Folder: WELSH HIGHLAND HERITAGE RAILWAY
Restoration of the Buffet Car for the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, Porthmadoc.
This vehicle was one of two (Nos. 9 & 10) built in 1893 by The Ashbury Railway Carriage & Iron Co. for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway.
Both had doors at each end and glazing all along each side. They were built as all 3rd Class carriages, but around 1910 a partition had been added to No.10 to provide a small 1st Class section.
The coaches were cut down in 1923 to fit the restricted Ffestiniog Railway loading gauge. This was done by lowering them on their bogie bolsters and cutting the sides above the windows.
Renumbered in the WHR/FR scheme, it appears that 9 became No.25 and 10 No.23.
In 1927, 10/23 was converted into a licensed buffet car, the first such vehicle on a British narrow gauge line. The 3rd Class section was modified to include a serving counter with an urn for making tea. The urn was only heated at Beddgelert and Rhyd Ddu.
When the WHR was requisitioned for the war effort in 1941, the buffet car was sold for use as a summer house at Waenfawr by demolition contractor George Cohen. It was towed on two solid-tyred bogies by a traction engine from Dinas, the journey taking a whole day. The carriage was cut in half, and turned into an 'L-shape' after it was finally delivered to the field. It was donated to the WHR Ltd and transported to Gelert's Farm in 1987. Remarkably, the original bogies survived, although a major rebuild onto a new steel underframe was required (This was built at Greenside, Ryton in 2005).
We renovated, or replicated, the majority of the body structure and matchboarding, and supplied a fake wooden underframe to cover the steel one. Additionally, we supplied a considerable proportion of the components, such as the replica third class seats, their turned legs and the internal door. The Buffet Car has been rebuilt to its cut down dimensions. The parts were taken to Gelert's Farm and (re-)erected there.
This carriage entered service on May 2nd 2009 during the May Gala.
Hopefully, there will only be a few more images to reclaim from the ether, as I've managed to get some back from the collapsed fotopic servers!
(By June 2013 this F****r set had had 375 views)
Restoration of the Buffet Car for the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, Porthmadoc.
This vehicle was one of two (Nos. 9 & 10) built in 1893 by The Ashbury Railway Carriage & Iron Co. for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway.
Both had doors at each end and glazing all along each side. They were built as all 3rd Class carriages, but around 1910 a partition had been added to No.10 to provide a small…
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