Photo:
Phil Marsh - GNR Brake at Nene Valley Railway March 1998

Photo:
Phil Marsh - GNR Brake at Nene Valley Railway March 1998

This ex-GNR 6-wheeled Luggage Brake is believed to have been constructed at Doncaster in 1897. Originally it was gas lit, vacuum fitted, teak panelled, with Mansell wheels. Currently it has no lighting, is vacuum piped, plywood stained and varnished, with steel disc wheels. The long term aim will be to repanel the coach in teak and install a new roof canvas, as the old one has failed.

Of the many hundreds of these vehicles built, only one other survives in York's Railway museum. This type of vehicle was attached to the Flying Scotsman trains of its day, and would have been part of the trains that ran in the Railway Races to the North in the late 1890's.

It was withdrawn by the LNER in 1938 and converted to a machine fitter's van. In the 1960's it became a weighing machine van for Henry Pooley & Co., when it was numbered DE940400. It was used extensively in the Peterborough area.

In 1971 it was acquired by the Nene Valley Railway who used it for serving refreshments. When it became surplus to their requirements, it was kindly donated to Quainton, arriving during early 2003. The Nene Valley Railway have restored it twice since they acquired it in 1971, but it has deteriorated since and requires period correct features installed. It will be kept undercover at Quainton, to ensure there is no further deterioration.

On our GNR 6-compartment carriage there is a brass crescent shaped stamping on the solebar close to the centre axle with the number 5 on it. On this GNR Full Brake there is a similar one with a 6, but there is not one on our GNR Third Brake. We have always wondered what these were for, as they are on both sides of each vehicle. At a recent Shildon open day it was noticed that there is a similar one on the East Coast Joint Stock bogie third, but that one is a 12. The ECJS was a joint stock grouping of railway companies to compete with the West Coast Joint Stock from Euston. The East Coast companies were Great Northern, North Eastern and North British starting from Kings Cross, whilst the West Coast were just the London & North Western and Caledonian starting from Euston. Competition for the for the fastest run to Aberdeen was especially fierce in the 1890's Race to the North, and it is possible that some of our vintage carriages were used, certainly their type was used. Further enquiries have produced the theory that the numbers represent the optimum working pressure for the gas light system. Quite why a vehicle with 6 lamps would work at 5 units, when another with only three lamps (the full brake) would work at the slightly higher 6 units is not clear, further research is required.

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