ADB975493

ADB975493 was built as a passenger vehicle, Mk1 Brake Corridor Second 34740, in 1955 at British Railways’ Wolverton workshops. It seated 24 second class passengers in four compartments accessed by a side corridor. A large brake area with a compartment for the guard took up the rest of the vehicle. Four sets of double doors and a large open space in the brake van enabled various goods to be loaded and transported.

After delivery, the vehicle settled down to an uneventful life travelling up and down the country (its exact history would be difficult to trace) before being selected to be part of the Tyseley re-railing train.

The conversion from passenger coach to a “QQA” re-railing tool van included a new profiled body side over the top of the original, which is a smooth affair with no windows at all. The corridor connections were removed and the doors replaced by four very heavy sliding versions. The floors round the doors were strengthened with chequer plates for loading of heavy equipment, which was also aided by small brackets near the doors that can swing out and act as mini cranes. The interior was stripped, the new coach being one huge open space, with only a small room in one corner which contained a small diesel generator to power mains equipment while the train was out and about.

After several years the breakdown coaches were offered for sale and the usefulness of the vehicles as stores vans was recognised by preservationists with many going to heritage railways up & down the UK. ADB975493 was one of four or five that ended up on the CVR. The vehicle has remained in its Tyseley re-railing train condition.

The vehicle arrived on the CVR many years ago and has been used for our own purposes. Its generator still remains and has been started up at least 3 times in 1998/1999 to power the internal lights (it's very dark inside!) but flat batteries stopped play. The condition of the coach is poor and exterior work will need to be done in the next few years if the vehicle isn't going to deteriorate further. This coach is the rougher of the two QQA vans the group own. Recently, the vehicle has been stored at Oakamoor Sand Sidings, the eventual intention being to either restore it cosmetically or dispose of it, the contents being transferred to other vans.

The vehicle is still in Departmental Yellow with black chevrons round the outside, and any external refreshing would most likely be repainting into either the later yellow livery it carries presently, or back into the earlier red breakdown train livery. It is possible the vehicle could form part of a demonstration breakdown train in the future, as there are several other vans plus a large crane also on the CVR.