Newly renovated coach 43612 on show at the Carriage Works in Kidderminster

Carriage repair and restoration

The Carriage department has the mammoth task of keeping our fleet of heritage coaches operational to meet the demands of the Railway's busy schedule of passenger services and special events. They also carry out restoration work to bring non-operational carriages back into use, either to replace worn-out vehicles or to adapt them for specific purposes such as making them more accessible for disabled passengers. Many of our carriages are over 70 years old now and were never designed to be in use for that long, so it can be a challenge to keep things running. Over the years, we have developed techniques in making repairs using modern materials but making them look like the original parts. It gives us immense job satisfaction when we finish work on a coach and see it back out on the tracks carrying passengers.

The work is carried out on 3 sites:

Bewdley specialises in maintenance and repair of coach bodywork on the SVR's operational carriages. There are also some owner's groups in Bewdley Yard undertaking restoration work.

The Carriage Works at Kidderminster maintains coach bodywork and also carries out all the mechanical work on carriage bogies.

A small team at Bridgnorth has a long-running project to convert an LMS 'Corridor brake van third' into a carriage with facilities for wheelchair users. There will be four standard compartments in one section of the coach, and the other section will have one and a half bays of LMS Open seating with space for up to 4 wheelchairs and a disabled toilet.

Skills/attributes required

If you have any experience of the following DIY skills it would be a good starting point for undertaking carriage bodywork:

painting
varnishing
plumbing
upholstery
flooring
electrical wiring
woodwork
glazing
welding
sheet metalwork
car maintenance/restoration

The work on bogies is much more technical and volunteers in that role typically have a background in mechanical engineering.

Good problem-solving skills are also desirable, as we are often unable to source parts and must find innovative ways to adapt other materials to a new use. For example, volunteers constructing new netting for a luggage rack ended up researching how fishermen repair fishing nets!

Training

On-the-job training is provided based on your interests. You will also have to complete the Working at Height online training course.