Great Western Railway Churchward Coaches

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Later Toplight coaches are steel clad with no beading. They were built between 1912 and 1922. As with other toplights some were sold to the War Department for ambulance trains in the Great War. After the war they were purchased back and put into service; some required little work whilst others required almost completely new bodies. These returned coaches are listed separately on the WD Rebuilds page.

Below are just a few of the Bars 2 Toplights diagrams.

Dimensions
	All diagrams except C37, D62 & E101	Diagrams C37, D62 & E101 only
Width over cornices	8' 11¼
Width over body at waist	8' 11¼	8' 5¼
Width over handles	9' 5	8' 11½
Height to gutters	10' 7¼
Height to top of roof	12' 6¼	11' 11½
Height over ventillators	12' 11½	12' 4¾

Diagram	Dimensions Length x Width Wheelbase		Numbers		Conversions
Corridor Coaches
C32 8 compartment third	56'11¼ x 8'11¼ 50' wheelbase	12 built in 1913 45 built in 1914 22 built in 1919 1 built in 1921 2 built in 1922	2569 to 2580 3913 to 3947 3879 to 3900 3631 (ex WD 3939) 2466 & 2467 (ex WD 2515 & 3921)	C32 No.3930 on Severn Valley Railway, July 2003 © Richard Spratt
D56 3 compartment brake third	56'11¼ x 8'11¼ 50' wheelbase	6 built in 1914 24 built in 1919 in 2 lots 6 built in 1920	3593 to 3598 3763 to 3777 3778 to 3786 3787 to 3792	D56 No. 3596, R.Spratt collection	All were condemned between 1956 and 1964.
D57 4 compartment brake third	69'11¼ x 8'11¼ 63'6 wheelbase Multibar truss	4 built in 1914	3759 to 3762	D57 No.3761 at Birminghan Snow Hill 1957 © HMRS AEL512	All were condemned between 1955 and 1958.
D69 4 compartment brake third	69'11¼ x 8'11¼ 62' wheelbase	12 built in 1919	3793 to 3904	D69 No. 3799 © GP Keane/J Suter 460	All were condemned between 1955 and 1962.
G56 Nondescript Saloon 2 saloons, 1 compartment, 1 luggage compartment, 2 lavatories	56'11¼ x 8'11¼ 50' wheelbase	3 built in 1923	9369 to 9371	G56 No. 9371 © HMRS ACY016	Allocated to:- 9369 - Bristol 9370 - Paddington 9371 - Cardiff All were condemned in 1956/7.
Non Corridor Coaches
D55 8 compartment suburban rake third	69'11¼ x 8'11¼ 63'6 wheelbase Multibar truss	8 built in 1913	1070 to 1077	D55 No.1071, R Spratt collection E97 No.6867, Birmingham Snow Hill 1939 © HMRS AEP525	formed into 4 coach sets with 2 of each design and used on Birmingham suburban services All were condemned between 1955 and 1957.
E97 11 compartment suburban composite 5 first class and 6 third class compartments	69'11¼ x 8'11¼ 63'6 wheelbase Multibar truss	8 built in 1913	6863 to 6870

D62, C37, E101 leaving Paddington in 1932 © Photomatic
C37 8 compartment suburban third	48' x 8'5 41' wheelbase 9' bogies	2 built in 1920 10 built in 1921	3901 & 3902 3903 to 3912	D62 No. 3755 @ Didcot © Bradley Wurth / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) D62 No.3755 @ Didcot © Gareth C. Price Flickr	formed into 6 coach set with 2 of each design and used on London suburban services. The trains were formed: D62=C37=E101-E101=C37=D62 - is a normal screw coupling and standard buffers = is a fixed bar coupling with short buffers All were condemned between 1956 and 1957, except 3755, 3756 & 3910 which survived on the Glyncorrwg miners train. 3910 was condemned in 1962 and the other two in 1965.
D62 6 compartment suburban brake third		2 built in 1920 10 built in 1921	3747 & 3748 3749 to 3758
E101 7 compartment suburban composite 5 first class and 2 third class compartments		2 built in 1920 10 built in 1921	7901 & 7902 7903 to 7912
D67 6 compartment suburban third	56'11¼ x 8'11¼ 50' wheelbase 9' bogies	16 built in 1922 in 2 lots	3811 to 3818 3819 to 3826	D67 and E103 R. Spratt collection	formed into 4 coach sets with 2 of each design. All were condemned between 1956 and 1960.
E103 9 compartment suburban composite 4 first class and 5 third class compartments	56'11¼ x 8'11¼ 50' wheelbase 9' bogies	16 built in 1922 in 2 lots	7913 to 7920 7921 to 7928	D67 and E103 R. Spratt collection

Under Construction. This project is definitely work in progress. If you would like to receive an email when I update these pages please contact me in the Carriage Shed.

GWR Coaches -- www.GWRCoaches.org.uk -- Richard Spratt

R Spratt collection, 1071