When were non-corridor carriages replaced?

[yorksrob]

I've only travelled in compartments on preserved railways, or seen them in old films, so I probably have a romanticised view of them. The reality was probably different.

I wouldn't say so. I found the corridor versions were always very nice to travel in, particularly if you managed to bag one without anyone else in it (this was a knack I became quite adept at, helped by the fact that most normals assumed all compartments to be 1st class, which, of course, they weren't !).

 

[Ash Bridge]

I would take a springy Southern Region cushion over a hard modern seat any day !

Nah, gimme a Merseyrail Pacer seat anytime

 

[yorksrob]

Nah, gimme a Merseyrail Pacer seat anytime

From the sublime, to the ridiculous

 

[Springs Branch]

A friend of mine wasn't quite by himself in an EPB compartment where he claims to have joined the 4'6'' club.....

4'6" club? What happened to the other 2½ inches?

--------------------------
I have an odd non-corridor memory from the Southern Region in the early 1980s.

A friend and I travelled from Datchet on the W&E Riverside branch towards Waterloo one Sunday afternoon. There was no ticket office open at Datchet so we assumed we might have to buy tickets on the train. When the train arrived it was a 4-EPB (or maybe the last of the 4-SUBs) and we ended up in an empty non-corridor compartment. "Guess we pay at the other end", we thought. However at Sunnymeads a conductor-guard with ticket machine and cash bag bounded into our compartment and sold us both tickets. At the next station, Wraysbury, he quickly jumped out and went to another compartment to repeat the process.

It could be scary enough travelling in these non-corridor compartments as a passenger at quiet times, but it seemed like a particularly hazardous job doing the Paytrain thing, jumping between sealed compartments with a bag of cash to try to sell tickets to passengers who might not be too keen to pay.

 

[30909]

The real gems/horrors of the compartment world were the 11-compartment 4SUB vehicles (the majority were 10-compartment) which survived in small numbers into the 80s/90s and were incorporated into EPBs. These had no legroom between opposing seats and standing was nigh impossible without being pinned in place by knees! The opposites were the very few ex-composite vehicles from the very first batch of SUBs which were declassified before entering service in the 1940s, but which had their erstwhile first class compartments built to a much more generous legroom.

Known amongst some Southern and Southern Region staff as Queens of Shebas as "She came to Jerusalem with a very great train (retinue or caravan) 1 Kings 10: 2

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Another property of compartment stock was "Women Only" compartments (denoted by a green triangular sticker on the window I think).
I don't know if these were phased out earlier than compartments as a whole.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Probably, but he always was a little short

That's what she said...

 

[W-on-Sea]

Another property of compartment stock was "Women Only" compartments (denoted by a green triangular sticker on the window I think).
I don't know if these were phased out earlier than compartments as a whole.

Yes, much earlier. I don't know when, but I certainly never encountered them in the 80s when I did see compartment 302s fairly frequently!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Yes, much earlier. I don't know when, but I certainly never encountered them in the 80s when I did see compartment 302s fairly frequently!

Actually I think they might have said "Ladies Only".
Much posher.

 

[6Gman]

Actually I think they might have said "Ladies Only".
Much posher.

Correct. Somewhere, somewhere in a box I've got a couple of the labels.

 

[RT4038]

I well remember the non-corridor suburban coaches on the King's Cross peak period suburban trains, complete with Ladies only compartments. They mostly did short runs - Hatfield and Gordon Hill to Broad Street/Moorgate/King's Cross suburban. Hauled by Brush Type 2s and Baby Deltics. I think the last were swept away by DMUs made redundant by the East Lincolnshire line closures (Peterborough-Spalding-Boston-Grimsby, Lincoln-Firsby and Mablethorpe branch) in 1970. These DMUs went around the GN suburban system with blank destination blinds (or displaying exotic destinations) for some time.

Also not mentioned yet, the LMR London District four car sets (Richmond-Broad Street-Watford/Croxley Green-Euston) also had non-corridor coaches in the set; in the evenings these coaches were locked out of use in the late 60s. Later they were modified into an open saloon type.

 

[yorksrob]

Also not mentioned yet, the LMR London District four car sets (Richmond-Broad Street-Watford/Croxley Green-Euston) also had non-corridor coaches in the set; in the evenings these coaches were locked out of use in the late 60s. Later they were modified into an open saloon type.

That's interesting - a good twenty years difference between then and the 4COM's being consigned to peak only services on the Southern.

 

[Clarence Yard]

The GN "block enders" survived until 1977. They were gradually reduced in numbers over the previous decade, the main DMU influx coming in 1969 with the infamous ex Lea Valley Rolls Royce 3 car sets. There were 4 BUT (cl.116) 3 car sets transferred in as well.

The LM DC lines stock (later 501) was 3 car, with the centre car being the compartment stock. These got a fair amount of serious attention by vandals in the early 1970's and were eventually opened out.

 

[Ostrich]

I remember travelling in compartment stock on the Isle of Wight, 1965 or 1966 I should think, Newport to Ryde ... does anyone recall if all the old coaching stock on the Island was purely compartment stock?

 

[Taunton]

I remember travelling in compartment stock on the Isle of Wight, 1965 or 1966 I should think, Newport to Ryde ... does anyone recall if all the old coaching stock on the Island was purely compartment stock?

There were some open vehicles, which the Southern called "saloons". I've ridden on one at the IoW Steam Railway. They were decidedly homebuilt conversions (typical Southern Railway) from compartment vehicles, with the partitions knocked through and some of the side doors panelled over. I see on the website of the railway that one of them at least had been in the "last train" on the main steam service.

 

[Waldgrun]

There were some open vehicles, which the Southern called "saloons". I've ridden on one at the IoW Steam Railway. They were decidedly homebuilt conversions (typical Southern Railway) from compartment vehicles, with the partitions knocked through and some of the side doors panelled over. I see on the website of the railway that one of them at least had been in the "last train" on the main steam service.

The coach in question is 6375 boon comoposite built by the SECR in 1911 as the centre coach of a 3 car "Birdcage" set as built the saloon area was two lavatories! On train toilet were not used on the I.OW. because the water supply for the town of Ventnor was drawn from St. Boniface Down through will the railway tunnel ran! I also believe that Burt's brewery used the same water source, for those that don't know Burt's was infamous for its room clearing properties! A few pints and you would have had a compartment to oneself!

 

[30907]

Another property of compartment stock was "Women Only" compartments (denoted by a green triangular sticker on the window I think).
I don't know if these were phased out earlier than compartments as a whole.

They were only provided on sets that were wholly compartment stock. The only examples I remember were the earliest Bullied 4SUBs (the 11-compartment 4101-4110 and the all steel 4111-4120). After that, all new build was partly saloon, including IIRC all the slam door ac units, Watford stock etc.

The compartments were adjacent to the guard's van.

I presume this also applied to earlier units and to non corridor SR hauled sets.