Maunsell coaches

[Cowley]

Do any of our esteemed Southern or coach experts know much about these carriages?
My friend’s father has asked me a few questions that I don’t really know the answer to. He’s bought some model ones (Hornby I think), and was wondering if there were any still running around in the south west in the 1950s/60s?
I thought that the last ones down here were used as two coach sets on branch lines, but I’m just not sure.
Any advice? (Paging @Taunton, @341o2 and @30907 amongst others )

 

[randyrippley]

In the early 1980's at Gillingham in Dorset was parked what MAY have been a Maunsell coach. It was dumped in a siding to the west of the station on the south side of the line, opposite the fertliser factory. It was in a bit of a mess and appeared to have occasional use as a workmens shack.
It was notionally dark green, but in many places had weathered to a dark red-plumb colour. Wooden bodied, though I really can't remember the details. Disappeared late 80's early 90's.
It would probably have had to be scrapped on site - the siding it was on was in a heck of a state with chairs/clips missing and sleepers and wooden wedges rotted away, no way it could have been towed out

In the 1960s at Weymouth there were several sets of what I took to be Maunsell stock parked on the girder bridge over Radipole lake, stayed there for years seemingly immobile. Both red and green sets.

 

[bishdunster]

I believe that some were used in the Chipman? weedkilling train, mayhap some Bullied coaches found similar use too. Also both types of coach were used by the M.O.D. on some of their larger internal railways.

 

[hexagon789]

Do any of our esteemed Southern or coach experts know much about these carriages?
My friend’s father has asked me a few questions that I don’t really know the answer to. He’s bought some model ones (Hornby I think), and was wondering if there were any still running around in the south west in the 1950s/60s?
I thought that the last ones down here were used as two coach sets on branch lines, but I’m just not sure.
Any advice? (Paging @Taunton, @341o2 and @30907 amongst others )

There's a section on Maunsell coaches on the Semg website here if that's any good?

Southern Railway E-mail Group Web Site

 

[Cowley]

Thanks guys.
I’ve just messaged him to because he sent me a text with the numbers and I’m not sure if he’s put the Bulleid stock in with them as well.
Hopefully I’ll have more information later.

 

[30907]

OK, and taking the South West to exclude the Weymouth line:
Maunsell Restriction 4 stock was common until IIRC late 1962, and the push-pull sets formed in 1959-60 lasted until 1964 (Yeovil and Seaton).
You had
2-P sets (BSK+BCK) - most trains to Padstow/Bude, some in East Devon and relief workings to Waterloo, less common at Ilfracombe.
2-W sets formed of a BCK and a non corridor second, typically East Devon from late 50s - these were regularly re-formed!
3-M (BSK-CK-BSK), whch disappeared late 50s.
Plus plenty of "loose" coaches, mainly SK but some SO - they got pretty much everywhere! And a few Restaurants/Buffets.
The Southern also had 8-coach sets entirely of Maunsells, but I'm not sure they made it past Exeter regularly.
Hope that's not too much info!

 

[Taunton]

There were loads of pre-Bulleid coaches around at Exeter until the WR took over at the end of 1962. Did Bulleid build any non-corridor stock? If not these must have been from that era, interspersed with the odd BR standard non corridor, at places like Exmouth. I don't remember any red ones at all, they all seemed green. Either they were never repainted in the 1950s red era or the Southern had come out with the paintpots pronto when green was allowed again (I suspect a combination of the two).

The older corridor stock got used on those Ilfracombe/Padstow/Salisbury stopper services which did not go through to Waterloo. When these were replaced in 1963-4 by spare Derby/BRCW Suburban non-toilet WR dmus it caused a near riot which involved the area MPs and Dr Beeching, and following a directive from 222 Marylebone Road a bizarre remarshalling of the dmus over one weekend to ensure each set had one toilet vehicle, regardless of gangway connections being broken.

There must be plenty of photographs still around of them.

 

[36270k]

Several Maunsell SO from push-pull sets were found in Three Bridges yard in the 1970's painted dark green. Often used as mess/tool vans on ballast trains.
The last Maunsell coaches in passenger service would be the 4-COR units.

 

[Cowley]

This is really useful stuff.
I’ve just spoken to him and realised that he wasn’t sure which type of coach was which... So these are the numbers of the coaches - some of which are mk1s and Bulleids, I’m just trying to work out what’s what...

4351, mk1?
34284 mk1?
s66465 ?
13086 ?
15904 ?
s58715 Maunsell?
s58105 Maunsell?
s55155 Maunsell?
15035 ?
5015 ?
35695 mk1?
s1297 Bulleid?

I know that this is a bit of a mystery tour...
@Taunton and @30907 - Thank you, very useful.

 

[30907]

Any Maunsell or Bulleid will have the S suffix (or 5 - transcription error?) and prefix.
I've done a quick Google Image search and S6646s/s5515s are Maunsells but s58xxs are Bulleids.
S1297 is odd - appears to be a Lima Mk1 BSK in green, and the number is out of sequence (34xxx is correct)...
All the rest I think are Mk 1, and if they are in green are very suitable.

 

[Cowley]

Any Maunsell or Bulleid will have the S suffix (or 5 - transcription error?) and prefix.
I've done a quick Google Image search and S6646s/s5515s are Maunsells but s58xxs are Bulleids.
S1297 is odd - appears to be a Lima Mk1 BSK in green, and the number is out of sequence (34xxx is correct)...
All the rst I thin are Mk 1.

Quite possibly a typo on the first number @30907, I thought that too.
I’m going to ring him tomorrow.

As a 12 year old I kicked the off switch on his freezer in about 1986 and ruined a whole freezer full of food. I think he’s trying to get me back for it by setting these questions for me.
They never forget round these parts...

 

[30907]

Quite possibly a typo on the first number @30907, I thought that too.
I’m going to ring him tomorrow.

As a 12 year old I kicked the off switch on his freezer in about 1986 and ruined a whole freezer full of food. I think he’s trying to get me back for it by setting these questions for me.
They never forget round these parts...

Pictures of all the coaches online - but I knew what I was looking for, I admit.

 

[WesternLancer]

Back in the early to mid 1980s my dad was building a rake of O gauge Maunsell coaches so we used to go to places like the Bluebell Railway to check and study details on the real things. That got me to appreciate their design and of course started to notice old ones parked up here and there on the former SR lines. Not very many by then but usually departmental or ex departmental ones seen in sidings usually in pretty poor condition. I used to hope preservationists could salvage them and I suspect several were indeed salvaged around that time. Pics on that SEMG on line site v interesting.

Interesting to read above posts about services that would have still used them into the 60s.

To this day I very much enjoy riding in them on preserved lines as a result of the time me and my dad spent looking at them and photographing obscure parts of the vehicles for the purposes of the model making!

 

[nlogax]

I was surprised to learn that at least one or two of them lasted into the blue/grey era.. !

 

[matchmaker]

This is really useful stuff.
I’ve just spoken to him and realised that he wasn’t sure which type of coach was which... So these are the numbers of the coaches - some of which are mk1s and Bulleids, I’m just trying to work out what’s what...

4351, mk1? S4351S. Bullied Brake 3rd. W/D 09/66
34284 mk1? Can't find that. Not an ex-Southern number. so possibly Mk 1.
s66465 ? S6646S. Maunsell Brake composite. W/D 10/65
13086 ? S1308S. Bullied 4 wheeled luggage van. W/D 11/81
15904 ? Can't find that. Not an ex-Southern number so possibly Mk 1.
s58715 Maunsell? S5871S. Bullied composite. W/D 05/64
s58105 Maunsell? S5810S. Bullied composite. W/D 07/67
s55155 Maunsell? S5515S. Maunsell composite. W/D 07/59
15035 ? S1503S. Bullied open 3rd. W/D 11/69
5015 ? Can't find that.
35695 mk1? Can't find that. Not ex-Southern number so possibly Mk 1.
s1297 Bulleid? S1297S. Maunsell open 3rd. W/D 12/62

I know that this is a bit of a mystery tour...
@Taunton and @30907 - Thank you, very useful.

@Cowley Hope the above helps. I've assumed that a lot of the "5" at the end should be "S". Taken from the Hugh Longworth book British Railways pre-nationalisation coaching stock Vol 2 SR & LMS""

 

[30907]

@Cowley Hope the above helps. I've assumed that a lot of the "5" at the end should be "S". Taken from the Hugh Longworth book British Railways pre-nationalisation coaching stock Vol 2 SR & LMS""

I strongly suspect we have a number of green BR Mk1s in this - 5015 and probably 4351 (TSOs), 13086 FK, 15xxx CK and 34xxx BSK

 

[Cowley]

I strongly suspect we have a number of green BR Mk1s in this - 5015 and probably 4351 (TSOs), 13086 FK, 15xxx CK and 34xxx BSK

Yes I think so 30907. I’m just waiting for him to ring back.

 

[Cowley]

@Cowley Hope the above helps. I've assumed that a lot of the "5" at the end should be "S". Taken from the Hugh Longworth book British Railways pre-nationalisation coaching stock Vol 2 SR & LMS""

@matchmaker - Ever so sorry, I hadn’t realised that you’d edited my post to add the extra detail. Just read it now and taking it in.

Here’s what you listed:

4351, mk1?
S4351S. Bullied Brake 3rd. W/D 09/66
34284 mk1? Can't find that. Not an ex-Southern number. so possibly Mk 1.
s66465 ? S6646S. Maunsell Brake composite. W/D 10/65
13086 ? S1308S. Bullied 4 wheeled luggage van. W/D 11/81
15904 ? Can't find that. Not an ex-Southern number so possibly Mk 1.
s58715 Maunsell? S5871S. Bullied composite. W/D 05/64
s58105 Maunsell? S5810S. Bullied composite. W/D 07/67
s55155 Maunsell? S5515S. Maunsell composite. W/D 07/59
15035 ? S1503S. Bullied open 3rd. W/D 11/69
5015 ? Can't find that.
35695 mk1? Can't find that. Not ex-Southern number so possibly Mk 1.
s1297 Bulleid? S1297S. Maunsell open 3rd. W/D 12/62