The early history of this coach is uncertain, and even
controversial. There is no doubt, however, the vehicle was
numbered 100 and was 1st class. The number and the class
were found painted on the doors in gold leaf whilst the number
was found stamped on some door fittings. In addition, the
carriage compartments are of the right number and size for
first class.
The body was found
at Dymchurch, where it was in use as a storage shed, in 1976.
It is thought to have been moved there from Ashford in 1902,
sawn in two and mounted on horse drawn wagons. It is conjectured
that the original underframe was scrapped at Ashford. The
restored body was mounted on a cut down PMV underframe (from
No. 1225 built at Ashford in 1936) and ran for the first time
in August 1980. No. 100 - the number was found stamped on
various components - seemed to fit the general description
of a batch of District Railway coaches built by Ashbury’s
in 1884, including some four-compartment first class examples.
The problem is that the No. 100 amongst these had five compartments
and was second class.
It has been suggested that the two
ends of a longer coach were mistakenly spliced together and
a Metropolitan Railway rigid 8-wheeler of not earlier than
1868 has been put forward as the possible candidate. This
theory fails however as the cut between the two halves was
irregular: the portions fitted together exactly. During the
course of an intermediate overhaul during 1999 the panelling
of one end was removed and renewed. It was observed at that
time that the framing, although perfectly sound for its function,
appeared to have been cut back from an originally longer structure.
This seems to add weight to the theory that No 100 was originally
part of a Metropolitan 8-wheeler and not the entire body of
a District Railway vehicle.
The previous vanished
livery having proved of poor durability the coach is currently
running in service carrying a brown livery which is thought
to be the colour which these coaches latterly carried in service
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