These coaches were built by the Great Western Railway in 1937 as part of lot 1575 to Collett design diagram C.74.

When complete they will form part of the Great Western train with Collet brake 1645,  Hawksworth Brake Third 2180 (being rebuilt as a GWR buffet) and Hawksworth First/Third Brake 7377.  In due course these will be strengthened with the rebuild of former Collet brake third 6515
We also have Full Brake 276 and, in the dining train, "Super Saloons" 9111 (King George) and 9116 (Duchess of York).

Feature on replacement light fittings.

When the 2015 main season came to an end 1295 was put into Carriage and Wagon to receive attention to its gutters.
The original GWR gutter was a longitudinal length of timber with a gutter formed in the top and, at the ends, a complicated set of chamfers to form a rain spout.
These pieces of timber have deteriorated over the years along with the galvanised roof sheeting to the point that water ingress had become a serious problem.  A temporary fix of “Flashband” was keeping this at bay but a permanent cure was required.
The traditional way to repair the roof is to remove the lower 12 inches and replace with a new piece of curved metal.  These were preformed in advance by the SDRE Boiler Shop so, once journeythe old gutter had been removed and the roof cut back they were ready to slot in.
Given the level of rot to the frame below the gutter, sections were replaced and a new all metal gutter was designed and folded up locally.  The 3 metre sections were welded together, again by the SDRE boiler shop, into a single 21 metre run so we now have no joints and hope to have eliminated the leaks.
The replacement roof panels, the gutter trough and the gutter cornice have all been made out of stainless steel and are held in place with stainless steel screws and stainless steel closed end rivets.
The Totnes end toilet was refreshed and has been relined with panels in the style of the originals.  There simply wasn’t the time to attend to the rest of the interior and address items such as the two missing GWR Art Deco luminaires or the fans so these will have to wait their turn.

1285 was dragged out recently ( October 2015 ) – see top left picture – for assessment on what is required to return it to traffic.  A similar effort to 1295 though more of the interior is original however all the luminaires are missing.

In 2000 the SDR Carriage & Wagon Department concentrated their efforts on the restoration of Great Western Collett “Excursion” coach No.1295 of 1937 which formed the third GWR coach for the regular train set from the 2001 season.

During the restoration of 1295 the main wooden frame had to be repaired, the bodyside panels renewed where necessary, new windows provided and fitted and internal wiring replaced. The interior Art Deco style panelling was repair or replaced as necessary along with refurbishment of the seat ends and general internal fitments. Ceiling panels were renewed and new plumbing was needed in both toilets. The roof water tanks also needed repair. New upholstery was manufactured by British Furco in Halifax to an original GW pattern. The pictures show progress to early October 2000.

It had been planned to reinstate the long removed arm rests and also the missing tables which were believed to be in store on the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway from whom the carriage was purchased in 1992 however the arms are still in store at Buckfastleigh having not been re-instated because they presented a potential hazard to small fingers!