Talk:Coaches of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

Discussion

Started editing the article to add relevant information and modify the tone to a more appropriate style. Removed references to article requiring editing. Geologue 13:24, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

All Doors Corridor Coaches

I regularly used to catch trains between the North East and Derby and Bristol and the South West. Up until about 1958 or so, I'm sure I remember, the coaches were corridor stock but with doors in each compartment. In particular I would get woken up at a station just when I was trying to get some sleep.

It's been bothering me on and off for a number of years. These coaches must have been pretty prevalent, but I can find no mention of them.

There are descriptions of so-called "all doors" corridor stock by Essery on the LMS , but these finished production in the early thirties. Were they really that old, or were they Western Region ex GWR escapees?

But then you also hear little of the "porthole stock" that were used to St. Pancras. Graham Farish has announced the production of LMS Stanier coaches. Presumably these were used on the posh trains for Euston to Birmingham and Manchester.

• Coaches lasted many years in most cases. It's highly likely that the coaches in question were the 30s-built ones. 90.240.24.214 (talk) 14:45, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

The LMS built "all-door" stock in the 1920s (period 1). The LNER built a great deal of all-door stock throughout the Gresley period - almost to the second world war. BR built SR-design loco-hauled all-door stock as late as 1949 although not in great numbers (the Bulleid 59' stock). Examples of all this stock lasted until the early-mid 1960s, so it's wholly understandable that you rode on this kind of stock in the 1950s.

The all-door corridor 1st class sections into the 4-VEP EMUs, built by BR 1967-74 and withdrawn in 2005, so you could travel in all-door compartments on the main line until but a few years ago - I commuted to work on these 2000-2005 and used to alway sit in the declassified 1st class compartments!

Porthole stock operated all over the network and indeed was the last pre-grouping loco-hauled general passenger stock in use on BR in 1968 - only catering and sleeping cars and full brakes lasted longer. Not surprising when you think it was considered a very modern design in the mid-nineteen-thirties and were actually built as late as 1949-50. The coaches had a good ten years of life left in them when withdrawn and if it wasn't for BR's policy of not overhauling any pre-grouping stock after 1965 without special reason, would have survived to the end of seventies at leastBaseTurnComplete (talk) 20:15, 20 November 2008 (UTC).