The Churchill funeral hearse arrives at Margate
On Thursday 12 September, another guest of The One:One Collection arrived in Margate, on loan from the Swanage Railway Trust. This smart, but rather unexceptional-looking carriage once played a unique role, making it a truly historic addition to the collection.
S2464 began life as a Gangwayed Bogie Luggage Van (GBL) constructed in 1931 at the Ashford works. During World War II, it was deployed as part of the Southern Railway ‘CET No.33’ train, one of a total of 34 Casualty Evacuation Trains formed at the request of the Ministry of Health. Southern Railway operated three of these CETs, with the remaining 31 being distributed around the other railway companies.
After retirement sometime between November 1961 and July 1962, S2464 languished at Worthy Down with other withdrawn stock, before being selected by a BR Rolling Stock Inspector for a very special job.
In June 1962, Sir Winston Churchill suffered a serious fall, resulting in a broken hip which required two operations. His health being poor, preparations for the inevitable were underway. S2464, being in better condition than others at Worthy Down, had been selected as suitable for forming the hearse of his funeral train.
The inspection report showed S2462’s overall condition:
Last Paint date: September 1956, Crimson Lake Livery. | |
---|---|
Body | Panels reasonably sound Exterior paint bad - peeling off Interior paint bad - peeling off |
Floor | Decalite good condition |
Gangways | BS(A) - diaphragms perished Scissors, face plates sound metal extension frame - slight buckle at bottom corners |
Underframes | Steel Headstocks bent behind the four side buffers Solebar flanges are thin Wood main members, sound and dry |
Bogies | Press Steel - reasonably good Wheels 9” X 4” Steel Disc, Tyres 2¾” profile good |
Mountings | Either side screw brake operative 2 vacuum cylinders, main pipe and steam pipes require testing 22” oval face buffers, gedge draw gear |
The Inspector’s description describes it as; “the best of a poor lot requiring the least amount of repair to make it presentable, the canvas covered roof is in a reasonably good condition, the body panels are reasonably good and the decalite floor in good order. The underframe headstocks are thin and bent behind the buffers and the bogies are fairly good. It will, of course, require lifting and painting inside and out. The gangway diaphragms are perished but the frames and scissors are fairly sound. All the cells and dynamo are intact and appear in good condition. The main steam and vacuum pipes require testing, the lagging from the former is adrift in places.”
Moved and repainted into Pullman livery, which was at that time umber and cream, S2464 was ready for its important job.
However, although progress was slow, Churchill did recover, so the van was returned to storage at Stewarts Lane, under strict instructions that it was not to be used or moved without authorisation. And there it stayed until January 1965, when Sir Winston Churchill suffered the stroke that was to end his remarkable life.
His State funeral, which the Queen had offered in honour of Churchill’s leadership of Britain to victory in World War II, involved three days’ lying in state at Westminster Hall, during which 320,000 people paid their respects. On Saturday 30th January, the lead-lined coffin was placed on a gun carriage for stately procession to St Paul’s Cathedral. After the funeral service, the coffin travelled on Port of London Authority launch ‘Havengore’ to Festival Pier, then carried to Platform 11, Waterloo Station, where S2464 was waiting as part of the funeral train. It was borne on board by a bearer party of eight men and Regimental Sergeant Major from Sir Winston Churchill’s old Regiment, the 'Queen's Royal Irish Hussars'.
The funeral train was pulled by Battle of Britain class Pacific No.34051 'WINSTON CHURCHILL’ and formed of ‘CAR No.208’, ‘CorPMV S2464’ and Pullman cars, ‘CARINA’, ‘LYDIA’, ‘PERSEUS’ and ‘ISLE OF THANET’.
The train departed London Waterloo at 13.28, for Handborough, with a booked arrival at 15.23.
At Churchill's request, he was buried in the family plot at St Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, not far from his birthplace at Blenheim Palace.
After the funeral, the train returned the funeral party to London Paddington station, after which S2464’s career ended, for a while, in Clapham carriage sidings.
‘Lost years’ in the US
This wasn’t quite the end of the line for S2464, though, as in October 1965 it was moved from storage in Battersea to Royal Victoria Dock, where it was craned aboard RML Dongedyk, bound for Los Angeles, having been purchased by the City Industry. The original plan had been to install it as a museum attraction, but since it could not be moved on local tracks due to issues with the brakes, in it was placed in store, where it remained until 1979. Photos from this time show the draped catafalque, which would have held Churchill’s coffin, still in place.
In 1979, the coach was finally transported to Industry Hills, outside Los Angeles, where it became part of an exhibit representing an English railway station.
Rediscovering S2464
At some point after this, the records of S2464’s location became rather muddled and it was to take until 2002 for its whereabouts to be confirmed. After several attempts during in the early 1990s, in 1996 M.Tye finally received confirmation that it remained at the City of Industry Sheraton resort. He visited it in 2002, to find it in surprisingly good condition, though no longer in its correct livery. The catafalque had, by this time, been removed, and alas, no records remained as to its fate.
In 2006, S2464 was offered back ‘to the British people’ by the then Mayor of City of Industry, David Perez, and in 2007, it returned to its homeland, the City of Industry generously paying the cost of its repatriation.
The Swanage Railway Trust, who had raised some funding through appeal, project managed its move and undertook the job of raising funds to pay for renovation and preservation.
Extensive restoration having been undertaken, in 2015, S2464 took pride of place in the NRM’s exhibition ‘Churchill’s Final Journey’, when it was reunited with 34051 Winston Churchill and Pullman car LYDIA.
Acknowledgements
This information has been reproduced with the kind permission of the Swanage Railway Trust, and taken from © Pullman Car Services Archive, Issue 2, February 1 2015, written by T.Bye.