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Buffet cars
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:00 pm
by Tonysmedley
There appears to be a shortage of Buffet cars in the downloads library. is there such a thing as an LMS buffet car?
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:46 pm
by ianmacmillan
There is an LMS buffet with the SVR pack.
Before WW2 the rich ate expensive meals in the dining car and the poor ate home made sandwiches.
Buffet cars came into use in the mid 30s on the principal expresses but were mainly intended to serve light snacks to these same rich people and ease pressure on the dining car.
Tea and sandwiches were also provided by a trolley service from the dining car.
During the war most dining car were withdrawn but a few were used by the NAAFI to serve basic meals to troops.
After the war these continued in use along with convertions from other types of coach; rationing restricting the service to basic food. Many were branded Cafeteria.
The coaches used were converted in ones and twos and there was never realy a standard design.
BR continued the trend and converted some older restuarant cars to buffets.
The Mk1 Buffets were only introduced in 1957.
For MSTS, the Midland and LMS 12 wheelers could be used either unaltered or re-branded cafeteria car or buffer car.
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:28 pm
by rfletcher72
Looking forward to the blue and grey Gresley RB as seen on screenshots of MEP+
On the flip side, some Mk1 RBs carried Gresley bogies - any chance of one???
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:43 pm
by jbilton
rfletcher72 wrote:Looking forward to the blue and grey Gresley RB as seen on screenshots of MEP+
Great minds

.............. I was just thinking the same.
Cheers
Jon
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:52 pm
by johnmnstl
jbilton wrote:rfletcher72 wrote:Looking forward to the blue and grey Gresley RB as seen on screenshots of MEP+
Great minds

.............. I was just thinking the same.
Cheers
Jon
I'll third that one, a blue/grey Gresley RB, will fit on quite a few routes
in the late 70's there were 4 left in service, one at Thornton Fields (E9122E) (regular in the North Country Continental [unoff]) one at Plymouth (W9135E) regular performer on the 0830 Plymouth Leeds/1437 Leeds Plymouth diagram (detached/attached at Sheffield) and E9128E/E9132E based at Sheffield Nunnery which tended to be used for special workings, one was always in the Merrymaker set so could be seen anywhere in the country. I still remmber crossing the Forth on the way back from a merrymaker to Dundee riding in the Gresley Buffet.
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 2:47 pm
by chrisiveson
This is the LMS version

And the BR version
Chris.
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 7:59 pm
by rfletcher72
Though slightly off topic, Chris's screenshots above reminded me that some BR built, LMS design P3 coaches (BTKs I think) managed to linger on long enough to gain Blue and Grey livery, the photos / cine I have seen of the Woodhead route in 1969 clearly shows examples of these,
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:53 pm
by ianmacmillan
The post war LMS sleepers certainly lasted into the 80s

Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:55 am
by jbilton
johnmnstl wrote:jbilton wrote:rfletcher72 wrote:Looking forward to the blue and grey Gresley RB as seen on screenshots of MEP+
Great minds

.............. I was just thinking the same.
Cheers
Jon
I'll third that one, a blue/grey Gresley RB, will fit on quite a few routes
in the late 70's there were 4 left in service, one at Thornton Fields (E9122E) (regular in the North Country Continental [unoff]) one at Plymouth (W9135E) regular performer on the 0830 Plymouth Leeds/1437 Leeds Plymouth diagram (detached/attached at Sheffield) and E9128E/E9132E based at Sheffield Nunnery which tended to be used for special workings, one was always in the Merrymaker set so could be seen anywhere in the country. I still remmber crossing the Forth on the way back from a merrymaker to Dundee riding in the Gresley Buffet.
lateagain wrote:Hi John
I just PM'd these back
http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... fetBG2.jpg
If you can see the hypelinked image at least we know pictures can be sent if not viede instantly
Cheers
Geoff
http://forums.uktrainsim.com/posting.ph ... 6&p=989236
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:37 am
by johnmnstl
*WOLFWHISTLES*
What a beautiful skin, a little weathering would be nice as in the late 70's they weren't ex works

that isnt a complaint BTW,
The actual 4 cars I mentioned earlier were actually RK's not RB's, a couple of tables along with the pole table slightly off centre of the vehicle
IAN
Didn't a few of the 6 wheeled bogied cars survive as well ????

just noticed it is a 6 wheeler

but my memory of them was that they were a little shorter than the Mk1s
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:16 am
by DarwinS
Ian said that:
Buffet cars came into use in the mid 30s on the principal expresses but were mainly intended to serve light snacks to these same rich people and ease pressure on the dining car.
Tea and sandwiches were also provided by a trolley service from the dining car.
Whilst the LNER built quite a lot of them, the LMS only built 4 or 5 such vehicles before WW2.
The first such vehicles were converted from LNWR 57 ft corridor coaches in the early 1930s and basically had a small kitchen and pantry replacing two of the compartments. From memory there were 5 of these, one worked between Craven Arms and Swansea on a return trip, the others ran single trips from Euston to or from Liverpool or Manchester on the early afternoon trains leaving at around 2 pm in each direction. (Where perhaps patronage for a full restaurant car had already declined).
The first purpose built Buffet Car ran at first between Leeds and Heysham or Barrow. Later Stanier ones together probably with that one replaced the LNWR cars on the early afternoon WCML trains. One LNWR car remained on the Central Wales line.
In the timetables all of these were said to provide Teas, Light Refreshments and a la Carte meals.
The only services over LMS metals that were advertised as having Buffet cars actually had LNER cars. These including a Liverpool to Leeds and return service, that was a fill in for a set that started and ended its day at Hull.
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 5:11 pm
by rfletcher72
ianmacmillan wrote:The post war LMS sleepers certainly lasted into the 80s
Mmm. With reference to the 1978 RCTS coaching stock fleet book and the only LMS design sleeper I can see as operational is one allocated to the Royal Train. Only LMS P3 BGs are shown as in the operational fleet.
Is does show though, further Gresley buffets in the form of, SC1705E and SC1706E

Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:30 pm
by johnmnstl
rfletcher72 wrote:
Mmm. With reference to the 1978 RCTS coaching stock fleet book and the only LMS design sleeper I can see as operational is one allocated to the Royal Train. Only LMS P3 BGs are shown as in the operational fleet.
Is does show though, further Gresley buffets in the form of, SC1705E and SC1706E

Nothing in the M6xxM series showing, and could you confirm the Gresley RK's numbers at that time please??
Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:30 pm
by rfletcher72
johnmnstl wrote:Nothing in the M6xxM series showing, and could you confirm the Gresley RK's numbers at that time please??
No others showing by that time

Re: Buffet cars
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:55 pm
by jbilton
Hi
I'm afraid you chaps have lost me.
However W9135E was used regularly on the West of England services in the last great summer of the Westerns 1976.
According to the 'Western Glory' book by Chris Chapman.
Cheers
Jon