Toplight Coach Group at the Swindon and Cricklade Steam Railway

We have been busy on the project on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and have passed the milestone of having the frame repairs complete and by Christmas 06 the whole outside of the coach (with the exception of the doors) was re panelled. This is a major step forward and the coach no longer looks the "no-hoper" it did at the start.

This is very satisfying especially as in 2007 the coach will be 100 years old (being completed on 14th December 1907). Originally it cost £1268-12s- 1d to build ! Having been inspired by the recent Woodbine "birthday party" we thought we might use a similar excuse to drink beer etc and have our own 100 candle event. ! so in the summer we would like to get the coach pushed outside and on display for a day or two, ideally in the bay platform at Hayes Knoll so the public can come and take a look inside, we still need to discuss with management and decide on a weekend probably in August and ideally tying up with a larger event at the SCR. The major focus for 2007 will be the 16 external doors, 5 of these have been done already (but not all re hung) and we intend to have all the external doors complete and re fitted to the coach by the end of 2007.

The first set Ken Habgood will work on is the guards doors, these are a double set so are a bit more complicated to do.
Andrew Creaser has completed a whole set of the ventilator boxes that are attached to the inside of each door at the top.
Ken recently has been working on making new framing for the floor in the guards compartment which is being done different to the original way and is being re-laid with 2 layers of 15mm Russian birch ply.We have also been getting companies to cast other parts for the doors and make rubber bumpers etc.The group had another trip to the Severn Valley Railway to meet Colin Jenkins and it was a good opportunity for newer members of the group such as Tony Davis and Alan Merryweather to see the three restored and one un restored Toplights at the SVR.

The un restored one the SVR plan to start work on in the not too distant future. They have been collecting bits for it, but currently are working on a Gresley vehicle and another 1930s GWR coach, both of which are probably about 80% done.The Severn Valley ones have been modified in a number of ways:-1 They have been fitted with dump valves so that if the Guard screws the handbrake on, then this means that the vacuum cannot be created to lift the main brakes off.

If the guard forgets to screw the hand brake to off it prevents the coach being dragged along with the handbrake screwed on and the wheels locked, thus causing a wheel flat, which is both expensive and very, very difficult with limited tools and no jacks to correct. (we have no spare bogies which we can just swap etc).

We may already have wheel flats, we don't know yet, but it seems unlikely as the tyres themselves are quite thick and in good condition.This seems like a good modification to fit so we will make sure we make the same modification, although on the SCR it should be generally less of a problem as we tend to use small locomotives which don't have as much "pull" so it would be more obvious to the driver that something was wrong if the coach handbrake is left on. 2 They have added pipes underneath the coach so both toilet tanks can be filled from ground level by connecting up a hose pipe. The pipes themselves run through to near the centre of the chassis with a Tee piece so that there is a nozzle at either side.

The reason for do this is that the SVR found that if the pipes come down at the end then the bogie will damage them when the coach goes round a bend. The SVR found this by trial and error when heads were scratched upon seeing some mangled water pipe !!
Originally the tanks where filled from the roof lid, but this means someone has to climb on the roof each time. We may decide to fit this but perhaps not straight away, as it is doubtful the toilets will be used whilst we are only running such a short distance but other railways such as the Gloucester Warwickshire and SVR do use them.3 The one which was originally mahogany panelled was at first restored with plywood but then later rebuilt with steel as they found after 6 to 7 years open storage that the coach was unusable (they are stored undercover now).One of the reasons we went to the Severn Valley was to look at the lighting system so this will now be described in some detail:-Originally when 7545 was built in 1907 for newly constructed coaches there were basically two main lighting systems in use in Britain, Gas or Electric.

Gas was the older and by that time Compressed Oil gas was the normal method, this had been introduced on the Metropolitan Railway in 1876. Oil gas was made in a separate gas plant by means of distillation, and the railways generally built their own gasworks for the purpose (there was one in Swindon for instance). The coaches themselves would then be filled either directly from a supply or from a gas wagon which carried gas for this purpose to more remote areas.Underneath the coach there would have been gas cylinders typically about 6 feet long and about 1.75 feet in diameter and unusually pressured to about 80 -100 PSI. There would have then been a pressure gauge on each side of the chassis and you can still see today where the mounting holes for these were, as well as the mountings for the gas tanks themselves (they have been riveted to fill the holes.)From the gas tanks there would then have been small copper piping along the top of the roof and into each of the gas lights. These went right through the roof so that the "chimney" could vent through the roof. A regulating valve kept the supply pressure constant and a pullout handle meant that staff could switch all the lamps on or off simultaneously. (each lamp had a small pilot light).

Both the GWR and Midland stuck to gas lighting well after other railways had moved to Electricity and were both typically slow to adopt new ideas. We did consider the possibility of reinstalling the gas system. There is a GWR 1897 sleeping car on the West Somerset Railway that has recently been fully restored(Some of you may have seen it at the Spring gala on that line with its gas lights on). It looks like a Toplight but has a Clerestory roof and has beds in it. This has been restored with working gas lights and cooker so I contacted them to find out what was involved.

The HMRI had not really liked it but had agreed to approve it and it had been installed by a CORGI registered volunteer.
They had to fit a special tumbler valve so that if the coach turns over !! then the gas supply is automatically switched off. They used two propane tanks holders off an old Camping coach. The original gas lights were made by a company called William Sugg who were at the time a major supply of gas lights all over the world, they mostly made street lighting and also the gas lights you typically see on station building/platforms/canopies as well as approx 15000 hand oil lamps for the GWRs drivers, guards etc.Amazingly enough they still exist and make many of the same range using some original tools etc and run by a descendant of the founder and you can see their range at
www.sugglighting.co.uk if you fancy some Victorian lamps in your garden !

They have many different types both gas and electric and would look nice on our station platform. The gas ones are switched on electrically by an electric solenoid just opening a gas valve and with a pilot light the gas ignites automatically. If we do build a "period" station at Cricklade they would look great.So anyway Suggs specially made a new set of 10 lamps for the West Somerset Sleeping car, however (and here is the snag !) they cost £7000 for the patterns to original drawings (Swindon historic Castings had some of the main patterns) and then a further £7000 for the lamps to actually be made, plus money to convert the cooker to propane gas. Full credit for the WSR to going to this trouble with the detail, and for those that have seen it the whole project has been done to "museum quality" standards.Now to the electrical system, if you haven't fallen asleep already.

7545 was converted from gas to electric in the 1930s and all the original gas fittings were removed. The electrical system was basically the same on all GWR coaches right from the 1920s until the GWR coaches were withdrawn without much variation from what I can see.

The main parts were as follows:-

1 The dynamo
2 The batteries (12 lead acid cells)
3 The Auto Switch
4 The Distance Switch
5 The regulator
6 The though train control switch

We have now acquired the bits we need for the system. The dynamo is driven by pulleys and a belt from one of the main wheels, its designed so that it has a mechanism so that it still provides the same voltage polarity regardless of which direction the coach is travelling, ( i.e. it can rotate clock or anticlockwise)The auto switch controls whether current is coming from either the batteries or the dynamo, by measuring the voltage of the dynamo.

The distance switch is used to switch the lights on or off in the coach and is located in the guards compartment, together with the through train control switch which can switch lights on or off in the whole train.

The final part the regulator is very heavy and complicated, it would take me several pages to explain how it works properly so simply, it keeps the lights on the train at a constant voltage (and therefore brightness) regardless of how many lights are on or off in each compartment by adjusting the amount of resistance in the 3 individual circuits depending on the number of lights that are on.

Alan Merryweather has been busy on a number of items cleaning metals parts and then painting them. He has been coming regularly and is getting more experienced at doing the work needed, so has become a very useful member of the team. Alan has also been doing repairs to some of our equipment such as steps, wood vices etc.Tony Davis has been working on all the door hinges carefully removing them from the body and then taking the pins out and cleaning them up before putting them back on the body. When the doors are refitted the holes are plugged, re-drilled and then new screws put in, this ensures that the doors are fitted on strongly.Finally as the coach is getting more complete and there are less and less rotten areas so it's getting more satisfying to work on.

New Floor in guards compartment


	January 07 Toplight Coach Group Report by James Faulkner We have been busy on the project on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and have passed the milestone of having the frame repairs complete and by Christmas 06 the whole outside of the coach (with the exception of the doors) was re panelled. This is a major step forward and the coach no longer looks the "no-hoper" it did at the start. This is very satisfying especially as in 2007 the coach will be 100 years old (being completed on 14th December 1907). Originally it cost £1268-12s- 1d to build ! Having been inspired by the recent Woodbine "birthday party" we thought we might use a similar excuse to drink beer etc and have our own 100 candle event. ! so in the summer we would like to get the coach pushed outside and on display for a day or two, ideally in the bay platform at Hayes Knoll so the public can come and take a look inside, we still need to discuss with management and decide on a weekend probably in August and ideally tying up with a larger event at the SCR. The major focus for 2007 will be the 16 external doors, 5 of these have been done already (but not all re hung) and we intend to have all the external doors complete and re fitted to the coach by the end of 2007. The first set Ken Habgood will work on is the guards doors, these are a double set so are a bit more complicated to do. Andrew Creaser has completed a whole set of the ventilator boxes that are attached to the inside of each door at the top. Ken recently has been working on making new framing for the floor in the guards compartment which is being done different to the original way and is being re-laid with 2 layers of 15mm Russian birch ply.We have also been getting companies to cast other parts for the doors and make rubber bumpers etc.The group had another trip to the Severn Valley Railway to meet Colin Jenkins and it was a good opportunity for newer members of the group such as Tony Davis and Alan Merryweather to see the three restored and one un restored Toplights at the SVR. The un restored one the SVR plan to start work on in the not too distant future. They have been collecting bits for it, but currently are working on a Gresley vehicle and another 1930s GWR coach, both of which are probably about 80% done.The Severn Valley ones have been modified in a number of ways:-1 They have been fitted with dump valves so that if the Guard screws the handbrake on, then this means that the vacuum cannot be created to lift the main brakes off. If the guard forgets to screw the hand brake to off it prevents the coach being dragged along with the handbrake screwed on and the wheels locked, thus causing a wheel flat, which is both expensive and very, very difficult with limited tools and no jacks to correct. (we have no spare bogies which we can just swap etc). We may already have wheel flats, we don't know yet, but it seems unlikely as the tyres themselves are quite thick and in good condition.This seems like a good modification to fit so we will make sure we make the same modification, although on the SCR it should be generally less of a problem as we tend to use small locomotives which don't have as much "pull" so it would be more obvious to the driver that something was wrong if the coach handbrake is left on. 2 They have added pipes underneath the coach so both toilet tanks can be filled from ground level by connecting up a hose pipe. The pipes themselves run through to near the centre of the chassis with a Tee piece so that there is a nozzle at either side. The reason for do this is that the SVR found that if the pipes come down at the end then the bogie will damage them when the coach goes round a bend. The SVR found this by trial and error when heads were scratched upon seeing some mangled water pipe !! Originally the tanks where filled from the roof lid, but this means someone has to climb on the roof each time. We may decide to fit this but perhaps not straight away, as it is doubtful the toilets will be used whilst we are only running such a short distance but other railways such as the Gloucester Warwickshire and SVR do use them.3 The one which was originally mahogany panelled was at first restored with plywood but then later rebuilt with steel as they found after 6 to 7 years open storage that the coach was unusable (they are stored undercover now).One of the reasons we went to the Severn Valley was to look at the lighting system so this will now be described in some detail:-Originally when 7545 was built in 1907 for newly constructed coaches there were basically two main lighting systems in use in Britain, Gas or Electric. Gas was the older and by that time Compressed Oil gas was the normal method, this had been introduced on the Metropolitan Railway in 1876. Oil gas was made in a separate gas plant by means of distillation, and the railways generally built their own gasworks for the purpose (there was one in Swindon for instance). The coaches themselves would then be filled either directly from a supply or from a gas wagon which carried gas for this purpose to more remote areas.Underneath the coach there would have been gas cylinders typically about 6 feet long and about 1.75 feet in diameter and unusually pressured to about 80 -100 PSI. There would have then been a pressure gauge on each side of the chassis and you can still see today where the mounting holes for these were, as well as the mountings for the gas tanks themselves (they have been riveted to fill the holes.)From the gas tanks there would then have been small copper piping along the top of the roof and into each of the gas lights. These went right through the roof so that the "chimney" could vent through the roof. A regulating valve kept the supply pressure constant and a pullout handle meant that staff could switch all the lamps on or off simultaneously. (each lamp had a small pilot light). Both the GWR and Midland stuck to gas lighting well after other railways had moved to Electricity and were both typically slow to adopt new ideas. We did consider the possibility of reinstalling the gas system. There is a GWR 1897 sleeping car on the West Somerset Railway that has recently been fully restored(Some of you may have seen it at the Spring gala on that line with its gas lights on). It looks like a Toplight but has a Clerestory roof and has beds in it. This has been restored with working gas lights and cooker so I contacted them to find out what was involved. The HMRI had not really liked it but had agreed to approve it and it had been installed by a CORGI registered volunteer. They had to fit a special tumbler valve so that if the coach turns over !! then the gas supply is automatically switched off. They used two propane tanks holders off an old Camping coach. The original gas lights were made by a company called William Sugg who were at the time a major supply of gas lights all over the world, they mostly made street lighting and also the gas lights you typically see on station building/platforms/canopies as well as approx 15000 hand oil lamps for the GWRs drivers, guards etc.Amazingly enough they still exist and make many of the same range using some original tools etc and run by a descendant of the founder and you can see their range at www.sugglighting.co.uk if you fancy some Victorian lamps in your garden ! They have many different types both gas and electric and would look nice on our station platform. The gas ones are switched on electrically by an electric solenoid just opening a gas valve and with a pilot light the gas ignites automatically. If we do build a "period" station at Cricklade they would look great.So anyway Suggs specially made a new set of 10 lamps for the West Somerset Sleeping car, however (and here is the snag !) they cost £7000 for the patterns to original drawings (Swindon historic Castings had some of the main patterns) and then a further £7000 for the lamps to actually be made, plus money to convert the cooker to propane gas. Full credit for the WSR to going to this trouble with the detail, and for those that have seen it the whole project has been done to "museum quality" standards.Now to the electrical system, if you haven't fallen asleep already. 7545 was converted from gas to electric in the 1930s and all the original gas fittings were removed. The electrical system was basically the same on all GWR coaches right from the 1920s until the GWR coaches were withdrawn without much variation from what I can see. The main parts were as follows:- 1 The dynamo 2 The batteries (12 lead acid cells) 3 The Auto Switch 4 The Distance Switch 5 The regulator 6 The though train control switch We have now acquired the bits we need for the system. The dynamo is driven by pulleys and a belt from one of the main wheels, its designed so that it has a mechanism so that it still provides the same voltage polarity regardless of which direction the coach is travelling, ( i.e. it can rotate clock or anticlockwise)The auto switch controls whether current is coming from either the batteries or the dynamo, by measuring the voltage of the dynamo. The distance switch is used to switch the lights on or off in the coach and is located in the guards compartment, together with the through train control switch which can switch lights on or off in the whole train. The final part the regulator is very heavy and complicated, it would take me several pages to explain how it works properly so simply, it keeps the lights on the train at a constant voltage (and therefore brightness) regardless of how many lights are on or off in each compartment by adjusting the amount of resistance in the 3 individual circuits depending on the number of lights that are on. Alan Merryweather has been busy on a number of items cleaning metals parts and then painting them. He has been coming regularly and is getting more experienced at doing the work needed, so has become a very useful member of the team. Alan has also been doing repairs to some of our equipment such as steps, wood vices etc.Tony Davis has been working on all the door hinges carefully removing them from the body and then taking the pins out and cleaning them up before putting them back on the body. When the doors are refitted the holes are plugged, re-drilled and then new screws put in, this ensures that the doors are fitted on strongly.Finally as the coach is getting more complete and there are less and less rotten areas so it's getting more satisfying to work on. New Floor in guards compartment So sitting on your sofa reading this, do YOU fancy getting involved? Much of the work is easy such as sanding and varnishing, wire brushing etc. We are would desperately like it for more people to get involved as the main limiting factor in any of this is a shortage of skilled volunteers. We work on Wednesdays in the day and Evenings and at weekends You can contact us James Faulkner Tel 07715 322241 or email James75452000@yahoo.com or Nick Bailey on (01242) 604522 or speak to us when we are working.