22xx Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Good morning all, A friend of mine is the proud owner of a GWR station bench, and would like to know more about where it came from. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see it because it's in storage, but my friend tells me it was bought in West Wales, and apparently it 'has a number on the end'. I'm no expert on benches, but I don't recall seeing numbers on GWR ones, and a quick trawl of internet images hasn't thrown any light on the subject except to confirm my initial reaction that they don't have numbers. However, others may well know better. So what I'd like to know is: did GWR benches have numbers, and if so what did they signify (manufacturing batch number, station allocation, etc, etc)? Thanks very much in advance for any help! Meanwhile, I'll try to find out what the number actually is. All the best, 2251 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
22xx Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 If it's any help, this is what's carved underneath the bench: 314, GWH, GWP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rail-Online Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Hi, No GWR Benches did not have numbers and there is no way of telling their 'source'. There are two types, the older ones with intertwined GWR in the leg castings and the later @1934 onwards type with a roundal. There is also the much rarer BR(W) type. There are also reproduction ones around! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
22xx Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi, No GWR Benches did not have numbers and there is no way of telling their 'source'. There are two types, the older ones with intertwined GWR in the leg castings and the later @1934 onwards type with a roundal. There is also the much rarer BR(W) type. There are also reproduction ones around! Tony Thanks, Tony. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rail-Online Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 When is a reproduction not a reproduction, as a lot of the new ones that are still being made are still using the original GWR mould formers, so are they genuine or are they reproductions ! . I would say when they were not owned by the railway that the masters were made for. A replacement nameplate for, say, Bahamas is a repro but carried in preservation, even if cast at Crewe or Derby in 1976. GWR seat benches cast from the original moulds saved from Swindon are repros as far as the collecting world is concerned. One important point -if you have something original and you want it to keep its originality (and value), don't over restore it. If you shot blast those cast iron GWR seat legs 'to get it back to original condition' then they will be worth the same as a modern casting! A friend of mine once got hold of some tatty 12 ft carriage destination boards - The Cornishman etc, the paint was peeling so he stripped them completely and did a fantastic job of reproducing the exact lettering. Someone pointed out that they looked like a new piece of wood and he was gutted! If you need to do this it is very wise to take photos of the process to prove originality when they are enevitably passed on.. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold rodent279 Posted March 8, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2012 I have one of these too, a pre 1934 version. Does anyone know from when they were made? I'm guessing around 1910 on. Also, what is the "correct" GWR colour for them. I believe it is Factory Brown all over, including the lettering. Factory brown, as I understand out, is similar to Chocolate Brown, but possibly a bit duller. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
22xx Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks, everyone. It looks as though at least the wooden parts of my friend's bench are probably reproductions. I haven't had a chance to look at the leg castings, but from what I was told when I asked about 'roundel or interwined letters?' it seems likely that they're the pre-1934 design. Maybe not, though. Either way, I think there are 2 possibilities here: 1) The whole thing is a reproduction. (Does anyone know how long the pre-1934 and post-1934 moulds were kept, though? Have reproduction moulds been made since?) 2) The leg castings are original, and the wood was replaced when the original wood decayed. 2251 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 2) The leg castings are original, and the wood was replaced when the original wood decayed. Trigger This old brooms had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time. Sid How the hell can it be the same bloody broom then? Trigger Theres the picture. What more proof do you need? STEVE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerbread Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I have one of these too, a pre 1934 version. Does anyone know from when they were made? I'm guessing around 1910 on. Also, what is the "correct" GWR colour for them. I believe it is Factory Brown all over, including the lettering. Factory brown, as I understand out, is similar to Chocolate Brown, but possibly a bit duller. According to Great Western Branch Line Modelling (Part 2) by Stephen Williams, the "monogram" version of the seat was introduced in "early years of the 20th Century". From the same source, colour should be dark stone all over. Most of the accompanying photographs do show a single colour all over, though it appears darker than dark stone, which perhaps supports your "factory brown" theory. One photograph appears to show an example with wooden seat lighter than cast base (light and dark stone perhaps). On a visit to Didcot last year I saw an example in light and dark stone - photo in my blog here - but I don't know how much to rely on the GWS interpretation of colours, as there was considerable doubt expressed about the red used for droplights/bolections in the 4-wheel coach in the same article. Unfortunately I don't have access to a copy of "Great Western Way", which is regarded as a reasonably definitive authority on such matters. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 My copy of GWW (1st edition GW150) states, "All seats were painted dark stone all over and probably some re-painted maroon-brown when that colour was introduced." A photo shows a seat with the monogram in light colour and states that normally these were the same colour as the remainder of the seat. I can remember seats being chocolate with cream monograms in BR days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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