Mk 3a Convertible Sleeper
BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mk 3a coaching stock entered service between 1975 and 1988. It featured a monocoque construction with an all-welded mild steel stressed skin, and was air-braked. These features make it unsuitable for operational use on a heritage railway such as the SVRSevern Valley Railway. However the SVRSevern Valley Railway has acquired a number of Mk 3a Convertible Sleeper carriages which are used as temporary accommodation. They are of two varieties, the Sleeper Either class (SLE) and the Sleeper Either class with Pantry (SLEP).
Current Mk 3a coaching stock
As of 2020[update] there are three Mk 3 sleepers still present on the SVRSevern Valley Railway:
Number | Version | Built | Build location | To SVRSevern Valley Railway by | Current or usual location | Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10569 | SLEP | 1982 | Derby | May 2007 | Bewdley | 10569 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line |
10696 | SLE | 1983 | Derby | April 2007 | Bewdley | 10696 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line |
10713 | SLE | 1983 | Derby | April 2007 | Kidderminster Diesel Depot | 10713 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line |
10569 was first used in preservation on the VSOEVenice Simplon Orient Express set at Stewarts Lane. By 2005 it had transferred to the Northern Belle fleet, based at Crewe Carriage Shed. It is in chocolate and cream livery and bears the name “Leviathan”.
All the Mk 3a carriages listed are owned by SVR(H).
Former Mk 3a coaching stock
Two other Mk 3a Convertible Sleepers were previously resident but have since been scrapped:
- 10677: This vehicle reportedly arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway circa 2010.[1] It was stripped for spares at Kidderminster, the body leaving by low loader in April 2014 for cutting up at Lye.[2][3]
- 10606: SLEP built in 1982 at Derby.[4] Photographed at Kidderminster in 2015 (see below), it has since been stripped for spares and by December 2017 had been sent to Kingsbury for cutting up.[3][5]
Northern Belle Mk 3a coaching stock
Between 2017 and 2018 the SVRSevern Valley Railway entered into an agreement to stable this train. It included two sleeper vehicles:
Number | Name | Type | Built | Build location | Notes | RHR Carriage Survey |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10729 | Crewe | BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mk 3a Convertible Sleeper | 1980 | Derby | Staff sleeper | 10729 |
10734 | Balmoral | BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mk 3a Royal Train Staff Sleeper | 1984 | Staff sleeper (formerly No 2914) | 10734 |
By May 2018 all Northern Belle vehicles had left the SVRSevern Valley Railway.
Locomotive Services Limited ('LSL') Mk 3 coaching stock
On 25 November 2019 locomotive 47593 delivered eight Mark 3 sleepers for temporary storage outside Kidderminster Carriage Shed until March 2020.[6] The sleepers had been displaced from Caledonian Sleeper services by new Mark 5 sleeper stock, and bought by LSL for charter use.[7] During this period the Kidderminster Loop Line was closed for repairs to Falling Sands Viaduct and some carriage sets were stabled at the north end of the line, allowing space for the vehicles to be stored. The storage period has since been extended and as of July 2021[update] the majority of the sleepers are still present on the SVRSevern Valley Railway.
See also
References
- ↑ Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey 10677
- ↑ SVR forum
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Confirmed by David Williams, 15 January 2020
- ↑ 10606 on Railway Heritage Register On-Line
- ↑ Railway Heritage Register Carriage Survey 10606
- ↑ Express Points, December 2019
- ↑ CAF (Retrieved 16 January 2020)
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