Invoke the Titanic to get your cars restored

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon May 03, 2021 1:36 pm

Okay, this is the UK, and this claim really fails the "smell test" in my opinion:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-56941766

Quote:

Titanic historians have discovered two train carriages they believe took passengers to the ship ahead of its infamous maiden journey.

Members of the British Titanic Society think the wooden carriages, found in a yard in South Wales, formed part of a train that carried passengers from London to Southampton on 10 April 1912.

Five days later the Southampton-based liner sank in the North Atlantic Ocean.

It is hoped the carriages, which are due to be scrapped, can be restored.

More at the link.

70000 · **Posted:** Mon May 03, 2021 2:16 pm

From what I have seen over the past few days on various preservation related outlets online, the general consensus seems to be that they were unlikely to have been used on any services between London and Southampton and were built for longer runs to places like Plymouth and Bournemouth/Weymouth.
To complicate things further, they were thoroughly rebuilt from clerestory coaches from 1931 onwards and several ended up as Ambulance cars during WW2. In fact the Israeli Railway Museum in Haifa is currently rebuilding one of them (as an Ambulance car) as some ended up in Palestine !

More details on the two vehicles here..
http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=307
http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=310

I note car #76 did have a US Transportation Corps number allocated in WW2.

I dread to think of the final restoration cost for either of these vehicles if someone took them on....

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

BnOTolSub · **Joined:** Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:41 am **Posts:** 162

Kelly Anderson wrote:

I have it on good authority that N&W #475 hauled a train containing coal that was going to be used to fuel Titanic's return voyage had she not sunk. Can we get any funding due to that Titanic connection?

I'll throw in a dollar for that.

p51 · **Posted:** Tue May 04, 2021 7:22 pm

What is that concrete thing in the background? Almost looks like the base of a cold war antenna/dish/listening device

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue May 04, 2021 11:24 pm

p51 wrote:

What is that concrete thing in the background? Almost looks like the base of a cold war antenna/dish/listening device

From what I can tell/see, it's a distorted view of a more modern water tower base.

70000 · **Posted:** Wed May 05, 2021 1:16 am

p51 wrote:

What is that concrete thing in the background? Almost looks like the base of a cold war antenna/dish/listening device

The place they are stored at the moment is Blaenavon in Wales, on the Pontypool & Blaenavon preserved rail line. Blaenavon is a UNESCO recognised World Heritage Site, so there are a number of buildings associated with a former coal mine and Ironworks there and that concrete structure is one of the buildings from the coal mine as far as I'm aware.
There is a better view of it in the photo here...
http://www.cs.rhrp.org.uk/se/CarriageInfo.asp?Ref=307

p51 · **Posted:** Wed May 05, 2021 1:05 pm

Thanks for the info, that concrete thing was driving me nuts with wondering what it was for!

70000 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 30, 2021 8:29 am

Apparently the (alleged) Titanic boat train carriages are going to the Mid-Hants Railway to be restored....
https://titanicboattrainheritagetrust.org/

The London & South Western Railway Carriage Group at the Mid-Hants do not appear to have any form of online presence though and I've never heard of them.....

Michael Trower · **Posted:** Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:13 pm

[quote="70000"]Apparently the (alleged) Titanic boat train carriages are going to the Mid-Hants Railway to be restored....
https://titanicboattrainheritagetrust.org/

Which is where they left in 1993, only to be apparently untouched since. When I worked there I used to sleep in one of them at weekends.

via6309 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 10, 2015 12:21 pm **Posts:** 44

Good afternoon all,

One Titanic-related item is CN `63 - Canada. Private car built by Wagner in 1897 for the GTR, it was assigned to the president (Charles M. Hays). Mr. Hays was on board the Titanic. Initially sent to Halifax, NS for Mr. Hays, it was subsequently sent to New York to transport his body and his family back to Montreal. Car continued in service for GTR and CN until the 1960s, when family members of Mr. Hays acquired the car and had it donated to the Canadian Railway Museum (Exporail). Mr. Hays pocket watch along with other personal objects, were also donated to the museum.

Mr. Hays was buried in Montreal, at the Mount Royal Cemetary.

Len