Van 3
| Van 3 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Unknown | |
| Built By | Brown, Marshall & Co. & FR Co. |
| Designation | Guard / Luggage Van |
| History | |
| Date Built | 1876 |
| Operating | No, dismantled 1955 |
[edit] Background
The Festiniog Railway bought the bodies for three bogie luggage vans from Brown, Marshall & Co. - two in 1873 and the third in 1876, and added the bogies and brakegear at Boston Lodge works following delivery. They each contained a guard's compartment, a large luggage compartment accessed externally by sliding doors or internally from the guard's compartment, and a small compartment for dogs.
Van 3 survived at Harbour Station when the railway reopened in 1955, but was in such poor condition that it could not be saved. It was taken to Boston Lodge Top Yard where one day a helpful volunteer was told to 'burn the rubbish' and he burnt No.3 Van. The door running rails survived and so did the bogies - later reputedly put under the replica No.1 van.
On account of their peculiarly shaped roofs these vans became known to the preservationists as the Curly Roofed Vans , but this term was not used by the old FR Co. Victorian tramcar builders described this style as "Turtle roof".[1]
A replica, numbered 1, was built in 2004.
- ^ Mitchell, Vic; Keith Smith. Porthmadoc to Blaenau. Midhurst, Sussex, England: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-50-2. OCLC 36589826.
