{W!P} MSR : F62 - Pairs : A1 + B1

Stanegate Restorations have been contracted to restore a "Pairs" carriage from the Isle of Man Steam Railway.

It was inspected at Douglas in September 2017 and delivered to Haltwhistle in July 2018. After restoration (& some months of Covid-19 related delays it returned to Douglas in February 2021)

History:
Four-wheeled carriages supplied for the opening of the line to Peel in 1873; there were four designs and each class of coach had a different internal layout. These were close-coupled in pairs from the late 1880s. "A" class carriages were 17 ft 6 in long and the remainder one foot shorter. Class "A" consisted of twelve first class carriages - eleven three-compartment carriages and one saloon. The "B" class consisted of 24 three-compartment third class carriages open above the seat backs.

In the 1910s and 1920s these were converted into bogie carriages by mounting pairs of bodies on underframes supplied by the Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Co. They became known as the "pairs" coaches and were later renumbered into the F.50-F.75 series.

F62 (mounted on a 1926 underframe) consists of A1 and B1. It was withdrawn in 1987, there was an earlier start to the restoration, but the extensive repairs required meant the project was postponed.

------

The first group of images are from the initial inspection and assessment at Haltwhistle. These are followed by images of the restoration work. The final batch will be of the carriage back on the Isle of Man.

Work has started on the repairs to the cills and body frameworks. Initially, the team has concentrated on B1, before working on A1 - we did find a few pointers that these two really were the prototypes, back in 1872. We also found some un-sympathetic repairs done in a very make do and mend fashion.The underframe and bogies were run out, so the latter could also be rebuilt elsewhere, this allowed us to have the bodies at a more accessible height. A vacuum cylinder and some other brackets were fitted. With the frameworks rebuilt, the cant rails and the roof planks were replaced. The panelling inside and out was replaced, including the top layer of the floor in B1. New roof canvas and roof paint were applied. The doors and droplights were rebuilt and the fixed windows glazed.The external painting & beading - plus the scumbled & varnished interior to B1 - was commenced and the other fitting out done, this included some expensive upholstery - including the ceiling - and varnished panelling inside A1. The repaired and repainted running boards and their brackets were fitted. The final stage was to sign-write and varnish the exterior.

~~~~~

Stanegate Restorations have been contracted to restore a "Pairs" carriage from the Isle of Man Steam Railway.

It was inspected at Douglas in September 2017 and delivered to Haltwhistle in July 2018. After restoration (& some months of Covid-19 related delays it returned to Douglas in February 2021)

History:
Four-wheeled carriages supplied for the opening of the line to Peel in 1873; there were …  (read more)

Translate into English