ing from electric lights suitably arranged in the floor in the centre of the track. By this means the light is thrown up and diffused underneath the underframe, thus obvi- ating the necessity of men having to carry portable lamps. Classifying Repairs. Under the new system the carriages are selected for various classes of repairs, such as: (1) general repairs, (2) wash and varnish, (3) lift and slight repairs, and (4) slight repairs only, and are received on the roads outside the shop at given periods during the week, each class being kept separate. They are then in such a position for the traverser to draw upon any class of repairs required. The advantage of this arrange- ment over the old system is that it is not possible to sidetrack a carriage, and the rule is that the first carriage placed on the road is the first to go into the shops and the first out. There are 15 roads, leading into the paint shop, and these are so arranged that as the painting of carriages is completed the vehicles are drawn out of the shop by the traverser and placed on to the sidings, where they receive the final inspection before running trial. After trial the carriages are placed into the traffic department sidings, which are adjacent to the works. The Time Schedules. The carriage repair shop consists of 15 roads, 13 of which are used for the progressive system, and the remaining two for the lifting of six-wheeled stock, roofs stripping, and heavy damages. Eleven of these roads are capable of accommodating six bogie carriages on each road, and the remaining two roads are utilised for the repairing of bogie frames. A definite number of operations has been allocated to each road, and a time given to complete each operation. At the end of each track clocks have been

I provided to notify the men the time the next move will take place; immediately under the clock face is a printed notice detailing the work which has been allocated to the particular stages, and no work is allowed to be carried out at any other point than at the stage allocated for it. For instance, Nos. 1 and.2 roads are allocated to the strip- ping of interiors, such as furniture, trimmings, brasswork, outside door locks, and handles and commodes; roofs are examined, gas fittings overhauled, buffing and drawgear changed. I Organisation. Every facility has been made for the free-and-easy movement of the men on the job, and for this purpose a platform, the height of the compartment floors, has been run the full length of the two roads, the width being such that it enables a man to walk from one compartment to another, on the, adjacent road. On either side of the plat- 17 form electrical portable connections are fitted with an independent switch to each light, so arranged to cover two compartments per light. When the lights are not in use the lamps are placed inside a metal container fitted to the underside of the platform, a portion of the floor being hinged to form a door of the container, making it easy for the operator to manipulate, and saving time. Although two roads have been allocated for this work, the men actually work on one road at a time, and as soon as they have completed No.1 road another lot of carriages are waiting for them on No. 2 road. The carriages on No.1 road are then ready for the lifting roads, and by the time these are drawn off for lifting and replaced with six more carriages, those standing on No. 2 road have been stripped, the men transferring back to No. 1 road, the next movement to the lifting runs being from No. 2 road. The transporting of the material stripped from the coaches is done by labourers, thus enabling the skilled artisan to remain at his allotted position. The two lifting bays, roads Nos. 10 to 15 inclusive, are each fitted with two 10-ton cranes and lifting beams, the same operation being carried out in both bays. One road in each bay is used for cleaning, repairing and painting bogie frames, the second run for overhauling brakework, changing vacuum and gas cylinders, repairs and examination to under- frame, steam mains, &c. The third run is the return road after lifting, and various operations are carried out on this road. In commencing the lifting operations the car- riages are placed on one road where the centre cotter pins are removed and check chains, brake work and axleguard tie rods released. The carriages when lifted from the bogies are placed on temporary bogies on the adjacent road, as illustrated. The

View across Shop, showing Time Indication and Work Allocation Boards. Railway Gazette

18 temporary bogies are so designed that a man can stand upright to carry out any repair on the underframes. The bogies, after the carriage body is lifted off, are pushed for- ward, and the brass bars, safety carriers and brake fiddle rods (anyone know what this means? Ed.) removed. The frame is lifted off its wheels, picked up by the crane and lowered into a tank filled with a cleaning solution. Steam pipes are run round this tank, and a number of agitators fitted, about 2 ft. apart, inside the tank. The cleaning solution is heated up to 200' Fahr., and the bogie immersed for 50 min., when it is lifted out and placed on small mobile trestles preparatory to repairing. Work Allocations. There are six positions allocated between the cleaning tank and the paint tank at the opposite end of the road, each of which is so balanced as to come within a 50-min. move, and as soon as the time is due to lift a bogie frame out of the washing tank the whole sequence moves up one stage. The bogies, after being dipped in the paint tank, are placed on the wheels and the brakework coupled up, and then transferred over to the road where they are paired ready for receiving the carriages. The vehicle on the adjacent road is then lifted onto the repaired bogies and the brakework coupled up, the carriage afterwards moving on, to another position. As the bogie frames move for- ward every 50 min. the carriages on the adjacent road move forward every 100 min. The wheels and axle-boxes are taken by crane and transferred to the opposite end of the bay where the axle-boxes are removed, cleaned and refitted, and the wheels passed forward to the wheel lathes for turning, afterwards to the journal lathe, spot welder, and finally to the wheel balancer, returning to meet the repaired bogies. The output from the lifting bays is equal to 10 bogie coaches per day, or one carriage every 52 min. The carriages, after being lifted, return on Nos. 10 and 15 roads respec- tively, on which the burning-off of interior and exterior paint, bedding quarterlights, regulating and final testing of brake, gas and steam fittings, are carried out. The car- riages that are passing through the shop under the term "wash and varnish" go from this position to the, paint shop, but the carriages that are undergoing general repairs are transferred to No. 8 road, where the speed of movement is 3 hrs. 20 min., six posi- tions being allocated for the completion of body repairs. The carriages return on No. 7 road, where painting up to the filling coats and polishing of interior furniture are carried out. The carriages are afterwards transferred to the finishing road, three of which are allocated for this purpose. This enables a continual flow of carriages on Nos. 7 and 8 roads at regular intervals of 3 hrs. 20 min. The finishing roads, Nos. 4, 5 and 6, are fitted with platforms similar to Nos. 1 and 2 roads; the interior of the carriages are entirely finished, and exterior painting up to the rubbing down stage, prior to being handed over to the paint shop, is carried out. The operations are so arranged that when No. 7 road has been filled up with carriages from No. 8 road, the carriages on Nos. 4, 5 and 6 roads are transferred alternately to the paint shop and replaced with coaches from No. 7 road, which takes place every two days.

19 Economies Effected by the System Under the progressive system of repairs the time taken for general repairs to bogie coaches from selection until they are handed to the traffic department is 25 working days, as compared to 59 working days under the old method. It will be seen that quite apart from the carriages being out of traffic for a less period it leads to an increased earning capacity for each vehicle. The chief advantages obtained from this progres- sive system of repairs are (1) increased output at reduced costs for the same working hours; (2) less amount of floor space occupied; and (3) improved conditions for em- ployees engaged on this work. The system has been working now for the last seven months, and the output of bogie carriage repairs has risen from 30 to 53 per week with the same staff. Only a few years after these innovations were put into place at Newton Heath, the works were run down. Expert on LYR rolling stock matters Barry C. Lane explains this turn of events (Ed.): It was in my opinion mostly a case of economics. The grouping altered the balance of building and maintenance in the new company, there was a time of boom in car- riage and wagon building. Some goods stock building was carried out at the ex LNWR Earlestown works while some other building that might have otherwise been done elsewhere was directed to Newton Heath. In today's parlance that is called "rationalisation". The so called 'modern' flow of work at Newton Heath as recorded in the Railway Gazette was all part of this forward thinking era. Unfortunately, times of 'boom' are usually followed by periods of 'bust' and the 1930s was one of the worst times of recession in the 20th century. As the slump hit home in the industrial centres, the railways saw a great reduction in traffic and building of new stock was cut to a mini- mum throughout the industry. Even some locomotives built after the Great War were taken out of stock in the early 1930s. Once again 'rationalisation' was the main exercise but this time it took the form of reduction of plant, and carriage and wagon building and maintenance was centred on the larger works of Wolverton and Derby. Ex LYR carriages were afterwards seen being maintained at St Rollox in Glasgow but in truth, much of the stock had been drafted to the Scottish areas because the LYR had adopted the loading gauge of the Caledonian Railway and so even the larg- est coaches were acceptable in the far north. Apart from Derby and Wolverton who took in the cascaded ex LYR stock then working in their districts, some of the older LYR carriages were actually sent to Highbridge on the SDJR for repairs. The word 'rationalisation' is a double edged sword. While all carriage & wagon work finished at Newton Heath, the LMS were well aware that the works had other uses and so the production of concrete sleepers signal posts and boundary fence posts etc was centred at the Manchester works. Thus the LMS moved it's assets around and by centralisation could ride out the period of recession.

20 SCOTLAND TRIP 2003 Following on from some leads from John Curtis of the LNERCA, Keith Fenwick of the GNOSR society, Mark Smith of the Foxfield Steam Railway and David Wigley of the Bluebell Railway, we had another week in Scotland. We had reports of two Period 1 TK bodies. One of these, embarrassingly we al- ready had on record, but as an unidentified vehicle. From the road it looked just like a tin shed with a round roof, but around the back its origins were obvious. We made enquiries with the owner and she showed us inside. In use as a garden shed, odd bits remained, and with hindsight we ought to have made her an offer for the window rails. The next TK though similar to an LMS coach, unfortunately wasn't; we con- cluded that it might be from the Caledonian, though it had some LMS fittings, possi- bly fitted in later life. We also investigated a few sites with other coach types reported. One of these, listed as a NBR TK, certainly this time was an LMS Period 1 TK. Later research showed this to be the passenger end of a BTK. Business done with the farmer, this was quite a productive coach, besides the usual door fittings, ventilator parts and so on, it also contained one compartment door complete with fittings, and some com- partment partitioning. We also liberated a hinged gangway end door, some bits of timber specific to corridor coaches, and a gangway mounting plate. Bits such as this

Pt BTK 5246 may not look much, but it certainly gave up a wealth of useful spares. Harvey Coppock 21 are all items on the wants lists. There were also some interesting details of modifica- tions made in the twilight years of this coaches life. Down the corridor side and in the compartments the panelling would formerly have been similar to that on our Period 2 1501, with framed solid timber panels. However, on this coach, at some point in its life some of this had been removed and repaired with flat plywood. No beading, not even at the door edges! Also, the toilet compartment had acquired a replacement plastic bin and aluminium toilet roll holder. Not Mkl parts, these were probably standard fitments for repairing pre nationalisation designs. Sadly the plas- tic bin had been chewed by a cow, then suffered further damage when I dropped some toilet partitioning on it, so it wasn't recovered. Of further interest at this site were some vehicles that looked somewhat like cattle wagons, though we thought that the cattle would have had to have been quite slim to have gained entrance. The farmer revealed that they were built for carrying prison- ers. Later research again revealed that this had been from Peterhead Prison to a quarry for rock breaking on a special 2 mile railway built for this purpose in the 1920s. One had already been recovered and is under restoration at Peterhead Prison by inmates. A survival rate of 3 from say no more than 8 that could have been built isn't bad for coaches from the 1920s! We also returned to a brake coach that we had seen before, a Period 1 BT, and re- covered some brake parts that might be of use if we were ever to restore our Period 1/3 BCK 6720, this site also supplying more door fittings and so on. Further GNOSR coaches were seen, though these sites were already all 'known', also a GNR CL, which seems to be a new site. This coach, the full length surviving, was interesting being somewhat older than most Gresley coaches, and contained some superb panelling in the first class compartments. Sadly, a lot of the roof was off so it was suffering somewhat. Harvey Coppock

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL Discussing 3031 (TK2) one day the topic moved on to whether it could ever be used in normal service. Opinion seemed to be that having had all its compartments and bulkheads removed it would probably not be too stable! It was therefore amusing to come across an article in Railway World March 1960 by Geoffrey Kitchenside about the LNW Oerlikon electric sets (open saloons) which were nearing the end of their lives; it contained the following: "...when travelling, the whole body structure of many coaches was in continual movement, both fore and aft, and sideways, while in a few extremely bad specimens the glass in the windows moved sufficiently to be out of the window frame alto- gether on at least one edge!" Must have made for some interesting journeys... 22 NOTES AND NEWS Apologies to those of you without access to the Internet, but a new website www.steamindex.com is proving both interesting and useful. It sets out to form an online index to the `serious' railway magazines such as BackTrack and LMS Jour- nal, etc., and although the search facility is not sophisticated, you can locate that elusive photo or article with a bit of work. There is more though, the site also appraises many well known railway authors - in a critical academic way. Additionally, the careers of several railway engineers are included - it was pleasing to see an item about Tom Coleman, the man who really designed most of Stanier's locos, for instance. Take a look if you can, you might find "The uses of rubber in railways" interesting!

JESTORATION!

Jim and Jeff were lifelong LMS enthusiasts and had often discussed whether there were railways in heaven. Sadly Jim passed away and was much missed by Jeff. One night Jim appeared to Jeff in a dream and said: "Well, Jeff, there's good news and bad news - the good news is that heaven is full of railways." "That's great, but what's the bad news then," said Jeff. "You're down to drive Duchess of Montrose on the 2pm from Euston tomorrow..."

Little boy to multi-millionaire father, "Daddy, can I have a cowboy outfit for Christmas?" Father, "Certainly son, but what will you do with Railtrack?"

Visitor to Dent: "I say, my good man, why did they build the station so far from the town?" Local: "Appen they wanted it near t'railway."

Why do French railways have so many derailments? Because of too loose la track.

WARNING TO PASSENGERS: Do not cross the rails - it takes ages to disentangle them.

23 THE LMSCA VEHICLES P1 TK No. 1371 built in 1924. Renumbered 1295 from 1933. Departmental service number KDM395498. Later internal user number 024744. Originally constructed as a third class corridor carriage at the L M S Derby Carriage and Wagon works to dia- gram 1695. Dimensions 57'x 9'11h". P1 RK No. 30005 built 1924. Constructed as a Full Kitchen Car (RK) at the LMS Derby Carriage and Wagon Works to diagram 1697. Renumbered 30005 from 1933. After withdrawal from revenue earning service, converted in 1956 to the London Midland Region Track Recording Coach. Renumbered to departmental stock as DM395223. TOPS code: QXX. Dimensions 50'x 9'3". P1 TO No. 7828 built 1925. On 10 year loan from the National Railway Museum. Originally numbered 16122 - one of the 555 vehicles built at Derby to diagram 1692, the most common LMS Third Open. Became part of a `Control Train', and was par- tially restored by the NRM at Derby. Dimensions 57' x 9' 3" P1 BCK No. 6720 built in 1929-30. Renumbered 9864 from 1933. Departmental service number TDM395845. Originally constructed as a composite corridor brake carriage at the L M S Wolverton Carriage and Wagon works to diagram 1704. Re- built to Period 3 outline around 1940 to diagram 1704A. Dimensions 60' x 9' 3". P2 TK No. 3031 built in 1930. Renumbered 1501 from 1933. Departmental service number DM395801. Originally constructed as a third class corridor carriage at the LMS Derby Carriage and Wagon works to diagram 1782. Dimensions 60' x 9' 3". P3 BCK No. 6815 built in 1935. Departmental service number DS70247. Originally constructed as a composite corridor brake carriage at the L M S Wolverton Carriage and Wagon works to diagram 1932. Dimensions 62'0" x 9'3". P3 TO No. 9125 built in 1935. Departmental service number KDM395892. Origi- nally constructed as a third class open carriage at the L M S Wolverton Carriage and Wagon works to diagram 1915. Dimensions 57'0" x 9'3". P3 TO No. 27109 built in 1945. In departmental service carried the number 65830. Originally constructed as a third class open carriage at the L M S Wolverton Carriage and Wagon works to diagram 1999. Dimensions 57'0" x 9'3". P3 (Porthole) BTK No. 27001 built in 1950. Sold direct out of service to the Man- chester Ship Canal. Originally constructed as a third class corridor brake carriage after nationalisation at the ex-L M S Wolverton Carriage and Wagon works to dia- gram 2161. Dimensions 57'0" x 9'3". P3 BG No. 31216 built in 1941. Eastern Region Internal User 041542. Donated to the LMSCA by Jarvis Rail after being stored for 20 years in Wakefield Kirkgate goods shed. Built at Wolverton to diagram 2007. Dimensions 50'0"x 9'0". Mkl GUV No. 86183 built in 1958. Renumbered 83183. Originally constructed as a general utility van for British Railways by the Pressed Steel Company Ltd. to dia- gram 811. Dimensions 57'2" x 8'9". 24

An advertisement from the Railway Gazette extolling the savings from the use of arc welding in the con- struction of the three-car articulated dmu built by the LMS. An article in the current Steam in the Peak recalls that the unit was tested over the Peak Forest route.

Back: Photographed during the Carriage Restorers' Weekend at Butterley are dele- gates detraining from the NRM's Porthole BTK 27093; and observing work in pro- gress in the carriage restoration shed. Alan Taylor