3189 began life at British Rail’s Ashford works in June 1952 as a brake corridor second, No. S34264. Originally employeed on the Southern Region of BR, it later moved to the Midland region as M34264.

The carriage, along with 21 others, was rebuilt in Derby in 1971 for use as a steam generator van for CIÉ. Due to their origins, they became known as ”BR Vans” by Irish railwaymen and enthusiasts alike. Now numbered 3189, it contained no passenger seating but instead a large boiler, generator, and ample luggage space.

3189 and the rest of the BR Vans were withdrawn in 2007. We acquired it for preservation in July of that year, and until 2018 it was used on our buffet set to provide heat and power to the train. As with the rest of the set, it was taken out of everyday use in August 2018 having been replaced by 458. For various reasons however, 458 is not yet ready for winter operations and so 3189 continues to be used as part of our buffet train during our Christmas running season.Once 458 is ready, we plan to take the buffet set fully out of service to enable its overhaul, potentially starting with 1918 to return it to passenger operations.