London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) Brake Third 4115
- LBSCR Brake Third 4115, a four-wheeled carriage built originally in 1896.
- Built for steam-hauled services across the south London suburbs.
- The carriage has three Third Class compartments and a guard’s compartment.
- As the London suburban network was being electrified during the early part of the 20th century, redundant steam-hauled passenger stock was cascaded elsewhere.
- LBSCR Brake Third 4115 was transferred to the Isle of Wight in 1925 but was used for only a few years until it was finally made redundant by more modern, longer, bogie carriages, each with eight wheels.
- The carriage underframe was scrapped and the wooden body sold for use as a holiday home, located in Rew Street, near Cowes.
- After the body was acquired it was transported to the Havenstreet home of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and placed in store until restoration commenced in 2013.
- After five years’ work, the return to service of Brake Third 4115, expected on Saturday 4 August 2018, marks the completion of the seven carriage Victorian Train Project, started in 1983.
- The restoration of these seven carriages, dating from 1864 – 1899, has been undertaken by the dedicated and skilled carriage restorers based at Havenstreet.
- The completion of this carriage with its a guard’s compartment means that the Isle of Wight Steam Railway can now run two separate passenger trains comprising carriages solely from the Victorian era
- Using our Island pedigree locomotives – LBSCR A1/x Class W8 Freshwater (1877) and W11 (1878) and Adams’ O2 Class W24 Calbourne (1891) – these Victorian trains can also be hauled by locomotives from the same era.
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway still owns plenty more four-wheeled carriage bodies which await their turn in the restoration queue. The Railway is also aware of the existence of further carriage bodies elsewhere on the Island and so the four-wheeled carriage restorers have plenty more work for the years ahead.
London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) Brake Third 4115