No. 62 Lavatory Composite
This vehicle was another acquisition
of the early preservation years on the K&ESR. It was
built at the London and South Western’s Eastleigh Works
in 1907 to diagram 274. The vehicle, which has a non-corridor
wooden body on a steel
underframe and is 56 ft. long by 8 ft. wide. It weighs 26
tons. No. 62 has seven compartments and two pairs of lavatories.
There were originally only two third class compartments but
this was increased to four in 1937.
The coach was originally
numbered 959, was renumbered to 3078 in 1919 and to 5065 in
1925. It was withdrawn in March 1953 and became a camping
coach, first at Amberley and later at Combpyne on the Lyme
Regis branch. It finished up in departmental service at Southall
and came to the K&ESR by rail, via Robertsbridge, in September
1968. Some work conservation work has taken place over the
years but the vehicle continued to deteriorate until made
more secure and covered with tarpaulin in 2004.It is a long
term restoration project.
No.
83 - L&SWR Invalid Saloon No. 11
This vehicle was built at Eastleigh
Works in 1910. Both this coach and No. 62 described above,
were built during the period in office of Carriage and Wagon
Superintendent, Surrey Warner. The design was to drawing No.
1906 and the vehicle was, together with L&SWR No. 12,
one of a pair of invalid saloons.
The underframe is
of oak, making the vehicle largely of wooden construction
(including Mansell pattern wooden centred wheels). Nearly
half its length is an open saloon, accessed by double doors
which allowed the coach to be used by people on stretchers
or in wheelchairs. There is a luggage area at one end and
one first and one second compartment with a short corridor
leading to a lavatory at the other. The vehicle was finished
to luxurious standards. No.11 weighs 23 tons, is 46 ft. 4
ins. in length and is carried on two 8 ft. wheelbase bogies.
There were gangway connections at both ends.
Renumbering to No.
4195 took place in 1919 and to No. 7803 under the Southern
Railway. The vehicle was sold to the Longmoor Military Railway
in February 1938 becoming Army No. 119. It lost its end gangway
connections at Longmoor and was again renumbered to 3007.
It’s subsequent history is similar to that of the ex-L&NWR
saloon described earlier except that it arrived at Tenterden
in 1985 in much worse condition. Some restoration work was
done in 1993, but as a low capacity vehicle, albeit with potential
to carry disabled passengers in a vintage atmosphere it has
been regarded as a long term project.
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