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| Stock page updated 16-May-08 |
In addition to 6024 herself, the Society owns two items of rolling stock -
the support coach which is used for on main line runs, and a water wagon.
 The SUPPORT COACH The 6024 Preservation Society's support coach is a British Railways Standard Mark I Corridor Brake Second coach (BSK) No W35333, built in 1962 at Wolverton Works - one of the last in the series. The coach has BR Commonwealth bogies and was dual steam/electrically heated and vacuum braked. The coach was withdrawn from BR service on 5 December 1990 with a defective toilet header tank. Its last C4 overhaul was at York Works, completed on 8 December 1986 following which it ran for 151,292 miles before withdrawal from service. Its final BR livery was BR Blue and Grey. The coach was purchased by the Society from Derby in early 1991 and was moved behind 35028 Clan Line to Didcot in early 1991. The coach was converted for use as a mainline railtour support coach by the addition of a workshop/tool store and domestic facilities. It was also repainted in overall BR lined maroon, which is probably the livery it carried when it originally entered went service in 1962. The coach ran on its first railtour in December 1992, and was used regularly on mainline trips until expiry of 6024's mainline certificate on 1 March 1995. During 1995/96 W35333 underwent an extensive overhaul which included the fitting of air brakes provding a dual vacuum/air brake capability. It was also repainted in BR(WR) lined chocolate and cream livery, and re-entered mainline service with 6024 in September 1996. The coach underwent a further overhaul during 2003, with additional refurbishment in early 2008. One of the significant constraints on modern main line steam operation is the lack of water troughs and wayside water columns, which were removed at the end of the steam era in the 1960s. This means that stops must now be scheduled in railtour itineraries to replenish water at regular intervals typically every 60-80 miles. Water is usually obtained from a suitable water main, road tanker or sometimes with the aid of the local fire service. One of the operational problems is locating suitable points at which a long train may be recessed to take on water, without impeding scheduled passenger and freight traffic. In order to circumvent these constraints, the 6024 Preservation Society has embarked on a project to build a high capacity water carrier which will give a range in excess of 220 miles without the need to stop. With the aid of a lottery fund grant of £22,800, the Society has acquired a redundant bogie container flat wagon, which is air braked and suitable for 75mph operation. This wagon (former FJA no 601998 built at Ashford 1967 under Lot 3618) will be used as the basis of the new water wagon onto which a superstructure to resemble a parcels coach will be assembled. The completed wagon will have a maximum gross laden weight of approximately 80 tons. Although this project has taken a back seat for some time, significant progress has been achieved with the mounting of two 4000 gallon 20ft container tanks on the chassis at Tyseley. With the plumbing now completed and the chassis overhauled, the wagon was tested and certified by the VAB in 2006. It was first used on a railtour in July 2007. In its current (unclad) configuration, the wagon has a net weight of approx 25 tons, and a (useable) water capacity of about 7,500 gallons, with a laden weight of approx 58 tons. 
A paper entitled "6024 - The Case for the Water Carrier" may be found here (pdf file). The file includes an analysis of sample itineraries using the wagon. |
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(C) 6024 Preservation Society Ltd