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British Rail Coach Type Codes
British Railways coach designations were a series of letter-codes used to identify different types of coaches, both passenger carrying and non-passenger carrying stock (NPCS). The code was generally painted on the end of the coach but non-gangwayed stock had the code painted on the side. They have been superseded by TOPS design codes. Background The London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway developed systems of identifying railway carriages with alphabetic codes. When British Railways was formed in 1948 it adapted the LNER system. Basic principles The codes are made up from a combination of letters, some of which can indicate more than one word; their meaning can only be determined according to their position in the code or the presence of other letters. The letters are: These letters (except ''Y'' and ''Z'') did not usually apply to passenger-rated but goods carrying vans (e.g. parcels vans, horse boxes, milk and fish vans). Their codes were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies, and was privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the railway. A process of dieselisation and electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the Vale of Rheidol Railway (a narrow-gauge tourist line). Passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and one-third of the network was closed by the Beeching cuts of the 1960s in an effort to reduce rail subsidies. On privatis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Corridor
The Corridor First type of railway coach was one of the standard mid-20th century designs; coded 'FK' by the LNER and BR, and 'CL' by the LMS. The layout of the coach was a number of compartments, all of which were first class, linked by a side corridor. The British Railways produced versions (of Mark 1 and Mark 2 variations up to Mark 2D inclusive) were numbered in the 13xxx series. The prototype Mark 2 carriage, number 13252, was of FK design. It is now preserved at the Mid-Norfolk Railway, having been preserved by (now formerly part of) the National Collection. A number of the Mark 2A/2B/2C carriages were declassified in 1985 to become Standard Corridors (coded SK). They were renumbered from 13xxx to 19xxx, putting them after the end of the 'Mark 1' range (19452–19560). No carriages of this type are still in daily use on the main line network, since open saloon carriages are now preferred by operating companies. However, some electric multiple units based on British Rail co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAIL (magazine)
''Rail'' is a British magazine on the subject of current rail transport in Great Britain. It is published every two weeks by Bauer Consumer Media and can be bought from the travel sections of UK newsstands. It is targeted primarily at the enthusiast market, but also covers issues relating to rail transport. ''Rail'' is more than four decades old, and was called ''Rail Enthusiast'' from its launch in 1981 until 1988. It is one of only two railway magazines that increased its circulation. It has roughly the same cover design for several years, with a capitalised italic red ''RAIL'' along the top of the front cover. Editorial policy ''Rail'' is customarily critical of railway institutions, including the Rail Delivery Group, the Office of Rail and Road, as well as, since it assumed greater railway powers, the Department for Transport. ''Rail's'' continuing campaigns include one against advertising and media images showing celebrities and others walking between the rails (an unsafe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Carriage And Wagon Numbering And Classification
A number of different numbering and classification schemes have been used for carriages and wagons on Britain's railways, and this page explains the principal systems. Carriages and wagons (either not self-propelled, or part of a multiple unit which has power units distributed throughout a semi-permanent formation of carriages) have frequently had similar arrangements for classification and numbering, so are considered together. There are also links to other pages that deal in greater depth with the particulars of individual types. Note on classification Carriage and wagon classification has never been quite the same as locomotive and multiple unit classification. For most railways, specific types were identified by their Diagram Number. This could simply be arranged by consecutive number, or there could be some greater organisation of numbers so that similar types were grouped together. However, carriages and wagons have rarely been referred to in general terms by their Diagram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tourist Standard Open
Tourist Second Open or Tourist Standard Open, abbreviated to TSO, is a type of British Railways coach. The designation "Tourist" was originally as opposed to a normal SO ( Second Open) coach. Both types have the same number of seating bays per coach, but the TSO has four seats across, arranged 2+2 either side of a central aisle, while an SO has 3 seats across, arranged 2+1 with an offset aisle. Both offer the same legroom, but there is slightly less width per passenger in a TSO. Even though the designations would appear to suggest that the SO was the standard type and the TSO a variant, in reality the TSO has been the default design of open coach on British Railways since the dawn of the Mark 1 era, built in large numbers, with comparatively few SO vehicles constructed, mainly for use as Third/Second/Standard class restaurant cars. In 1987, British Rail changed the title to Tourist Standard Open, when "Second Class" became "Standard Class" across the network. The TSO designati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Open
Second Open or Standard Open (coded SO) is a British coach designation for open-saloon second class (later standard class) coaches with 2+1 abreast seating, usually seating 48 passengers. Second class coaches with more conventional 2+2 abreast seating were designated Tourist Second Open (TSO) seating 64 passengers. There were a number of variations. The majority (95) were built using the same body shell as the Mark 1 SK and TSO. When production started, these were classified as third class. There were also 15 "true" second-class coaches, also known as "Boat Seconds" as they were used on boat trains for continental destinations (European mainland railways still had three classes). These rare vehicles had an interior layout to almost first-class standards with 2+1 seating (total 48 seats) and a central door without vestibule. When the European railways agreed in 1956 to abolish third class, British Railways simply reclassified third-class vehicles as second class except for the spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleeper Either Class
A Sleeper Either class (SLE) and Sleeper Either class with Pantry (SLEP) are a type of railway sleeping car used in Great Britain. Some units were later modified for better wheelchair access as Sleeper Either class Disabled (SLED). A smaller number reused in Denmark were classified as WLABr. A total of 208 vehicles were built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1982–1984 to the British Rail Mark 3A profile for British Rail. They were introduced to replace an ageing fleet of Mark 1 sleeper cars built to various designs and which dated from the late 1950s to early 1960s. The order consisted of 88 SLE variants, numbered 10646–10733, were constructed with thirteen bedrooms each, and 120 SLEP variants, numbered 10500–10619 constructed with twelve bedrooms with the last compartment used for an attendant. The Mark 3 air-conditioned sleeping cars were introduced including many additional safety features that had been lacking in the Mark 1 ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Corridor
The Second Corridor (previously Third Corridor) type of railway carriage was one of the standard mid-20th century designs, and was coded SK (previously TK) by the LNER and BR, and CF by the LMS. The layout of the coach was a number of compartments, all of which were second class (known as third class until 1956), linked by a side corridor. The British Railways Mark 1 SK was the most numerous carriage design ever built in the United Kingdom. The original number series carried was 24000–26217. From 1983, those carriages in the 25xxx and 26xxx series were renumbered 18xxx and 19xxx. There were two variants, those built for the Midland, Scottish, and Eastern / North Eastern regions had six seats per compartment, with fold-up arm-rests which folded into the seat-back, while those built for the Southern and Western regions, with their heavy commuter loadings into London, had eight seats in each compartment, and no arm-rests. Seating was of the interior sprung bench type. Over t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office Stowage Van
A Post Office stowage van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a travelling post office (TPO). Several of these have passed into preservation as they are very useful for storage on the railways. Preservation The preserved stowage vehicles are as follows: In addition, 80421 was also purchased for preservation by the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway The Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway (E&BASR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, formed in 1979 and opened in 1981. The preserved railway was part of the former Midland Railway route from Skipton to Ilkley which was clo ..., but was scrapped in July 2008. Pre-Nationalisation TPO Stowage Vehicles: References British Rail coaching stock {{UK-rail-transport-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office Sorting Van
A Post Office sorting van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a Travelling Post Office. British Rail built ninety-six of these vehicles between 1959 and 1977, to several similar designs, all based on the Mark 1 coach design. They were numbered in the range 80300–80395. The earliest vehicles built featured catching nets and collection arms, to allow mail bags to be exchanged without the train needing to stop, a practice which continued until 1971. Following the Great Train Robbery, vehicles from 80319 onwards featured a revised design with smaller windows. In the early 1970s, British Rail introduced the TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ... classification system. Vehicles were given the TOPS code NS, followed by an A if they were air-braked, V if vacuum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Propelling Control Vehicle
A propelling control vehicle (PCV) is a type of British railway carriage for carrying mail. They were converted from Class 307 driving trailers and have a cab at one end which allows slow-speed movement control. PCVs are unpowered but the controls allow mail trains to be reversed at low speed, using the power of the locomotive at the other end of the train. Similar BR Class 91 driving van trailer (DVT) used on the ECML differ by being fully equipped for high-speed train control. Forty-two PCVs were converted by Hunslet-Barclay in Kilmarnock from 1994 to 1996. The rebuilding work including removal of the windows and slam-doors, the fitting of roller shutter doors, and modernisation of the cab. The vehicles were given the TOPS code NAA and numbered 94300–94327 and 94331–94345. The first two vehicles converted were prototypes, and were extensively tested to iron out any problems. The subsequent 40 vehicles incorporated modifications as a result of this testing. At the sam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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