North
Staffordshire Railway 4-wheel Third class compartment carriage no 61 (body
only)
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The Knotty Coach AppealCan you help?Our current target is £5,000, donations are very welcome, over £1,000 has been raised already.If you would like to contribute please write to:
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| Above: Body of NSR 4 wheeled Third number 61 on display in Caverswall Road museum, 2004 |
This carriage was built in the mid 1870s, probably 1876 (see below). It was almost certainly constructed at the North Staffordshire Railway's own works at Stoke, in the carriage and wagon shops alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal which still stand today (locals will know "Hyde Park Tiles" as the actual building). It is of typical early NSR "deep waisted" panel style with square corners, and the hallmark end panelling style of seven long thin panels up to eaves level. It is only 20 long by 8 feet wide, with virtually straight side framing, small windows, and four doors on each side. The carriage is divided by a single partition into two pairs of compartments, with a single oil lamp hole provided to illuminate both. Each seating bay is lettered A to D and, being less than 5'0" wide with narrow wooden seats the passengers would have had to sit with their knees virtually interlocked. Many carriages were built by the NSR to this basic size, for close-coupled sets intended for use on the Loop Line services, though they were also employed much further afield. Later examples were wider and better equipped, and after 1897 they were equipped with electric light, but they never received any form of train heating. The four wheeled oak underframes of these carriages were originally carried on grease lubricated axlesboxes in outside W irons and long springs. NSR oil axleboxes were fitted later. The short wheelbase of only 12 feet must have created an uncomfortable ride at speed. The poor lighting and lack of heating would have made long journeys such as the NSR Market Drayton line, on which these small carriages were frequently used even in the late 1890s, insufferable. A handful of such carriages even lasted until 1923 in workmen's trains but were promptly withdrawn by the LMS. For a slightly later, longer example of this type of carriage also preserved at Foxfield, see 4w third number 127.
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| Above: NSR four wheeled carriages in a close-coupled set on the Market Drayton line, seen at Pipe Gate station behind Longbottom 2-4-0T No35 in 1895. |
There is a record of number 61 being involved in an accident that befell
the 5.43pm train from Rocester to Ashbourne on 1 February 1900, in which
appears to have been the third vehicle but was undamaged. A replacement
carriage, a six-wheel five compartment third, was built by the NSR in 1901.
At that date number 61 would have been placed on the "duplicate list" renumbered
061 and withdrawn as soon as any major repair became due. Three identical
carriages to number 61 were converted to milk vans by the NSR in 1907.
These three (numbers 56, 57 and 60) are recorded by the NSR as built in
1876 so this may confirm the exact year of building for number 61. It did
not survive in service long enough to be equipped with electric light,
and it is not known exactly when 61 was withdrawn and the body separated
from the underframe so it could be grounded, but it was probably by 1910.
It was used as a platelayers' hut in the goods yard at Tutbury station
on the NSR line to Burton-on-Trent. By the late 1920s the body had been
sold on even from this humble duty, and became a garden shed at a house
in Tutbury.
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Above:
At rest in a Tutbury garden, NSR four wheeled Third number 61 awaits rescue
and transport to the Foxfield Railway.
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Remarkably, the carriage body survived in this use in good condition until the mid 1970s, when it's historical interest became apparent to the owners, Mr and Miss Melbourne. When they wished to extend the house and dispose of the body of number 61 they kindly allowed its careful removal, and it arrived at Foxfield by road in Autumn 1976, by then 100 years old.
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Above:
NSR four wheeled Third number 61 arriving by road on a low-loader, at Foxfield
Colliery in 1976.
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A partial restoration was
carried out while the body of number 61 was located on the wooden platform
at Foxfield Colliery, but on 11 October 1992 it was placed temporarily
on modern underframe number 3415, one of the CEGB
flat wagons (ex tank wagons), and moved to Caverswall Road station
for a full restoration to commence. This took place under the canopy at
the side of the museum building and was completed when moved inside the
building, where it is now displayed. Wherever possible the original panels
have been retained, but a new central seat has had to be constructed. One
interesting find during restoration was some football graffitti engraved
on one of the windows: "Derby 1 Bolton 4" but it is not known which year
this might relate to. Internally the doors and walls have been stained
and painted as they would have been originally, and the exterior carries
1870s livery as far as the available evidence indicates.
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Above:
On display on a temporary underframe at the 2008 Steam Gala weekend, NSR
four wheeled Third number 61 was open for visitors to see the cramped,
spartan interior restored to original condition.
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In due course an underframe from a passenger rated Midland Railway 12 ton van dating from the early 1920s will be lengthened by 2'6" and fully restored to carry the body of number 61. This will not be entirely authentic as the metal frames and inside W irons are very different to NSR practice of the 19th century. However, it should look the part and most importantly allow an experience of this ancient carriage on the move once again: literally to be transported back into a forgotten age.
To complete the restoration of this historic item of rolling stock to running order, a small fundraising group has been set up: the Knotty Coach Appeal. The initial aim is to raise £5,000 to permit establishment of a charitable trust. Initial focus is on sister carriage number 127 but when this is completed the replacement underframe for number 61 will be tackled and the finishing touches will be added to the restored body. All work on the underframe will be carried out at Foxfield by volunteers.
Can you help? Donations are very welcome, over £1,000 has
been raised already. If you would like to contribute please write to:
Mr John Allman, NSR Rolling Stock Restoration Trust, 3 Blakelow Crescent,
Newcastle Road, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7EU.
We also welcome donations of railway related items to help raise funds,
and these are auctioned on Ebay regularly under the seller identity "knotty_coach".
Thank you for your interest and support.
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Above:
The replacement Midland Railway passenger van underframe for NSR 4w Third
number 61.
Above: NSR four wheeled third class carriage to diagram 15 (official diagram
book page)
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For the Vintage Carriage Database entry for NSR number 61 see: http://vintagecarriagestrust.org/sd/645.HTM.
The body from a first class version of this carriage, with only three (much more spacious!) compartments, is preserved at the Churnet Valley Railway and was for many years on display at Cheddleton station, recovered from a wood at Loggerheads. It is now under active restoration on a replacement underframe using parts supplied from a CEGB tippler wagon formerly at Foxfield. It is not on public display at the moment. For its Vintage Carriage Database entry see: http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=647.
Another first class example was preserved in the early 1990s from a
builders yard in Market Drayton, and put on display near Shrewsbury. It
is believed to have been broken up in 1998 - for its entry see: http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=2567.
Last updated: September 2008.