British Rail Mark 2
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
British Rail's second design of carriages was designated Mark 2. The Mark 2 has a semi-integral construction, giving it more strength than a Mark 1 in the event of an accident.
The prototype Mark 2 carriage (a First Corridor-type coach, number 13252) was built in 1963, and is now preserved at the National Railway Museum, York. The production runs, of which there were seven sub-divisions identified (Mark 2 and Mark 2A to Mark 2F), their build dates and their specific differences are set out in the table below:
| Mark | Built | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Mark 2 | 1964-66 | The basic Mark 2 model, with pressure ventilation and wood panelling |
| Mark 2A | 1967-68 | Improvement of Mark 2, with adoption of more features from the XP64 set |
| Mark 2B | 1969 | Longer body, centre door omitted and wide wrap-round doors fitted at the ends |
| Mark 2C | 1969-70 | Lower ceiling with ducts for air conditioning, but not actually fitted |
| Mark 2D | 1971-72 | Air conditioning fitted, so no opening windows in the seating area |
| Mark 2E | 1972-74 | Luggage racks fitted opposite toilet cubicles, which were reduced in size |
| Mark 2F | 1973-75 | Interior panelling made of plastic and new style seating |
The final Mark 2 carriage constructed was departmental carriage no. 999550, which was built in 1977. It is currently still in service with Network Rail as part of the New Measurement Train.
Ireland's national rail operator, Iarnród Éireann, still run some intercity services using Mark 2D stock, as of 2004. These are air-conditioned, but easily distinguishable from IÉ's newer MkIII carriages by being two feet shorter and having "slam doors". For this reason along with serious corrosion problems, the units are soon to be withdrawn. Older Mark 2A/B/C carriages were scrapped in 2004, as they were heavily corroded. 15 such carriages were purchased from a UK scrap dealer by Iarnród Éireann in 1989 in exchange for a similar number of scrap diesel locomotives. The carriages were returned to service on Irish railways. All had previously been sold as scrap by British Rail.
References
- Michael Harris British Rail Mark 2 Coaches - the design that launched InterCity Mallard/Venture ISBN 1-898432-48-1
External links
- Southern e-group page on Mk2a/b/c (http://www.semg.org.uk/coach/brmk2_1.html)
| Mark 1 - Mark 2 - Mark 3 - Mark 4 | |
| Passenger Coaches | |
| Mark 1: | BCK - BSK - BSO - CK - FK - FO - RB - RBR - RMB - SK - SO - TSO - TSO(B) |
| Mark 2: | BSO - BSOT - DBSO - FK - FO - SK - SO - TSO - |
| Mark 3: | BFO - FO - TSO |
| Mark 4: | FO - TSO - TSOE |
| Non-Passenger Coaches | |
| Mark 1 | BG - BPOT - Courier - GUV - PCV - POS - POT |
| Mark 3 & 4: | DVT |
