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Is this a Tavern Car?


dibber25
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I've been loaned a box of photographs by the late Don Lovelock, resident of Calne in Wiltshire. I have found among them this small print of an SR express including Bulleid coaches taken at Seend, between Devizes and Bradford-on-Avon. Such  stock on a minor Western Region route suggests that it is a rail tour rather than a diversion, though the presence of a full set of roof boards seems unusual for a rail tour. Don appears to have taken the shot specifically to show the two-car Bulleid restaurant set which I think may be one of the tavern car sets in its rebuilt form. Can someone who is more 'genned up' on SR coaches , please confirm or deny if this is a former tavern car set? Can anyone suggest what the train might be? Under a magnifier it appears almost certainly a Collett tender and the cylinders suggest, maybe, a 'Hall'. (CJL)

SR tavern car? .jpeg

Edited by dibber25
Spellchecker had changed 'genned' to gender!
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Interesting photo! I'm not an expert but I think the only Bullied catering stock with the bodysides extending to the bottom edge of the solebar would be the Bournemouth stock and the Tavern cars. The former had 10" deep window ventilators, those on the photo look more like 15" so I reckon that is a Tavern car.

 

source:.-

 

http://srg.org.uk/phoenix/bulleid.html

Edited by spamcan61
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Certainly looks like a rebuilt tavern set with the Diagram 2665 Composite Restaurant as vehicle 2 and the Diagram 2668 Kitchen& buffet car as vehicle 5.

Edited by Graham_Muz
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Thanks, folks. I was hoping Graham would take a look. I used to love those complete rakes of Bulleid coaches with the lovely uniform body profile and all the variations of window depths, ventilator depths and the skirted and unskirted solebars. If only someone would give us the models!! (CJL)

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A trawl though the Six Bells Junction website has come up with two possibilities. The train could be one or other of two railtours run by the LCGB on 4th April and repeated on the 2nd May 1965. The Wessex Downsman trains were both run over the same route; Waterloo - Reading - Devizes - Bath Spa - Bristol TM - Mangotsfield - Bath Green Park - Bournemouth West - Southampton - Waterloo.  The website says that Hall 6963 was used between Reading and Bristol on both occasions. Photos of these railtours show that Bulleid stock was used.

 

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Hello everyone

 

Photos of the Wessex Downsman of 2 May 1965 appear as images 190 to 192 of Ivo Peters' book, The Somerset & Dorset in the Sixties - Volume 4, 1963-1966.

 

The front and rear brake vehicles are branded Set 770 (which was a 3-set three years earlier).

 

There is another fairly good photo - see page 182 of The Norman Lockett Archive - The Somerset & Dorset Railway 1935-1966 (Mike Arlett & David Lockett).

 

Brian

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R to L, car 2 definitely Kitchen side of a rebuilt Tavern RKB, Diag. 2668.

Car 5 has extended side panels, but, with middle(ish) footstep/cutout, along with shallow (10 1/4") window vents, so, probably one from a Bournemouth 6-car set.

The Tavern sets' RCOs, Diag. 2665 had, along with extended side panels, deeper (15") window vents and end vestibule doors only.

Edited by Ceptic
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Found two shots which appear to show the same train and it is carrying the LCGB headboard, although no 'Wessex Downsman' headboard. I'm pretty sure I've seen a headboard on the Bulleid that worked part of this tour so I suspect the LCGB didn't possess a second  adaptor for GWR lamp irons. (we had one at Ian Allan - a big heavy casting which made it almost impossible to get the board on straight, as demonstrated here by the LCGB's board. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who couldn't get them on straight!). The first picture here is the approach shot at Seend, presumably moments before the shot of the tavern car shown above, and the second was a Holt Junction where the line to Devizes diverged. Such a pity to see a loco with missing nameplates turned out for a rail tour. (CJL)

Wessex Downsman DL.jpeg

Wessex Downsman 2 DL.jpeg

Edited by dibber25
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