GWR H43 Kitchen First / H44 Third Dining Saloon
Prototype Data
| Lot | Dia. | No. | Date | Condemned |
| 1540 | H43 | 9635 | 07/35 | Preserved |
| 9636 | - | |||
| 1541 | H44 | 9637 | - | |
| 9638 | - |
In 1935, to mark the centenary of the Act of Parliament allowing construction of the Great Western Railway, a new Cornish Riviera train was ordered. With bow-ends, the coaches were 61ft over body and 9ft 7in wide, the maximum allowed. Recessed doors for all doors gave them a very distinctive outline, similar to the Super Saloons a few years earlier. The dining cars were twin sets of the successful Kitchen First and Third Dining Saloon combination, to diagrams H43 and H44 respectively, two of each being built. To accommodate the extra body width, the frames were angled out from the headstocks to a point before the bogie pivot cross-member. These vehicles attracted the same route restriction as the 1904 Dreadnought and 1929 Riviera stock because of their baulk. They remained in use on the Riviera for many years until XXXX, long after the rest of the train had been replaced with BR Standard Mk.1 Stock.
When first completed, the vehicles had a novel window system known as Beclawat. The glass was supposed to allow the sun's rays through, giving you a sun-tan before you even reached your holiday destination. These were set in large one-piece frames with no ventilators, the frame being able to drop. That the windows were unsuccessful can be determined by the speed with which they were altered - within a year - using the Government load scheme. This is described in the stock register with the note "Beclawat windows pressed down and air stream vents fitted - 1936" to be followed by "Beclawat replaced with flush glass - 1938". All the windows in the dining saloons were done, the ordinary stock only having alternate windows altered. Following the end of the war, they were refurbished by Hamptons, the H43s in 1948 and the H44s the previous year. Gangway adaptors were fitted to most of the series between 1953-1955.
Modelling
Worsely Works produces
Bogies GWR 9'0" Centenary - 2-171 Coach Bogie Etched Complete GWR 9'Plate?
Dynamo - UM262 LNWR/LMS/BR/GWR dynamo (pack of two)
Small Battery box - UM233 GWR 4'6" battery box (pack of two)?
Battery box
Vacuum Cyclinder
Gas cylinders (H43)
Masterclass Models - GWR 60' Super Saloon/Centenary restaurant cars £5.00
Comet H43 Instuctions
Comet H44 Instructions
| Books | ||
|---|---|---|
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A Pictorial Record Of Great Western Coaches Including The Brown Vehicles Part 2 (1903-1948) J.H. Russell Oxford Publishing Company 978-0-902888-04-3  |
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Pictorial Record of GWR Coaches Vols I J H Russell OPC
Great Western Coaches Appendix Volume II J H Russel l OPC
Great Western Coaches from 1890 Michael Harris David & Charles
Modellers' Back Track Volume 2 No.5