A new lease of life for Cambrian Railways Coach No.238

The coach before work began

The interior of the main part of the coach

The completed coach

A 19th-century railway coach has been at the centre of one the largest conservation and reconstruction programmes undertaken by Amgueddfa Cymru.

19th-century passenger railways

At the end of the 19th century, Cambrian Railways covered much of mid-Wales. Unlike the lines in south Wales, whose main purpose was to carry iron and coal from the valleys the short distance to the coast, Cambrian Railways provided long-distance passenger services. They connected coastal resorts such as Aberystwyth to the large cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Quality and luxury

In comparison to today's trains, passenger coaches in the 19th century were quite complicated. Coach No.238 had a small luggage compartment at one end, then two first-class compartments and four third-class compartments. There were three toilets, one allocated to first-class use only. To make sure there was no mixing of classes, the corridors for first and third-class compartments were on opposite sides of the coach.

Coach No.238 was built in Birmingham in 1895 to very high standards, its original plans stating: “Interior panelling of polished sycamore framed with walnut wood and gold lined”.

From luxury coach to hollow shell

The coach entered service in 1895 and was used mainly between Aberystwyth and Manchester before finally being withdrawn in 1939. During the Second World War it was converted into a wireless van. Later it was put into storage before being transferred to Amgueddfa Cymru in 1991 by which time the coach was essentially a hollow shell.

The Museum decided to restore one first-class and one third-class compartment at either end of the coach, with the rest of the space to be used for groups of visitors. A special canopy was constructed to house the coach, allowing the restoration to go ahead even in bad weather.

Restoration of the coach

Work began with re-roofing the coach, then replacing the floor with 'tongue and groove' planks. The first-class compartment was found to have one set of planks laid at 45 degrees to the body of the coach, with a top layer laid at 90 degrees to the lower layer. Apparently this gave a quieter ride for the first-class passengers. Next to be renewed were the external panelling and mouldings, then the internal partitions and seat frameworks, all following the original plans. Such was the attention to detail that the metal brackets supporting the luggage rack were copied from an original with replicas being made in the brass foundry at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis.

The coach originally had 14 coats of paint; fortunately, modern paints do not require such methods. The lower half of the coach is finished in Cambrian Green, with an original sample of paint used to produce the appropriate shade.

Finishing touches

The coat-of-arms of the Cambrian Railway Company and the Prince of Wales feathers provided the finishing touches. These were taken from originals that were photographed, scanned and laser printed to provide identical copies.

The glory of this coach will serve as a reminder of the halcyon days at the beginning of the 20th century when people travelled from all over England to visit Cardigan Bay.

Comments (7)

Comments are currently unavailable. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Sara Huws Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Staff
8 January 2018, 10:04
Hi there Rob

Thanks for your comment. How great to hear that another carriage is being restored. I would give you the same advice as I have given Mr Miller below, which is to contact the email address industry@museumwales.ac.uk to ask any specific questions or to arrange to view any associated documentation.

I'm not sure where the old coke works were in Nantgarw I'm afraid! But it is quite close to the cinema!

Thanks again for your enquiry and best of luck with the restoration.

Sara
Digital Team
Rob Hill
6 January 2018, 20:20
Hi Sara,
Lovely to see this carriage - really great job indeed.
We are planning to restore a carriage currently without wheels at the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. It is a Cambrian Railway coach (originally No 250 but later renumbered to 4109 by the GWR) and we are looking for any details/drawings of the wooden door mouldings that may exist.
It is a 6 compartment, 3rd class carriage.
Any help/pointers would be gratefully received.
Many thanks
Rob Hill
PS - is your Nantgarw site close to the old coke works?
Sara Huws Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Staff
3 January 2018, 13:03

Dear Mr.Miller,

Below is a response from our curator - many apologies for the delay, this was due to an error on my part in processing the response. Thank you for your patience.

Sara
Digital Team


Thank you for your enquiry. The Museum holds extensive correspondence with companies, societies and individuals concerning the details of the restoration of the railway carriage. Museum staff involved in the project went to considerable lengths to source and copy original components to copy, and photographs and drawings to inform all aspects of the construction and decoration of both the exterior and interior of the railway carriage. If you are seeking information on specific aspects or components of the railway carriage, please contact the National Collections Centre, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales,  Heol Crochendy, Parc Nantgarw, CF15 7QT, tel. (029) 2057 3560, email  industry@museumwales.ac.uk 

Sara Huws Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Staff
12 October 2017, 15:01

Hi there Chris,

Thank you for your enquiry. I will put you in touch with our curator via email, so that you can discuss further.

Best wishes

Sara
Digital Team

chris miller
6 October 2017, 16:14
I would be very interested to know if all the various details of how the restoration was carried out ,have been recorded in some way, even down to the most insignificant details.
Mark Etheridge Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Staff
26 September 2016, 15:18

The Cambrian coach is stored at the National Collections Centre, Nantgarw. The collections centre is open Monday to Friday by appointment only. Please call 029 2057 3560 to make an appointment.

Paul davies
24 September 2016, 20:45
I am currently restoring cambrian coach no. 251 and also built around 1895. Where can I visit your coach for reference purposes.