BR 16267 Composite Corridor

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BRBritish Rail or British Railways 16267 CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. Corridor
BR 16267 20150426.jpg
BRBritish Rail or British Railways Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. 16267
Built By BRBritish Rail or British Railways Derby
Status In service
Number SC16267
Other numbers 7267, SC16267
History
Built 1966
Diagram 126
Lot 30730
Type CK
Seats 24 first, 18 standard
1983 Preserved on SVRSevern Valley Railway
1999 Fully refurbished

Carriages

16267 is a BRBritish Rail or British Railways Mark 1 Corridor CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard. (CK) carriage. The term 'composite' refers to the use of more than one class of seating, in this case four first class compartments and three second class compartments. The practice of using mixed class carriages could be traced back to the days of stagecoaches, where passengers would pay different prices to sit inside or outside the stagecoach. After railway companies did away with second class in the late 1800s, composite carriages included both first and third class accommodation,[note 1] but by the time 16267 was built BRBritish Rail or British Railways had rebranded the latter as second class, later to become standard class.

The Mk1 CK had a weight of 34 tons and was fitted with Commonwealth bogies. Features provided in the first class compartments included additional leg room, deeper cushions, curtains, extra reading lamps, carpets, magazine racks and more expensive veneers. The second class compartments were decorated with formica panels and had simpler bench seats with shallower upholstery, fewer lights, and plain linoleum flooring. BRBritish Rail or British Railways also followed the seating plans used by the pre-nationalisation companies in each region, with LMR and ER carriages generally having seats with arm rests allowing six passengers per compartment while WR and SRSouthern Railway carriages had no arm rests permitting 8 passengers per compartment. One toilet was provided in each end vestibule.[1].

The middle second class compartment included an additional feature. The main window had hinges at the top of the frame and could be opened almost totally inwards, with hooks on the luggage racks to hold it in place while fully open. The compartment door was located directly opposite an external door on the other side of the corridor, with this arrangement enabling patients on stretchers to be loaded into the compartment easily from either side. At the time the Mk 1 stock was designed, rail was considered faster that road for long-distance journeys. One example of this type of use, a weekly booking from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads where patients were sent to convalesce near Yatton, continued until the CK stock was withdrawn in 1977, after which the journeys were made vial the M4 motorway[2].

16267 in service

16267 was built in 1963 at Derby to Diagram 126 (AA301), Lot 30730. It was the last Mk 1 CK of that Lot to be completed, thereby also becoming the last locomotive-hauled dual-class carriage to be built in the UK as BRBritish Rail or British Railways did not build any further Mk II or Mk III examples. It entered service in the Scottish region in BRBritish Rail or British Railways's maroon livery as used from 1958 onwards. It was later reallocated to the Eastern region in July 1966[3].

16267 in preservation

16267 was withdrawn from service at Neville Hill, Leeds in 1983, having become surplus to requirements following the introduction of new High Speed Train stock. It was selected for preservation by the L.M.S. & B.R. Coach Fund as being in excellent condition at the time as well as for its historical 'last one built' significance. However when the Fund's representatives arrived to examine it, it transpired that the Sales Department at Derby had failed to notify the depot and it was still in a train formation.

Having been inspected on its return, 16267 eventually arrived by rail on the SVRSevern Valley Railway on 14 March 1983. It initially ran in its final Inter City blue and grey livery for some 18 months before being repainted at Bridgnorth in BRBritish Rail or British Railways crimson and cream livery, notwithstanding that it was actually built too late to have carried it in service.[4] In 1989 it received some minor welding below the 'stretcher window' and replacement of a number of the formica panels, followed by a full repaint.[5]

The moquette seating was replaced during the mid-1990s. The carriage then received a full refurbishment including a repaint at Kidderminster paint shop in 1999. Two of the double-glazed window units had 'steamed up'; one was replaced by a single glazed example from BR Mk 1 Buffet Restaurant (RBR) 1678 which had been acquired in 1996 and dismantled for spares, while the other, the 'stretcher window', was taken apart as the two panes were fortunately not sealed. Several stepboards were removed and the chassis behind them needle-gunned to remove scale. A complex roof/end/corner repair was also needed on one corner before 16267 received a rub down and repaint. Internally, all the veneered surfaces were rubbed down and revarnished.[6] Other 'steamed up' double-glazed units were singled while 16267 and other carriages were stored out of use following the 2007 storm damage.[7]

In 2007 the L.M.S. & B.R.British Rail or British Railways Coach Fund transferred ownership of its carriages including 16267 to the SVRSevern Valley Railway Rolling Stock Trust (since renamed the SVR Charitable Trust), following which it became a department within the Trust.

In spring 2011 the buckeye couplings were replaced,[8] and over the winter of 2013-14 seven door locks were also replaced. The following winter the luggage racks were re-netted.[9]

During 2015 16267 was in use in the BRBritish Rail or British Railways Maroon set, its appearance described in SVRSevern Valley Railway News as "sunburnt red and cream, being some 4 years overdue for painting".[10] In 2016 the first class seats were replaced by those from stored sister vehicle 16169 to allow 16267 to stay in service for "two more seasons at most".[11] At the time the intention was to return 16169 to service before 16267 was withdrawn, SVRSevern Valley Railway News noting that "It is important for us to keep the first class complement of our trains up, as we have an obligation to shareholders who are entitled to such provision in recognition of their considerable financial input".[12]

In 2017 16267 returned to Kidderminster for a broken coil spring to be changed, and hornguide liner replacement, while in 2018 it required a 'quick repair' to a holed roof and rotten door pillar.[13] However continued delays to work on 16169 meant that by summer 2019 16267 was still in use, although ten years overdue for a repaint, and becoming 'tatty'.[14] Although the carriage required welding repairs and re-upholstery, the "Kidderminster Carriage Notes" for winter 2021 suggested that 16267 was "not likely to be in the to do list for 2022" as other vehicles including LMS 24617 and LNER 43612 had been waiting longer for attention.[15]

16267 normally forms part of the BRBritish Rail or British Railways Crimson & Cream set and is owned by the SVR Charitable Trust.

See also

List of carriages

Notes

  1. The law specified that third class accommodation should be provided, hence second class was no longer used.

References

  1. SVRSevern Valley Railway Stock Book 9th Edition
  2. SVRSevern Valley Railway Charitable Trust
  3. Longworth (2013) pp.113-114.
  4. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 78
  5. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 92
  6. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 152
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 160
  8. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 173
  9. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 186, 188
  10. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 193
  11. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 194
  12. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 199
  13. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 200, 202, 203
  14. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 206
  15. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 216

Links