Pictures of original interiors from before 2005

[Merseyrailfan]

Hi, Is there anywhere I can find Train original interiors. As I look online there is very few before 2005. Could anyone help please?

 

[Milo T.K]

Hi, Is there anywhere I can find Train original interiors. As I look online there is very few before 2005. Could anyone help please?

Generally alot of Facebook groups have rare pictures

 

[hexagon789]

Hi, Is there anywhere I can find Train original interiors. As I look online there is very few before 2005. Could anyone help please?

Plenty on Flickr, though it helps to know which accounts have such photos through experience.

 

[superalbs]

Are there any in particular you want, as someone may be able to help?

 

[Merseyrailfan]

Are there any in particular you want, as someone may be able to help?

original Mark 4 stock, please.

 

[superalbs]

original Mark 4 stock, please.

Here you go:

Interior of a Class 225 coach

Interior of a Class 225 second class coach (possibly 11205) at King's Cross Station, August 1990.

www.flickr.com

 

[driverd]

Whilst we're on this topic, I've long been looking for an original 155 interior pic, and a just after conversion 153, along with an original 142/144 (with original moquette) if anyone could help!

 

[Merseyrailfan]

Also could I also possibly, have a interior of Class 165 in NSE Days.

 

[fgwrich]

Whilst we're on this topic, I've long been looking for an original 155 interior pic, and a just after conversion 153, along with an original 142/144 (with original moquette) if anyone could help!

Original Class 144 interior courtesy of Charlie Petty of RealTrack:

EFE Rail Class 143/144 Pacer

www.rmweb.co.uk

 

[Melancholia]

Also could I also possibly, have a interior of Class 165 in NSE Days.

Aylesbury Depot

Some pics of Chiltern NSE 165/0 in here

 

[twpsaesneg]

Whilst we're on this topic, I've long been looking for an original 155 interior pic, and a just after conversion 153, along with an original 142/144 (with original moquette) if anyone could help!

Scroll to 7m 55sec for some footage of Class 155, it's the only place I managed to find anything!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Here's an original 142, not my photo:

Class 142 DMU interior, 18/04/1992 [slide 9216]

Interior of Class 142 'Pacer' no. 142034 on 18/04/1992, featuring the original moquette as supplied from new.

www.flickr.com

And for entertainment value an original 158 featuring a very young me (on the right)!

Second one added to make the seat moquette more obvious and not because it's entertaining, honest!

 

[driverd]

Thank you all for the pictures! I see the 155s are very similar to the 156 interior (as new). Thanks for the 142 and 144 links also!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thank you all for the pictures! I see the 155s are very similar to the 156 interior (as new). Thanks for the 142 and 144 links also!

An original 156 can be seen on the Victoria Wood Great Railway Journeys episode should you have a copy of that (it was on YouTube but I think it was taken down, sadly). But yes, same seats as the 153/155 albeit at a less awful spacing.

Here you go:

Interior of a Class 225 coach

Interior of a Class 225 second class coach (possibly 11205) at King's Cross Station, August 1990.

www.flickr.com

Good to see that posted again, to remind everyone how cheap and nasty and built down to a price Mk4s originally were, before GNER put the new seat frames in, then VTEC changed the cushions to ones that were the right shape and made them quite classy!

Less comfortable than the 158 though slightly resemblent of it.

 

[stuu]

Hi, Is there anywhere I can find Train original interiors. As I look online there is very few before 2005. Could anyone help please?

Worth checking Wikipedia, that often has interior photos. Or the source links within articles

 

[LowLevel]

http://www.railfaneurope.net/ has a load of old interior pictures, though it is a very old site and requires some patience to navigate. There's a good one of an original 153 interior on there for example. Click "pictures" and then the "UK" flag on the left.

It makes me feel old as I remember checking it for updates 20 years ago, when Pierre Guillemin was documenting the withdrawal of the loco hauled sets out of Euston!

For a website that was in it's prime between probably 2003 and 2006 it has got plenty of nice content and I'm glad it is still alive in 2023.

 

[Mikey C]

This Class 313 photo is so old, it's in black and white

Train interior - class 313 at Moorgate

These trains built 1976 were the start of the bad design which overtook Britain's railways. A most gloomy interior due to not having enough windows.

www.flickr.com

 

[Russel]

http://www.railfaneurope.net/ has a load of old interior pictures, though it is a very old site and requires some patience to navigate. There's a good one of an original 153 interior on there for example. Click "pictures" and then the "UK" flag on the left.

It makes me feel old as I remember checking it for updates 20 years ago, when Pierre Guillemin was documenting the withdrawal of the loco hauled sets out of Euston!

For a website that was in it's prime between probably 2003 and 2006 it has got plenty of nice content and I'm glad it is still alive in 2023.

That website is like stepping back in time by about 15 years!

 

[43096]

Here you go:

Interior of a Class 225 coach

Interior of a Class 225 second class coach (possibly 11205) at King's Cross Station, August 1990.

www.flickr.com

Although the caption on the photo of it perhaps being 11205 is obviously incorrect!

 

[Bletchleyite]

This Class 313 photo is so old, it's in black and white

Train interior - class 313 at Moorgate

These trains built 1976 were the start of the bad design which overtook Britain's railways. A most gloomy interior due to not having enough windows.

www.flickr.com

Different moquette to Merseyrail PEPs (507/508), interestingly, that looked very much the same but had a green, grey and black tartan on the seat covers (less garish than it sounds).

The later yellow based version is shown in this post:

Merseyrail Class 777 introduction updates

Had my first ride on a 777 this evening, and interestingly three passengers sat behind me, all of whom were travelling separately, gave it a very poor appraisal indeed. Chief criticisms were the hard seating, the inferior ride quality compared with the old trains and the lack of natural...

www.railforums.co.uk

The original was the same but with a mid-green instead of the yellow (the vestibules were still yellow).

 

[LowLevel]

That website is like stepping back in time by about 15 years!

It opened in it's present format following a small revamp in 2004, so more like 20

 

[superalbs]

Although the caption on the photo of it perhaps being 11205 is obviously incorrect!

As well as calling it a Class 225.

 

[RailWonderer]

In the early 2000s, the 319s, 321s and Sprinters received overhauls that looked vastly more updated than 15 years prior. The last 15 years in comparison hasn’t seen as steep a change:

 

[Bletchleyite]

In the early 2000s, the 319s, 321s and Sprinters received overhauls that looked vastly more updated than 15 years prior. The last 15 years in comparison hasn’t seen as steep a change:

I'm not sure I'd massively agree - the 321s just got the NSE murals painted over, yellow grab poles, lighting diffusers and carpets - they didn't even change the seat coverings, they were Network SouthEast moquette for years.

There were more replacement seats in the early refurbs, though I think that's in part because of safety issues with some of the older seat designs, e.g. the IC70 that was in the Mk3 originally had a tendency to break into large, sharp pieces in a crash.

 

[bramling]

Different moquette to Merseyrail PEPs (507/508), interestingly, that looked very much the same but had a green, grey and black tartan on the seat covers (less garish than it sounds).

The later yellow based version is shown in this post:

Merseyrail Class 777 introduction updates

Had my first ride on a 777 this evening, and interestingly three passengers sat behind me, all of whom were travelling separately, gave it a very poor appraisal indeed. Chief criticisms were the hard seating, the inferior ride quality compared with the old trains and the lack of natural...

www.railforums.co.uk

The original was the same but with a mid-green instead of the yellow (the vestibules were still yellow).

Interesting to see the negative comments people have added to the 313 photo, which essentially seems to boil down to the poor window alignment. Had these trains been built 20 years later then they would possibly have had plug doors (like the Networkers), which would likely have removed that issue.

Aside from that the PEP-derived designs weren’t too bad, and given how long these trains have lasted no one can really say they haven’t proved highly successful.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Interesting to see the negative comments people have added to the 313 photo, which essentially seems to boil down to the poor window alignment. Had these trains been built 20 years later then they would possibly have had plug doors (like the Networkers), which would likely have removed that issue.

Aside from that the PEP-derived designs weren’t too bad, and given how long these trains have lasted no one can really say they haven’t proved highly successful.

They're certainly workhorses. With regard to window alignment I'd have centred two facing bays on the two windows and had side-facing seats against the door pockets, which would have been better for busy trains anyway by providing better standing room. But it's also valid to say that on the sort of services these trains operate and operated, people probably don't overly care about scenery anyway.

 

[bramling]

I'm not sure I'd massively agree - the 321s just got the NSE murals painted over, yellow grab poles, lighting diffusers and carpets - they didn't even change the seat coverings, they were Network SouthEast moquette for years.

There were more replacement seats in the early refurbs, though I think that's in part because of safety issues with some of the older seat designs, e.g. the IC70 that was in the Mk3 originally had a tendency to break into large, sharp pieces in a crash.

The WAGN refurbishment of the class 317/2s showed what could be done. The interiors on those really did give the feeling of being brand new at the time. It always struck me as strange only 24 were done, but presumably that boiled down to £££.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The WAGN refurbishment of the class 317/2s showed what could be done. The interiors on those really did give the feeling of being brand new at the time. It always struck me as strange only 24 were done, but presumably that boiled down to £££.

Merseyrail did a very similar thing with their PEPs, with 2+2 seating in facing bays, albeit different seats. But the windows are still 180 degrees misaligned, as it were. In terms of window alignment the TfW and GWR 150s and the Brighton Express 319/2 are probably better; you're only forced to have misaligned bays if you don't have any airline seats.

 

[bramling]

They're certainly workhorses. With regard to window alignment I'd have centred two facing bays on the two windows and had side-facing seats against the door pockets, which would have been better for busy trains anyway. But it's also valid to say that on the sort of services these trains operate and operated, people probably don't overly care about scenery anyway.

Agreed I’d have done same. However it’s worth noting that observation of people using these trains, and the similar 317-322 fleets over the years, didn’t seem to show a trend for people avoiding the windowless seats, so it doesn’t seem like it was that much of an issue for many.

For those of who did like good window views it did mean having a rather small handful of seats to choose from though, comparing disfavourably to something like a 365 where *every* seat had a good window view. One reason why the 365 was a popular and well-regarded train among those who used them - and I mean users rather than enthusiasts.

 

[RailWonderer]

I'm not sure I'd massively agree - the 321s just got the NSE murals painted over, yellow grab poles, lighting diffusers and carpets - they didn't even change the seat coverings, they were Network SouthEast moquette for years.

The First Great Eastern ones got new seat covers, handlebars, modern buttons and new Lino floor coverings. I agree though the Silverlink/LM ones were tatty and horrid as we had them on the GE in the early 2010s and they were horrific before GA refurbed them. The FCC ones were very well refurbed as well.
The 317/2s as said upthread are a better example.