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British Rail Mark 1

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British Rail Mark 1
Mark 1 Open First on Commonwealth bogies at Tyne Yard in March 2009
Interior of a Mark 1 SO (Second Open) Colne Valley Railway
In service1951–present
Manufacturers
Built at
Constructed1951–1963
OperatorBritish Railways
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel
Body-on-frame, non-integral
Car length57 ft 0 in (17.37 m) or 63 ft 6 in (19.35 m)
DoorsSlam
Maximum speed90 or 100 mph
140 or 160 km/h
HVACSteam or electric or both
BogiesBR1, BR2, Commonwealth or B4
Braking systemsautomatic vacuum, air, or dual
Coupling systemDrawhook or retractable knuckle coupler resting on drawhook
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Mark 1 Brake Suburban E43190 at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre This type was shorter than standard and has no corridor

British Rail Mark 1 is the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways (BR) from 1951 until 1974, now used only for charter services on the main lines or on preserved railways.

Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies (the Great Western, Southern, London, Midland and Scottish and London and North Eastern railways), and the Mark 1 was intended to be the standard carriage design for use across all lines, incorporating the best features of each of the former companies' designs. It was also designed to be much stronger than previous designs, to provide better protection for passengers in the event of a collision or derailment.

The Mark 1 coaches were built in two distinct tranches: the early vehicles (1951–1960) and, from 1961 onwards, the "Commonwealth" stock – so named on account of their bogies, which were a variant of the bogie designed by the General Steel Castings Corporation (formerly named the Commonwealth Steel Company) of Granite City, United States of America.

Construction

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Mark 1 coach fitted with a British-style dual buffer-and-chain/janney coupler with knuckle swung out of the way

The design was used for hauled passenger stock, multiple unit carriages and non-passenger carrying stock. For passenger stock, construction continued from 1951 to 1963, while multiple units and non-passenger carrying stock continued to be built until 1974. Developed by Derby Carriage & Wagon Works, they were built at Derby, Doncaster, Eastleigh, Swindon, Wolverton and York works.[1][2]

These were constructed in two lengths. Most had underframes 63 ft 5 in (19.33 m) long, with bogies at 46 ft 6 in (14.17 m) centres; the body was 64 ft 6 in (19.7 m) long if the coach was gangwayed, or 63 ft 5+3⁄4 in (19.35 m) if non-gangwayed. A smaller number had underframes 56 ft 11 in (17.3 m) long, with bogies at 40 ft (12.2 m) centres; the body was 58 ft (17.7 m) long if the carriage was gangwayed, or 57 ft 1+3⁄4 in (17.4 m) if non-gangwayed.[3]

A device known as a tell-tale connects the emergency (communication) cord or chain to the train line to facilitate an emergency stop.[4]

1957 prototypes

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In 1957, twelve carriages were built (four by Doncaster Works and two each by four outside contractors) in an attempt to improve on the existing design.[5]

Fibreglass bodied vehicles

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In 1962, Eastleigh Works constructed a single fibreglass bodied Mark 1. The vehicle, numbered S1000S, was mounted on the underframe of Mark 1 Tourist Second Open S4378, which was written off as a result of the Lewisham rail crash in 1957. Only the one example was built due to the cost, making this the only fibreglass-bodied passenger carriage built by British Railways. S1000S was used on the Hayling Island Branch Line until closure in 1963.[6] After use as a generator van at Lancing Carriage Works, it re-entered capital stock.[7] Its final duties were on commuter trains between Clapham Junction and Kensington Olympia.[6] After withdrawal, it was stored at Micheldever. It was purchased in 1973 by the East Somerset Railway.[7] In 2010, the carriage was restored, and as of January 2011 is in service on the East Somerset Railway. Repainted into maroon when work carried out in 2016.[6]

A single van, no. E85000, also had fibreglass body panels. This was converted from a normal passenger carriage (Mark 1 Corridor Composite no. Sc15170) at Derby Carriage & Wagon Works in 1970 to carry parcels conveyed in BRUTE trolleys; it was used until 1982. It weighed 27 long tons (27.4 t; 30.2 short tons), even though it was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) longer than a normal parcels van weighing 30 long tons (30.5 t; 33.6 short tons).[8]

XP64

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Near the end of the production of hauled Mark 1 stock came a series of eight experimental carriages known as the XP64 set. Three Corridor Firsts, two Corridor Seconds, and three Tourist Second Opens were built by Derby Carriage & Wagon Works in 1964.[9][10] Externally they resembled Mark 1 stock with the addition of a cosmetic cover over the solebars of the standard Mark 1 underframes, but inside they included many new features, including pressure ventilation, new seating designs and wider bi-fold doors.[11][12][13]

Safety

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The 1988 Clapham Junction rail accident highlighted that by the 1980s the Mark 1 coach was dated, and less able to withstand collisions than newer designs. Nevertheless, the Hidden Report into the disaster concluded that withdrawal of Mark 1 units was impractical and the design was not inherently unsafe: "The inventory of Mark I coaching stock is large, and much of it has not reached an end of economic life, nor will do so for another decade or more. Mark I vehicles have good riding qualities, and are not intrinsically lacking in collision resistance."[14]

During the late 1990s Mark 1 stock began to reach the end of its design life and concerns about its safety relative to newer rolling stock became more pressing. The Health and Safety Executive issued instructions in 1999 per the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 to withdraw all Mark 1 carriages and multiple units based on that design by the end of 2002 unless rebodied or modified to reduce the potential for overriding in the event of a collision.[15] A proposed modification to extend mainline use beyond 2002 at the time of the 1999 HSE instruction was 'cup and cone', however trials were inconclusive and deemed expensive in comparison with the safety benefits. In October 2002 the Health and Safety Executive extended the permitted use of Mark 1 based rolling stock until 31 December 2004 with the proviso they be fitted with a Train Protection & Warning System.[15]

Post-privatisation

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A West Coast Railways' Mark 1 diagram AB302 corridor brake composite coach number 21266 at Castleton East Junction with Mark 1 diagram AD103 open first coach number 99127 behind, March 2009

The last of ScotRail's Mark 1 based Class 303 multiple units survived until December 2002.[16]

Network Rail continue to use converted Mark 1 coaches for various departmental duties – test trains, sandite units, and accommodation units for worksite personnel are some examples.[17]

The final withdrawal of Mark 1s from daily mainline use was in 2005, some 54 years since the design entered service.[18][19] South West Trains was granted a derogation to continue to operating two three-car 421s on the Lymington branch line until 2010.[20][21]

Due to the lack of central door locking and Mark 1 stock not meeting the latest rolling stock safety expectations, various rules now govern their usage. In particular vehicles lacking central door locking require a steward to be present in each vehicle. Train companies are also recommended to run Mark 1 stock with more robust non-Mark 1 stock at either end to act as a barrier in the case of collisions. Mark 1s continue to be used on special charter trains with charter operators including North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Riviera Trains, Vintage Trains and West Coast Railways. The Office of Rail & Road has granted these operators an exemption to the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 to continue to operate Mark 1s on the main line until 2023.[22][needs update]


Preservation

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Mark 1 carriages on The Jacobite en route to Mallaig in 2005

Sleepers

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Number Type Location Notes
2080 Sleeper First Peak Rail Being restored[23]
2108 Sleeper First Carnforth Bad condition[24]
2127 Sleeper First Carnforth Bad condition[25]
2131 Sleeper First Carnforth Bad condition[26]
2132 Sleeper First Llangollen Railway Used as volunteer accommodation[27]
2500 Sleeper Second Carnforth Bad condition[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "British Railways All-Steel Carriages". The Railway Magazine. No. 582. July 1949. pp. 255/256.
  2. ↑ "British Railways Standard Coaches". Railway Gazette. 16 March 1951. pp. 295–297, 300.
  3. ↑ Parkin 1991, pp. 15, 18, 22, 203
  4. ↑ Parkin Keith, British Rail Mark 1 Coaches 1991 [page needed]
  5. ↑ Parkin 1991, p. 102
  6. 1 2 3 Jarman, Paul. "East Somerset Marks up". Steam Railway (384 (7 January - 3 February 2011)). Peterborough: Bauer Media: 46.
  7. 1 2 "BR 1000 Second: experimental glass reinforced plastic body built 1962". Vintage Carriages Trust. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  8. ↑ Parkin 1991, p. 198
  9. ↑ "British Railways prototype train". Railway Gazette. 5 June 1964. p. 427.
  10. ↑ "British Railways prototype passenger rolling-stock". Railway Gazette. 5 June 1964. pp. 481–482.
  11. ↑ Parkin 1991, pp. 114–7, 210
  12. ↑ Cooke, B.W.C., ed. (July 1964). "Project XP 64". Railway Magazine. Vol. 110, no. 759. pp. 540–544.
  13. ↑ Haresnape, Brian (July 1964). "XP64: New Standard Carriage Project". Modern Railways. Vol. XIX. Shepperton: Ian Allan. pp. 2–9.
  14. ↑ "Hidden Inquiry Report" – via The Railways Archive.
  15. 1 2 "Mark 1 rolling stock : HSE grants exemptions". Health and Safety Executive. 24 October 2002. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "ScotRail withdraws final Strathclyde 303s". Rail. No. 452. 8 January 2003. p. 6.
  17. ↑ "LH converts 421 coach to test vehicle". Rail. No. 484. 31 March 2004. p. 27.
  18. ↑ "End of an era at Waterloo – the last Mark 1 EMU departure". Entrain. No. 43. July 2005. p. 54.
  19. ↑ "Door finally closes on SET Mk 1 EMUs after 46 years". Rail. No. 525. 26 October 2005. p. 15.
  20. ↑ "SWT launches Lymington's heritage line with Mk 1 stock". Rail. No. 514. 25 May 2005. p. 15.
  21. ↑ "The end of the Slammers". The Railway Magazine. No. 1311. July 2010. p. 8.
  22. ↑ "Mark I and hinged door rolling stock exemptions". Office of Rail & Road.
  23. ↑ "BR 2080 Mk 1 Sleeper First built 1959". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.
  24. ↑ "BR 2108 Mk 1 Sleeper First built 1960". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019.
  25. ↑ "BR 2127 Mk 1 Sleeper First built 1961". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "BR 2131 Mk 1 Sleeper First built 1962". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.
  27. ↑ "BR 2132 Mk 1 Sleeper First with pantry built 1962". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.
  28. ↑ "BR 2500 Sleeper Second (twin berth, pantry) built 1957". cs.rhrp.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022.
  • Parkin, Keith (1991). British Railways Mark 1 Coaches. Penryn: Pendragon/HMRS. ISBN 0-906899-49-4.
  • G. M. Kichenside British Railways Coaches, Ian Allan ABC

Further reading

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