The Bramble Basher is rescued!

One of the South Devon Railway's lesser known items of rolling stock is in line for a long awaited restoration.

Type 17A Wickham trolley, works no 4146, was delivered new to the Great Western Railway in 1947, before passing to British Railways Western Region, then BR Southern Region.

In the early days of preservation, this trolley was fitted with a platform above its roof and used for cutting back in the days before the line reopened. At this time, it gained the nick name The Bramble Basher.

However, now engineless, it has lain disused for very many years. Happily, three members of the railway's youth group, Luke Wills, Ernest Elsworth Wilson and Matthew Ellis (pictured below) have rescued this historic machine and are setting about restoring it for use as a personnel carrier to run with the railway's working Wickham trolleys. 

There is more on the history of this trolley here.

19th June 2011

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