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Culdee Fell Coaches

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MountainEnginesRS7

The Culdee Fell Railway owns nine bogie coaches, one for each of their engines, and previously owned five open-sided coaches and one open-topped coach.

Unlike most coaches, the Culdee Fell Coaches are coupled to the front of their engine, along with their guards, they are responsible for keeping look-out of any dangers ahead.

For safety reasons, only one coach at a time is taken up the mountain. This limits passenger accommodation, so at busy times it is desirable for an extra train to be available. Although on one occasion, Culdee pushed two empty coaches to the Summit during his trial run.

Notable Coaches

The following coaches have their own separate pages:

Open-Sided Coaches

The Culdee Fell Railway originally owned five open-sided coaches. They had roofs and waterproof curtains, which could be let down for protection in bad weather.

Biography

For safety reasons, only one coach at a time could be taken up the mountain. However, Culdee pushed two coaches during his trial runs to the Summit.[1]

Just over a month after the railway had officially opened, Godred was coming back down the mountain with his coach, when he derailed on Devil's Back and rolled down the mountain. Luckily, his coach remained on the rails, "and the guard braked her to a stop", so nobody was hurt in the accident. Unfortunately however, Godred was so badly damaged that he was later scrapped and never replaced.[2]

Some of the curtained stock lingered on till finally phased out and withdrawn in the 1920s. The wheels and frames of two open-sided coaches were then used to build the "Trucks".[3]

Technical Details

Basis

These coaches are based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway bogie coaches as they were at the railway's opening in 1895. They were rebuilt as 56-seater saloon coaches in the 1950s.

All original coaches of the Snowdon Mountain Railway (with the exception of Coach 10) were withdrawn and dismantled at the end of the 2012 season, and replaced by new coaches for exclusive use with the railway's diesel fleet. Two of the old coaches (numbers 2 and 5) were subsequently rebuilt in 2013 and 2015 respectively to resemble their original 1895 appearance for use with the railway's steam engines and are named Snowdon Lily and Snowdon Mountain Goat respectively.

Livery

The coaches are painted orange with cream coloured curtains and window surrounds and have a grey roof top. Godred's coach had purple lining.

Appearances

The Railway Series

Companion Volumes

Open-Topped Coach

The open-topped coach was the sixth coach belonging to the Culdee Fell Railway.

Biography

In March 1900, during Culdee's trial run he pushed the opened-topped coach and an open-sided coach to the Summit. It was one of the few occasions that two coaches were pushed by a mountain engine.[2] Unlike the covered coaches, this coach offered no protection at all for passengers during bad weather. It was most unpopular and soon withdrawn.[3]

Technical Details

Basis

This coach is based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway's open-topped coach. It was first used at the railway's opening in 1895.

Livery

The coach is painted in the Culdee Fell Railway orange livery and has a cream stripe on the top of her sides and ends.

Appearances

The Railway Series

Companion Volumes

Saloon Coaches

The saloon coaches are the most recent additions to the Culdee Fell Railway. There are nine of these coaches, one of which is named Catherine.

Biography

These fifty-six seater saloons form the entire passenger stock of the railway. Their interior furnishing is somewhat spartan, but they are the height of luxury compared with the coaches provided when the line was opened. Each saloon coach has a closed-off compartment in front from which, on the upward journey, the guards have a clear view of the line ahead, and can warn their engines crew in the rear of any obstruction. The position is reversed on the downward run. He must then be on the alert to use his emergency brake on warning from the engine crew. This brake is very powerful, and can bring the coach to a standstill in only a few yards. The coaches are kept at Kirk Machan Carriage Sheds, with all nine occupying one road while the "Trucks" occupy the other.[3]

One day, a coach was frightened by Lord Harry, who was acting reckless. However, he derailed at the Summit, blocking Wilfred and his coach from going down and leading to his comeuppance. [4]

Personalities

The coaches are very safety-conscious. Because of his arrogance and careless nature, Lord Harry frightened all the coaches that they were afraid and reluctant of working with him.

Technical Details

Basis

The coaches are based on the Snowdon Mountain Railway's 56-seater saloons. Some of these were rebuilt from the original open-sided coaches in the 1950s, while others were new-builds.

At the end of the 2012 Snowdon season, all the original coaches of the Snowdon Mountain Railway (with the exception of Coach 10) were withdrawn and dismantled, and replaced by new coaches for exclusive use with the railway's diesel fleet.

Livery

These coaches are painted in the Culdee Fell Railway orange livery. They have cream window surrounds and light grey rooftops.

Appearances

The Railway Series

Companion Volumes

Books

Documentaries

Trivia

  • Culdee's coach, Catherine, is the only known named example of the nine 56-saloon coaches.
  • The specific design of Catherine's ERTL toy, promotional illustration and trading cards are based on Patrick's coach.

Other Coaches

In the 1979 annual, a coach from the Snowdon Mountain Railway appears in an illustration by Edgar Hodges. The specific coach is Catherine's basis, carriage No. 4.

In the 1997 magazine story Culdee, these coaches are portrayed as Orange Stroudley Coaches. Culdee is seen pulling these coaches - as opposed to pushing them - and they are illustrated with buffers.

In the 2001 magazine story A Special Story About Culdee and Godred, four small four-wheeled orange coaches (resembling the Ffestiniog Railway's "Bug Box" coaches) are used. These coaches were previously illustrated as brown Skarloey Railway coaches in the 2000 magazine story A Special Story About Peter Sam.

Official Description

From Official Media:[5]

“ The Coaches: The Carriage Shed has two roads, and is long enough to hold nine bogie coaches under cover. These 56 seater saloons form the entire passenger stock of the railway. Their interior furnishing is somewhat spartan, but they are the height of luxury compared with the coaches provided when the line was opened. Five were opensided, but with a roof and waterproof curtains which could be let down for protection in bad weather. The sixth offered no protection at all. It was most unpopular and soon withdrawn, but some of the curtained stock lingered on till finally phased out in the 1920s.


Each saloon coach has a closed-off compartment in front from which, on the upward journey, the Guard has a clear view of the line ahead, and can warn his engine crew in the rear of any obstruction. The position is reversed on the down-ward run. He must then be on the alert to use his emergency brake on warning from the engine crew. This brake is very powerful, and can bring the coach to a standstill in only a few yards.

”

Gallery

The Railway Series

Main Series

Miscellaneous

Others

References

  1. ↑ RWS #19: Mountain Engines - "Bad Look-Out"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 RWS #19: Mountain Engines - "Mountain Engine"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 68
  4. ↑ RWS #19: Mountain Engines - "Danger Points"
  5. ↑ RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" (1987)
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