WINTER 2012-13

GREAT WESTERN(SVR) ASSOCIATION

2

EditorialBy Chris Haynes

The poor weather referred to in the SummerNewsletter continued to the end of the year test-ing the water tightness of our sales stand (MilkBrake 1399) and our main restoration project(650). Some leaks have appeared and are beingattended to– let’s hopeanydamage is superficial.Passenger numbers took a hit on the Railwayalthough the ‘Santas’ were largely sold out. Thefull timestaff atKidderminsterhavenowfinishedthe mechanical work on Unclassified Saloon9103 although work stretched until December.Transfer to the Paint Shop at Bewdley took placein early January when Corridor Composite 6045was also moved to Bewdley. Open Brake Third650wasmoved in the autumn from theback yardat Bewdley into theDock Siding next to theMilkBrake. This was to facilitate the contractor gain-ing access to build the permanent staff toiletblock which was completed in January. Goodprogress has been made on the internal fittingsand layoutwith the art deco trimmings starting toappear.Saturday 20th October 2012 saw the running

of theAssociation’s Special Train. It consisted of,newly returned to service Hawksworth Pannier1501 hauling 5 of our carriages 3930, 6562, 1116,1146 and 9055. On a grey day over 100 passen-gers (thanks especially to GrahamGardner’s party) enjoyed the journeyfrom Kidderminster to Bridgnorthwhere a small party was shown aroundthe shed and boiler shop. The returnincluded a 2 hour stop over at Highleyfor a visit to The Engine House, lunchand a run-past. The centenary ofSaloon 9055 was suitably toasted in its

saloon while returning along the valley in style.Arrival in Kidderminster was in time for mem-bers to transfer to the Railway Museum for our39th Annual General Meeting. The evening willbe more remembered for the inevitable break toview Castle ‘Earl of Mount Edgcombe’ passingthrough the station at 70mph on a special thanfor the proceedings. Our Treasurer was able toreport income (mainly from donations) hadmanaged to keep pace with expenditure in theyear ending April 2012 but there were some bigbills to meet this year. Columb Howell (freshfrom his TV appearance) updated the meetingon the discussions over the draft LocoAgreement including the preliminary assessmentof ourMogul’s condition.There has been a good response so far to the

SVR’s share issue. The list of potential expendi-ture is long but includes projects of particularinterest to theAssociation.Theseare the restora-tion of 4930 Hagley Hall and associated GreatWestern carriage set; Kidderminster CarriageWorks roof and works in Bewdley yard. Anumber of restored GW carriages are awaitingrepairs havingnotbeenprioritised in recent yearsdespite pressure applied by your Chairman – theold picture on the front of the share issue shows

The centenary cake for 9055.

3

Restoration Progress ReportsBy Mick Haynes

Nondescript Saloon 91039103 entered Kidderminster Carriage

Works at the end of July to refit the bogies andcomplete the removal of asbestos from thesteam heat pipe, vacuum cylinder overhauland painting underneath above the bogie. Thebiggest problem was to connect up the steampipes to the radiators and to make the steamvalves work in the compartments. We made alot of new parts but they needed some modifi-cations. The vacuum test also showed up somesmall holes in the old vacuum pipes and thoseneeded repairs. Finally the lead toilet wastepipes were replaced with modern stainlesssteel outlets specially adjusted for the excre-ment to miss hitting the frames of the bogies!The volunteers worked hard to paint theunderneath whilst it was in the air on the jacks.Transfer to the Bewdley paint shop occurredon 11th January 2013.

The work to be done whilst it is at Bewdleyremains as:• Fit toilet doors and furniture

• Finalise table hinges

• Fit draught strips to west side doors

• Grain west side doors

• Re-paint ceilings

• Remove and repair south end toilet watertank

• Final overhaul of slam door locks to origi-nal specification

• Blank door ends to be sign written

• Final connections in electrical cupboard

• External painting and lining

what can be achieved. The trackwork changes inBewdley yard put forward by theAssociation areseen as a suitable project for grant funding andtraining. Work has therefore restarted on cost-ings and sourcingmissing components.This issue includes an article on ourmilk vehi-

cles which the GWR considered as part of theirpassenger stock – the ‘brown’ vehicles. Themainsourcematerial is theHMRSpublicationonGWSiphons by Jack Slinn and Bernard Clarkealthough J. H. Russell’s well illustrated books onCarriages and Wagons were consulted. OurChairman contributes the usual restorationupdate plus an insight into the ongoing work oncataloguing historical drawings from Swindon’sarchives. Enclosed with the Newsletter is a 2013

Renewal Form and a 650 Appeal Form. Due toholidays there could be a delay in responding tothose seeking to renew in March. We thankmembers for their support in 2012 and look for-ward to your continued involvement this year.Youwill see from theChairman’s article that thehard work of our volunteers needs financial sup-port to help purchase materials and make/refur-bishmissing items. 2013 should see the long run-ning restoration of 9103 finally complete justify-ing another special train to celebrate entry intoservice. This may be arranged prior to the nextnewsletter so we suggest you keep an eye on theAssociation’s website www.gw-svr-a.org.uk fornews of the date/ticket prices or tick the box onthe renewal form for notification. Thank you.

4

Open Brake Third 650650 is now located in the dock whilst the

new toilet block was installed. This has givenus easy access and has put us on view of thepublic encouraging more visitors oftenreferred on from our sales stand. Progress hasbeen very good although quite expensive – weneed your donations to keep up the progressin 2013 see the appeal below.Keith Scott has concentrated on the com-

plete installation of the steam heat pipe. Thiswas quite a challenge as it snakes through theunderframe and moves from left to right tomiss the bogie centre castings! Keith alsoinstalled the loop that goes down both sides ofthe saloons. Bill Sumner has fabricated somereplacement steel grills for those under theseats which were missing or worn and thanksto the original pattern being made availableby Michael Bradley all the cast decorativegrills have now been made. Bill is polishingthem – this is a lot of work and will take himmost of this spring. Keith has now been con-necting the steam pipe up to the guard’s com-partment where there are two radia-tors. Again there is much complex-ity in fitting the valves next to thevacuum cylinder where there is aneed for tiny and long fingers!All the ceilings in the saloons

have been installed and the ventila-tors fitted. The covering strips havealso been installed. This completesall the ceilings except for the twotoilets.Harry Devey is continuing with

his homework of overhauling thesingles and doubles seats from thesaloon. He has completed all but adouble but is now doing a few morerepairs where he can improve the

quality. Mick Haynes, Gareth Price andBarney Martin have begun the toilet repairs.This has involved replacing the missing fram-ing to hold the washbasin supports and thecovers for the taps. All of this is involvingsome careful shaping and measurements toensure it copies the 2 original photographsthat still exist. When this is complete KeithScott and Pete Simpson can begin to install allthe plumbing.New volunteer John Bill has begun to fill in

some missing trim in the top stringer havingrepaired some door trims in the luggage area.Dave and Rob Massey are making up all thetrim for the vestibules and reinstating the pel-mets over the sliding doors to the saloon andat the south end. Luckily one short originalpiece still existed so we were able to copy it.The centre vestibule is now complete and thesouth end is progressing. Brian Oldford hascarefully made the corner mahogany aroundthe outside of the toilet framing using theutile. He had to make and glue a 135 degreeangle! It looks fine.

The steam heat piping and metal covers in place – the castgrills are being made currently.

5

Robin Organ andDave Smith have beencleaning and paintingeverything we canpoint them at. ChrisHaynes, Robin andDave have also startedto clean off the insideof all the externaldoors. Bill Sumner hasbegun work on theluggage brackets andthe communicationcord piping. Thebrackets need polish-ing and the holedrilled to accommo-date the communica-tion pipe. We alsohave to carefullyinstall the trumpetends and the termina-tion method for the cord in the guard’s van.Graham Gardner is continuing with sorting

out the cables to the regulator cupboard buthe could do with a clearer copy of the wiringdiagram if anyone has a source. He will thenmove onto the underside hopefully when andif it becomes drier!

Next JobsThe next jobs are to complete

the south end vestibule and tobegin re-instating the trim to thesaloon and repair the inside ofthe external doors.We need to progress the toilet

fittings and reinstate the toiletceilings.Research has begun into find-

ing a source for the special pat-tern of lino and Brian Oldfordhas already prepared several ofthe 3 vertical mahogany insertsto complete the art deco effectin the saloon when ready.The Association’s 1928

Corridor Composite 6045 hasbeen positioned outside thePaint Shop for preliminary workon its restoration. Thanks go toColin Astbury and his volun-

teers – more on this in the next Newsletter.

AppealCould I ask nicely, beg onmy knees and call

politely on all members to try to support theappeal in the newsletter as we have someexpensive jobs about to hit us. They aretogether with the cost estimate:1. Supply of utile for the trim in the saloon£350

2. Lino and fitting in the saloon £550

3. Fit the remaining upholstery £750 (30 % isalready done)

4. Make and fit the gutters £300

5. New corridor connections £420

Sponsorship of any of those items willensure that the coach continues to make spec-tacular progress during 2013.

The re-hung door in the centrevestibule.

The trim made up for the middle vestibule.

The Association has in its possession 2 milkvehicles, a Siphon G 1257 built at Swindon in1927 and a 4 wheel milk brake van 1399 of1921. The Railway also has a later Siphon G,2926 of 1940, and 2504 a 6 wheel milk tankwagon built at Swindon in 1932. They areradically different in design despite all beingbuilt to carry milk so it is interesting to con-sider the history and reasons for the changes.Over 1,000 vehicles were built or converted atSwindon so they were an important feature inthe Great Western scene for over a century.Cows produce milk normally twice a day

and this has to be distributed to customersfairly quickly. Initially pails (buckets with lids)were used, the vendor carrying 2 of these ateither end of a wooden yoke. Folk wouldbring out their jugs which would be filled witha ladle (hence milk maid) from pails on thehorse and cart. As can be imagined, trans-porting these pails was hazardous. Transfer toopen wagons on the railway was little better asthey were top heavy and prone to spillage.The farmers used tall conical wooden con-tainers to ‘churn’ milk to make butter andthese were easily adaptable for transport pur-poses holding 17 gallons of milk. From about1850 a steel version was produced which waslighter and contained around 10 gallons –they were still known as ‘churns’.The railways carried milk into the larger

towns from the early days and it wasn’t untilthe 1860s that longer distances were involved– as late as 1865 there were still 40,000 stallfed cattle in the London area. As an industryit became transport led where the need to

feed the growing urbanisation and reduce theimpact of cattle disease led to the growth oftrains of milk churn vans. By 1883 one farmeralone was sending 19,000 gallons a year toBirmingham. Milk deteriorates quickly so itfollows that slow goods trains were replacedby passenger trains with higher speeds.Vehicles used need to be capable of suchspeeds and, in due course, were vacuumfitted. The first recorded specific GreatWestern vehicles were conversions from Valeof Neath Railway Broad Gauge carriages in1870 – 4 wheel iron bodies on iron frames.1871 saw the formation of the first national

company ‘Express Dairies’, born with railmovement in mind. The Anglo-Swiss

6

Delivering the MilkGreat Western Styleby Chris Haynes

7

Condensed Milk Company (now Nestles)opened at Chippenham in 1873. The GreatWestern was determined to help meet thegrowing demand for rapid transport. Hencethe first wagon design that anticipated‘Siphon’ features. Sixty 4 wheel vehicles werebuilt in 1873 and 1874 on 12 foot wheelbaseswith intermittent horizontal planking (to helpkeep the milk cool) and a central set ofdouble doors. Initially they carried 5 ton loadswith ‘clasp’ type brakes (vacuum brakes wereadded in the 1880s). The body height was 6ft8in and width 8ft. They lasted in trafficaround 30 years.Farmers began working in co-operatives

(e.g. Wiltshire United Dairies) and two

changes were to make a major difference tofuture distribution. The 1880s saw the intro-duction of bottled milk by Express Dairiesand pasteurisation (where the milk is heatedto kill the bacteria) began in the 1890s.However, it wasn’t until the 1930s that theybecame universal. Between August 1879 andthe end of 1904 the GWR built 629 vans to a6 wheel design with 2 double doors providingmore stable running. They had overall dimen-sions of 27ft 6 in length, wheelbase 19ft, width8ft and height 6 ft 8in. They became Siphondiagrams 01 to 06 exhibiting some differ-ences, e.g. some used second hand under-frames and 05 and 06 had 7ft 6in bodies and 3doors, with loads initially 6 tons but later

9317 on train of siphons west of Paddington (HMRS/J Craig)

increased to 10 tons. As well as carrying milkchurns, the stock found other uses – 120 weredesignated as ‘Fish Vans’ while a numberwere fitted with folding shelves for strawberrytraffic (marked Return to Rossett). At least10 carried temporary headboards ‘RabbitTraffic Helston to Sheffield’ for a short time.The 6 wheel Siphons had long lives lasting 45years or more in service.The first modern Siphon appeared from

Swindon in 1907. It was 40ft long and 8ft widecarried on volute spring bogies. DesignatedSiphon F, it broke new ground by using louvreventilators in place of open planking. Therewas still outside framing below waist level andno less than 4 double doors along the sidesand 2 end doors (a feature introduced withdiagram 06). The capacity was no less than18tons with a body height of 7ft 9in. All theclass of 6 were dual fitted with vacuum andWestinghouse brakes and gas lit - most lasteduntil the 1950s. Also fifty 4 wheel milk vanswere produced from 1906 to diagrams 08 and09 (the latter 8ft 6in wide rather than 8ft)bearing code name Siphon C. They were sim-ilar in appearance to the Siphon Fs with out-side framing and louvres but with 3 doors oneach side. From the mid 1930s at least halfwere used on sausage traffic for C and JHarris 5 being branded ‘Calne, Carlisle andGlasgow’ thus accumulating considerablemileage. Numbers 1511 and 1542 weremarked ‘Return to Stourbridge’ being fittedinternally to carry pigeons. Most were con-demned by 1949 although 10 lasted into the1950s.A prototype 50 foot van was built in 1908

width 8ft 6in on 9ft wheelbase, Americanbogies (altered in 1910 to 8ft coil spring type)and a much reduced depth of louvres withhorizontal close boarding below. It wasdeemed a success as an order (Lot 1211) was

placed in 1912 for 20 similar vehicles to dia-gram O11, designated Siphon G replacingobsolete 4 wheelers. Thus began the longlived versatile reign with no less than 365vehicles built between 1913 and 1955. Theofficial drawing shows their weight as 25ton17cwt (carrying 90+ churns) and fitted withvacuum, either side handbrake, standardgangways and hinged shelves. They were orig-inally gas lit before being replaced by electric-ity with Lot 1347 in 1925. Our own vehicle1257 was part of Lot 1378 built in 1927 with7ft wheelbase heavy bogies. Most vehicleslasted until 1950s and some until 1962. AfterDepartmental service our vehicle arrived onthe Valley from Wantage Road in 1976.Siphon H was a variation of ‘Monster’ vehi-

cles built to carry scenery and props for trav-elling theatrical companies from 1914. Theyhad a high domed roof with side and enddoors. Twenty vehicles were built in 1919 asMilk Vans to a similar profile of outside fram-ing and louvres as the bogie Siphons but withthat high roof profile. They were not as usefulas the Siphon G as they were not gangwayedbut they could carry scenery or even motorvehicles and lasted until the 1950s. FollowingWorld War One traffic grew to the pointwhere the GWR was running 75 special milktrains daily with more than 1,000 wagons inuse. Most of these were not long distance withSiphons serving Birmingham fromWarwickshire and Shropshire; Cardiff/Bristolfrom Somerset and West Wales and Londonfrom Dorset, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshireand Wiltshire. The longer distance servicessuch as the 2.30pm from Neyland toPaddington conveyed perishables as well asmilk churns in the Siphons. Brake vans(PBVs) separated each group of Siphonsfrom the branch lines and travelled to andfrom London. Moguls, Bulldogs or 4-6-0s

8

9

were used on these services. Our own MilkBrake 1399 was in a batch of 4, diagram O13converted from redundant Pharmacy Carsused in ambulance services overseas in theFirst World War. They were completed in1921 and carried the legend ‘Milk Train BrakeVan to and from London’ on the side. Theywere 30ft long over the mouldings on a 19ftwheelbase of 9ft width over the stepboards.Branding in 1931 was said to be ‘Lavington &Cricklewood’ and ‘Frome & Cricklewood’ in1937. All 4 survived until 1959 despite notbeing perpetuated. The late Selwyn Higginspurchased ours from Departmental stock in1967.The GWR introduced diagramO22 in 1926

which although still 50ft long by 8ft 6in wideand designated Siphon G, had side bracinginternally giving an almost smooth appear-ance. They were electrically lit on 9ft wheel-bases and included collapsible racking. Thirtyvans followed by 1928. They were used forseasonal traffic as well as milk lasting until1962. A further 115 to diagram O33 wereturned out between 1930 and 1945 in 4 lots on7ft wheelbase heavy bogies or 9ft pressedsteel. They had vertical planking below thelouvres and were 8ft 8in wide. 2926 on theSevern Valley was built in May 1940 and wasone of 60 converted to Ambulance Cars at anearly date and painted in olive green liverywith a red cross. They returned to alternativeuses following the war such as carrying news-papers or engine parts.The big changes came at the end of the

1920s. In 1927 (along with the LMS) the firstdesign of a milk tank wagon was introducedby the GWR based on a 12ft two axle wagonchassis and vacuum fitted. A single glass linedtank (actually vitreous enamel) with corkinsulation contained 3,000 gallons of milk.The tanks were owned by the dairy who were

responsible for steam cleaning at each jour-ney end while the railway maintained thetruck. The first train with tanks ran fromWootton Bassett to London later that year.The design had shortcomings as there wereno internal baffles which meant that the milksloshed about causing self-churning and sta-bility problems. 6 wheel, three axle wagonswith baffles followed by 1931 and 2504 wasbuilt at Swindon in 1932. Owned by the 813Fund it can be found on the Valley labelled'Unigate Creameries'. Batches of usually 6 or10 vehicles were constructed throughout the1930s and 40 were built after the War.The transport of milk was the concern of

the Superintendent of the Line and thereforethe Traffic Department at Paddington. Theywere keen to exploit the weight and staff sav-ings – one tank carried the equivalent of 3Siphons of churns saving nearly 60 tons.Owners were offered a reduction of 30% offexisting carriage rates for milk and this pro-vided a big incentive. The 1930s saw a majorexpansion in the construction of dairies andcreameries with others introduced rail sidingsfor piping milk directly. A typical creamerywould load a couple of tank wagons a day car-rying enough pasteurised milk to supply thedaily needs of 35,000 people. The main co-operatives (Cow & Gate, CWS, ExpressDairies, Independent Dairies, London Co-opand United Dairies) had their own collectionpoints in the London area (e.g. Acton,Cricklewood, Greenford, Kensington, SouthLambeth and West Ealing) and linked withCreameries in the provinces through dailyservices. The Milk Marketing Board was cre-ated in 1933 and slowly took control of milkdelivery from the farms with tankers deliver-ing to Creameries or railheads – e.g. sidings atDevonport, Marshfield and Trowbridge wereused. However, even in 1948 MMB was col-

lecting milk from 130,000 farmers using500,000 ten gallon churns involving deliveriesto 10,000 destinations across the country.The long distance services built up –

Whitland had only a Saturday run in 1930 butby 1935 were running daily to Paddington,Wood Lane and South Lambeth. 58 milliongallons per year were transported in 1938 butthis had risen to 109 million gallons in 1950(300,000 daily). The trains could load up to500 tons which required Castle haulage whenloaded (6.20pm from Penzance or 3.50pmfrom Whitland) although the return emptiesmight be handled by a County, Star or evenHall/Grange. These services were also usuallyformed with one or two Siphons which couldalso be found attached to parcels or newspa-per trains (e.g. 9.05 Birkinhead toPaddington; 8.15am Cardiff to Plymouthreturned a Siphon G travelling betweenLiverpool and Penzance). Many rural stationswere still loading Siphons or Passenger BrakeVans with churns usually as part of a passen-ger service. The Mortenhamstead branchtrains were carrying 3,000 cans/year. SouthLeigh station on the Fairford branch handled100 cans a day while there were 2 milk trainson the Highworth branch each Sunday andone on the Lambourn Valley.Forty five vehicles were built in batches in

1930/31 and 1934 without louvres and withvertical planking designated Siphon J. Theyhad 8 ice boxes along the sides to provide adegree of refrigeration while the roofs, sidesand ends were double cased. There were only3 double doors and no gangways. They couldaccommodate 100+ churns four abreast butthey were restricted to specific services e.gfrom places such as Moreton-in-Marsh,Sparkford, Carmarthen, Ilminster, LodgeHilland Yeovil to Paddington. Two were trans-ferred to Fishguard for meat traffic in 1937.

They lasted until 1962. The Great Westernbuilt a small number of 6 wheel twin tankmilkwagons in the late 1930s for carrying segre-gatedmilk particularly from the Channel Isleswhich lasted until the 1960s (some had beenconverted to carry other liquids). Swindon didtrial in 1949 and 1954 a 6 wheel chassis forcarriage of milk by road tanker associatedwith Park Royal Depot but they were not per-petuated. Meanwhile Siphon Gs continued tobe constructed into the 1950s with diagram,O62 which, despite being used for stores,exhibitions and engine parts were stillreferred to as Milk Vans. They now had 8extra louvre ventilators spaced along the sidesfitted with shutters. 90 were completed by1955 lasting until the late 1970s/early 1980s.The Milk Marketing Board switched

entirely to road transport by the late 1960sleaving only Express Dairies and Unigate touse rail transport. MMB had phased out thechurn by the end of the 1970s replaced bychilling equipment on the farms and tankers.The trains fromWhitland and Penzance werestill moving 70 million gallons of milk/year(some 25% of milk moved) but the contractwas finally lost in May 1980 by which time allthe services were diesel hauled. Thus thisimportant traffic to the Great WesternRailway and the iconic vehicles used came toan end. When you next see a ‘churn’ or aSiphon give a thought to the manpower andthe designs that give us our daily ‘pinta’.

10

11

Great Western Mogul 9303You may recall that we have loaned our spare wheels to the ‘Betton Grange Group’ and they

were retyred at the South Devon Railway. The original casting had some porous sections whichbrought uncertainty as to whether they would be passed for main line running. They have nowproposed to use the wheels from prairie 5199 under 6880 and use our wheels for 5199 when itreturns to service. This does not alter our agreement over the loan but a codicil will need agree-ment to note the change.

Great Western Carriage Drawings

Great Western Garter CrestGreatWestern Garter Crest transfers from 1912 are available for

£100 each from the Association. They can be collected fromBewdley by arrangement with Mick Haynes (tel: 0773331060)

When Swindon closed the drawing collec-tion passed to the National Railway Museumin York. Over the last two years a team hasviewed and catalogued all the locomotivedrawings but the carriage and wagon draw-ings remained to be done. Your Chairman ispart of the small team of volunteers goingthrough the drawings to catalogue what’sthere. So far 250 boxes have been completedand we believe there is at least another 500left to do. Each box has several rolls in it andeach roll has about 60 to 100 drawings but itdepends on their age as to how many can gointo a roll as cloth takes up more space thanpaperIt is a real mystery tour as all you have is a

box number and when you open the box pan-dora starts to emerge. A lot of the drawingsare general arrangement drawings on tracingpaper and the paper sticks together making it

difficult to unroll without some risk of tear-ing! A delicate gentle approach is needed.The older drawings are on cloth and in excel-lent condition and many are works of art incolour!During the last session Mick Haynes was

cataloguing a series of ambulance train mod-ifications when to his delight and surprise theGA drawing for the body and underframe ofLot 1644 turned up which includes our cur-rent restoration project number 650 so somequick photos were taken and an order put infor a copy when the next batch are sent forcopying. Members will be kept informed ofother gems as they appear. There is probablyat least one to two year’s work to completethe GW boxes. Copies are being ordered asinteresting ones appear.

Great Western (SVR) AssociationBewdley Station • Bewdley • Worcestershire

Great Western (SVR) AssociationTrustees and Committee Members

Mick Haynes - Chairman

Rob Massey - Secretary and Membership Secretary9 Shandon Close, Harborne, Birmingham B32 3XB

Dave Massey - Treasurer

Colin Jenkins

Columb Howell

Pete Simpson

Graham Gardener

Chris Haynes - Newsletter Editor

Paul Bennett - email: webmaster@gw-svr-a.org.uk

Gareth Price

Website: www.gw-svr-a.org.ukEmail: info@gw-svr-a.org.uk

Saturday 20th October 2012, the Association’s Special Train at Highley Station.