GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Widney Manor Station: gwrwm2629
Close-up of the driving end of ex-Barry Railway Auto-Trailer
No 178, when in British Railways Departmental ownership and carrying No W4303.
The photograph was taken when the auto-trailer was residing in the mileage
siding at the back of the goods yard at the northern end of Widney Manor
Station circa 3/4/1953 (see 'gwrwm2627' and 'gwrwm2628' for other views and information).
The double doors gave access to the drivers
compartment, which contained; a single seat, the regulator and brake handles.
There were no interior doors from this compartment to the rest of the coach.
The area was identified on the official drawing as a 'guard and luggage
compartment' indicating its use when not being used by a driver and explaining
the provision of double doors. Further back the single door gave access to a 2
foot, 8 inch wide vestibule with an internal central door giving access to the
forward non-smoking third class compartment which contained two bays of seating
for sixteen passengers. Unlike Great Western Railway designed Auto-Trailers
neither this vestibule door, nor the recessed door at the rear of the coach,
had retractable steps to facilitate access from ground level, but a single step
and low level commode handle was provided to assist access up to the
drivers compartment.
Next to the front wheel on this bogie is the sand pipe which
delivered dry sand directly under this wheel to assist adhesion when the brake
was applied. The brake blocks can be seen clearer on either side of the rear
wheel on this bogie. One item that had been removed from No W4303 by the time
this photograph was taken, was the large warning gong, which from the late
1920s was normally to be found above the right hand drivers window
on Auto-Trailers. Although it was possible to operate the locomotive's whistle
by a cord from the diving compartment, this had been found to be an
unsatisfactory warning device when the Auto-Trailer(s) were leading and a pedal
operated gong provided a simple solution.
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 ABW626.
Robert Ferris
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