Carriage 5

From Festipedia, hosted by the FR Heritage Group
Carriage 5
Type 4-wheel ‘bug box’
Seating 14 x 3rd
Home Railway FR
Status In service, Heritage Fleet
History
Built by Brown, Marshall & Co
Built 1863/4
1958 Restored to service
Technical
Length 12 ft
Body Width 6 ft 8 in
Frames Steel
Carriages

Carriage 5 is one of the Ffestiniog Railway's original carriages from 1864.

History[edit]

Background and early years[edit]

Carriage 4 was built by Brown, Marshall & Co of Adderley Park Birmingham. It is a single compartment closed carriage with knifeboard seating and a third class of capacity seven each side. It is believed to have been part of the first batch of narrow gauge passenger coaches built in the world for public service (along with Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 11), to designs assumed to have been made by C.E. Spooner.

At some point this carriage had the panelling on the sides replaced with vertical matchboarding.[1]

Restoration and rebuilding in the revival era[edit]

Carriage 5 was originally restored to use in 1958,[2] initially in green livery. It later had the panelling restored when it carried the standard green and ivory livery. It then carried cherry red livery from late sixties but was withdrawn about that time.

It was taken to Llanbedr for rebuild by Ron Jarvis in his workshop. It now incorporates a steel section through the vehicle and can be braked, though 5 does not have brakes fitted. At this time Ron had 4 steel sections (5, 2, 1 and 12) made and enough machined timber sections for at least 4 vehicles (used on 5, 2, 3 and 4 and some bits on No 1).

It is now painted in the Victorian livery of L & Y Purple Brown and white with gold colour lining, for use in The 1870's Train, for some time it carried the Royal Purple livery in the nineties.

Photos of this carriage also show it wearing a dark brown and cream livery around 1990 for example this Flickr link

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 Locomotive and Rolling Stock and Quarry Feeders. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 085361-168-8.
  2. ^ Fred Boughey (1966) "F. R. Coaches 1955-1965: 2 − 1961-1965", Ffestiniog Railway Magazine, Issue 33, page(s): 15