GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill Station - Grouping Period Rolling Stock: gwrbsh1796

At the north end of Snow Hill Station was an area called Northwood Street Sidings where carriage stock was stabled and serviced prior to being formed into trains. Waiting in these sidings is a Great Western Railway seventy foot long Concertina brake composite coach in the chocolate and cream livery, with twin coat of arms device, as used between 1943 and 1946. The name Concertina was inspired by the in-out appearance caused by the recessed doors, a feature introduced to maximise the use of the loading gauge width.

The coach is a diagram E80, brake tri-composite coach, built as part of either; lot 1113 completed between June and July 1906 (consisting of ten coaches with running numbers 1658 to 1667), or lot 1121 completed between February and April 1907 (again consisting of ten coaches with running numbers 1655, 1656, 1657, 7668 to 7674). That year, the Great Western Railway introduced a new unified numbering system:
Third Class Coaches retained their existing numbers
Second Class Coaches had 5000 added to their existing running numbers
Composite Coaches had 6000 added to their exiting running numbers
First Class Coaches had 8000 added to their existing running numbers
Saloon Coaches were renumbered into the 90xx, 91xx, 92xx and 93xx series
Sleeper Coaches were renumbered into the 90xx series
Restaurant and Diner Cars were renumbered into the 95xx series
This resulted in the running numbers of these twenty brake composite coaches becoming 7655 to 7674. Note that the last few coaches only ran with the new numbering system.

These were ganged coaches, built with a combined luggage and guard compartment at one end, while a corridor ran the length of the remainder of the coach giving access to; two first class compartments, two second class compartments, three third class compartments and two lavatories. One compartment from each class was designated for smoking. In 1909, the company abolished second class and these two compartments were relabelled as third class compartments. The photograph shows the compartment side of the coach. These coaches weighed between 31 and 34 tons and were supported on nine foot wheelbase heavy duty bogies. These coaches were finally condemned between 1953 and 1957.

This photograph is displayed courtesy of the HMRS (Historical Model Railway Society) and copies can be ordered directly from them using the link HERE, quoting reference AEL217.

Robert Ferris

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