SteamRanger Enthusiast Pages - Brill Car 43<TITLE> <LINK REL=stylesheet TYPE="text/css" HREF="styles.css"> </HEAD> <BODY bgcolor="black" alink=008080 vlink=008080 link=008080>   <CENTER> <TABLE border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><TR> <TD rowspan=5 bgcolor=008080 width=120><IMG SRC="logos/notes.gif" width=100 height=100 ALT="[IMAGE]" hspace=10 vspace=10></TD> <TD bgcolor=008080 width=600><SPAN class=head14><I>"From the Footplate"</I> </SPAN> <SPAN class=head9>- SteamRanger's Enthusiast Website </SPAN> </TD></TR> <TR bgcolor=008080 align=center> <TD> <TABLE><TR align=center bgcolor=cococo> <TD width=70><P><A HREF="mem_info.htm">Latest News </A></TD> <TD width=70><P><A HREF="gallery.htm">Locos and Rollingstock</A></TD> <TD width=70><P><A HREF="guides/guides.htm">Along the Line</A></TD> <TD width=70><P><A HREF="wwwlinks.htm">Other WWW Links</A></TD> <TD width=70><P><A HREF="forms.htm">Join<BR>SteamRanger</A></TD> <TD width=70 bgcolor=008080><P> </TD> <TD width=70 bgcolor=gold><P><A HREF="home.htm">HOME PAGE</A></TD> </TR></TABLE> </TD></TR> <TR><TD><SPAN class=Pagehead><BR> Acquisition and Return to Service of Brill railcar 43</SPAN></TD> </TABLE></CENTER> <BR><BR>  <CENTER><TABLE width=700><TR><TD> <b>Car 43 - the full story from ARHS President Ben Greeneklee and Dr John Wilson</b> <p><img src="IMAGES/meminfo/brill 43 exterior.jpg" align=right hspace=10> <p>Ever since Railcar 60's return to service it has been very popular with tourists and enthusiasts alike. It has proven to be very reliable and economic in its operation. For a long time now there has been the dream of a second [power unit] Brill. Towards this goal, there have been stored at Goolwa Depot two Brill Railcar trailer bodies, with the long term idea of “building” a second [power] Brill Railcar. <P>Like all such adaptation / restorations, this was going to be a massive undertaking, made all the greater because of the work needed to “upgrade” a trailer body to one that is suitable to be a power car. In recent months this dream has taken a new direction with the acquisition of Brill railcar No. 43.<br><br><br> <b>Car 43 in SAR Service</b> <p>No. 43 was one of the original order for Islington-built Brill Railcars and entered service on 26th March 1928. It retained its maximum-capacity seating, and during its life was converted to multiple-unit operation, as one of the so-called “Glamour Cars”. These cars were distinctive with their radiators mounted on the roof. <p>No. 43 worked the last passenger service out of Moonta on 26th April 1969 and was condemned just two months later. It was eventually converted to Permanent Way Sleeper, PWS 28 in April 1973. Despite this conversion it retained the power transmission bogie, and all of the strength of a power car's frame. In 1988 PWS 28 was the last of the former Brill power cars to be disposed of by AN. <br><br><br> <b>Acquired by Dr John Wilson</b> <p>It was purchased by long-time member John Wilson who, with a small number of Clare Valley enthusiasts, was hanging on to the hope of retaining the Clare branch line as a tourist railway. John installed PWS28 (No. 43) on a short length of track at his vineyard, with the back-up plan that if the Clare Valley tourist railway did not eventuate, he would use the car as a vineyard restaurant. At the time a roof was built over the car and over the years some initial restoration work has been undertaken. <p>In 1989 the rails of the Clare branch line were lifted so ending the dream of a tourist railway on it. Plan “B” also ran into some difficulty with the tourism collapse in the wake of the 1989 recession. In the ensuing years it progressively became evident that another home would be needed for PWS 28 / No.43. However the dream of seeing Brill No. 43 run again lived on. <br><br><br> <b>A New Life on the SteamRanger Heritage Railway?</b> <p>John made no secret that he was looking for new home for No. 43 and a number of SHR volunteers got wind of the possibility of acquiring it. <p>All that have examined No. 43 have been impressed with the condition of the car, and the fact that all the running gear such as brakes and bogies “are all there”. No. 43 also has an air-horn, a headlight, and a couple of Adlake marker lamps to go with it. According to Phil Neville, No. 43 had a transmission overhaul not long before being taken out of service, and No. 43's wheels have got plenty of tyre to boot!<br><br><br> <b> A Most Generous Donation</b> <p>Through more formal discussions Dr John Wilson has decided to very generously donate No. 43 to the Society. John as been working with Mark Batten and Phil Neville, not only to get the car physically to Goolwa, but to also ensure that there is a momentum of cash flow to get the restoration to return to service underway. <p>The deal that has been struck is that The Wilson Vineyard will donate the car to the Society (actually it was sold for a dollar, but then John did first donate the dollar), and through John’s generous sponsorship package will see No. 43 relocated to Goolwa Depot without cost to the Society. <p>The Wilson Vineyard will become a major sponsor of the return to service of Brill Railcar 43. The 2008 contribution by John, once the year is through, will be $4,000 (plus the one dollar!). Plus he has made an annual commitment of $3,000 in each of the following 4 years. A large part of this sponsorship will be provided by John, wearing his “other hat”, doing rail-medicals for our volunteers. <p>But, this project needs more than the $16,000 (plus that dollar!), that John has committed, and the call is out for one or more, persons or groups to join in as major sponsors by committing to a matching contribution. <p>As in all sponsorship deals, there is something in it for the sponsor, and in John’s case the deal grants him naming rights of Railcar 43. The Society will retain right of veto with respect of the final choice of name. The present preference is to name No 43 after an historical figure who had a strong association with the Brill Railcars. However there are formalities to go through, so we can’t tell you the name. Should this person's name not proceed, John is keeping his options open on other names, and will be open to lobbying both for and against any names that happen to be thrown in the ring. Just to stimulate some further thought in that direction is the offering by the Society’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tim Drew, who recently suggested naming railcar 43 “Cheese ‘n Gherkin”!... Is it any more silly than naming a railcar after a chook?!!! Apparently the school kids of Tim’s mother’s era coined the “Cheese ’n Gherkin” nickname. <p>Another part of the sponsorship package members can expect to see is some literature on wine offers appearing with newsletter mailings. Part proceeds from the wine sold from these offers will go to No. 43's restoration. John’s son Daniel is now in charge of wine making operations at The Wilson Vineyard and boasts a couple of shelves of trophies for his Rieslings. I am also reliably informed Daniel is also turning out some formidable red wines. <p>The Society sincerely thanks Dr. John Wilson for his very generous offer of No.43 and the subsequent sponsorship of the project. <br><br><br><br> <P><b>How you can Contribute - from SteamRanger Mechanical Services Manager, Craig Dunstan</b> <p>As outlined above, transfer from Clare to SHR’s Goolwa depot will require fund raising by means of donation, to ensure Brill 43 could possibly turn a wheel in active service again on the SHR. <p>Dr Wilson has kindly donated a large portion of the transportation costs by performing medical services for SHR volunteers at no cost, however there are still funds to the value of almost $1000.00 additional required, in order to carry out the move. <p>I ask that any members or volunteers that may be able to assist with this operation financially please contact Peter Soar in order to make your donation. All donations made to the ARHS Steam Ranger Museum are tax deductable. Thank you for your support in helping SHR to continue into the future. <br><br><br><br> <center><b style=color:red>RETURN TO LAST PAGE</b><br> <a href="mem_info.htm" > <img src="logos/click-here1.gif" align=middle alt="[IMAGE]" border=0></a> </center> </TD></TR> </TABLE></CENTER> </BODY> </HTML>