The passenger coaches of the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

(GWR) were many and varied, ranging from four and six-wheeled vehicles for the original broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 line of 1838, through to bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

 coaches up to 70 feet (21.3 m) long which were in service through to 1947. Vacuum brakes, bogies and through-corridors all came into use during the nineteenth century, and in 1900 the first electrically lit coaches were put into service. The 1920s saw some vehicles fitted with automatic couplings and steel bodies.

Early vehicles were built by a number of independent companies, but in 1844 the railway started to build carriages at Swindon railway works, which eventually provided most of the railway’s stock. Special vehicles included sleeping cars, restaurant cars and slip coach

Slip coach

A slip coach or slip carriage is a British and Irish railway term for passenger rolling stock that is uncoupled from an express train while the train is in motion, then slowed by a guard in the coach using a hand brake, bringing it to a stop at the next station. The coach was thus said to be...

es. Passengers were also carried in railmotors

GWR steam rail motors

The steam rail motors were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.-History:...

, autotrains, and diesel railcars

GWR railcars

In 1933, the Great Western Railway introduced the first of what was to become a very successful series of railcars, which survived in regular use into the 1960s, when they were replaced with the new British Rail "first generation" type diesel multiple units....

. Passenger-rated vans carried parcels, horses, and milk and at express speeds.

Most coaches were painted in a chocolate brown and cream livery, although this did change over the years, however they were plain brown or red until 1864 and from 1908 to 1922. Parcels vans and similar vehicles were seldom painted in the two-colour livery, being plain brown or red instead, which caused them to be known as "brown vehicles".

History

Early GWR carriages, in common with other railways at the time, were typically wooden vehicles based on stagecoach

Stagecoach

A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 practice and built on short, rigid six-wheel (or sometimes four-wheel) underframes, although the broad gauge allowed wider bodies with more people seated in each compartment. Three classes were provided, although third class carriages were not conveyed in every train and, for the first few years, were little more than open trucks with rudimentary seats. Some rigid eight-wheeled carriages were produced but vacuum brakes and bogies made an appearance before the end of the broad gauge in 1892.

The first train in the United Kingdom with corridor connection

Corridor connection

A Corridor connection is a flexible connector fitted to the end of a railway coach to enable passage from one coach to another without falling out of the train.-Coaches:...

s between all carriages entered service on 7 March 1890 on the Paddington to Birkenhead

Birkenhead Woodside railway station

Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.-Background:Birkenhead Woodside railway station was opened on 31 March 1878 to replace the increasingly inadequate passenger facilities provided at Birkenhead Monks Ferry station.It was built...

 route, and further corridor trains were introduced on all the main routes over the next few years. In 1900 a new Milford

Milford Haven railway station

Milford Haven railway station serves the town of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Opened on 7 September 1863, it was originally known as Milford, becoming Old Milford by January 1902, and finally being renamed Milford Haven by April 1910....

 Boat Train set introduced electric lights and the communication cord was moved inside the train; until now a passenger needing to stop the train in an emergency had to lean out of the window and pull a cord above the door. At this time carriages generally had a clerestory

Clerestory

Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...

 roof but elliptical roofs were fitted to the GWR steam rail motors

GWR steam rail motors

The steam rail motors were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.-History:...

 in 1903 and then became standard for all carriages, the first being the "Dreadnought" stock built from 1904 in lengths of up to 70 feet (21.3 m). At this time most carriages on railways in Great Britain were a maximum of 57 feet (17.4 m). The "Concertina" stock appeared in 1906, so named as the doors were recessed into the body side rather than flush with the outer panels. The following year saw the introduction of shorter "Toplight" stock of around 57 ft, the toplights being small "lights" or windows above the main windows. Coaches panelled in steel rather than wood first appeared in 1912.

The next significant change came in 1922 when bow-ended stock was introduced in both 57 ft and 70 ft lengths. Hitherto coaches had featured flat ends but bow ends were easier to fit with Buckeye couplings that were then finding favour with passenger trains in the United Kingdom. These coaches were generally more plain than earlier vehicles as they had flush sides without beaded panels. Some articulated

Articulated vehicle

An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivoting joint in its construction, allowing the vehicle to turn more sharply. There are many kinds of articulated vehicles, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains...

 sets were built in 1925. From 1929 coaches had windows flush with the body panels, the first such sets being for the Cornish Riviera Express

Cornish Riviera Express

The Cornish Riviera Express is a British express passenger train that has run between London and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name Cornish Riviera Express has been applied to the late morning express train from London Paddington station to Penzance...

 but general service coaches followed the following year, including the infamous "B Sets", two-coach trains mainly used on branch lines.

In 1931 some "Super Saloons" were built, also known as "Ocean Saloons" as they were used on the Plymouth

Plymouth Millbay railway station

Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941.- History :...

 to London Ocean Mail trains. These were fitted out to very high specification for the Trans-Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 passengers. In 1935 excursion stock with open saloons instead of compartments was introduced, and the "Centenary" stock for the Cornish Riviera Limited service. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 some "Special Saloons" were built for the use of VIP

VIP

VIP and V.I.P. is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:-In general:* Vacuum insulated panel* Values, Influence, and Peers, an anti-crime campaign in Ontario elementary schools* Variable Information Printing, a form of on-demand printing...

s and for the Royal Train. A distinctive new profile appeared in 1944, when Hawksworth

Frederick Hawksworth

Frederick W. Hawksworth , was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway ....

 introduced corridor coach

Corridor coach

A corridor coach is a type of railway passenger coach divided into compartments and having a corridor down one side of the coach to allow free movement along the train and between compartments....

es with domed roof-ends, although non-corridor coaches and auto trailers retained a more conventional roof. Fluorescent lights were tried in new coaches built in 1946.

A few sleeping cars were operated on the broad gauge and such carriages became familiar on overnight trains. Restaurant cars became practical following the introduction of corridor trains; the first cars in 1896 were for first class passengers only but a second class buffet car

Buffet car

A buffet car is a passenger car of a train, where snacks and beverages can be bought at a counter and consumed. Typically, passengers are not allowed to consume brought-along food and drinks in the car, and are therefore only able to eat in this area by buying their food in the car.- Further...

 appeared on the Milford Boat Train in 1900. Slip coach

Slip coach

A slip coach or slip carriage is a British and Irish railway term for passenger rolling stock that is uncoupled from an express train while the train is in motion, then slowed by a guard in the coach using a hand brake, bringing it to a stop at the next station. The coach was thus said to be...

es were operated on many routes that could be uncoupled from the rear of a moving train and serve intermediate stations that the train did not call at.

Livery

The livery of early carriages was a dark chocolate brown but from 1864 the upper panels were painted white which became a pale cream after being varnished and exposed to the weather. These panels were later painted in cream to give a similar effect. From 1908 carriages were painted chocolate brown all over but this changed to a red lake colour in 1912. A two-colour livery reappeared in 1922, now with a richer shade of cream on the upper panels and chocolate brown below. Certain vehicles such as parcels vans and horse boxes, which were allowed to run in passenger trains, were often painted in just chocolate brown when the passenger carrying coaches were in chocolate and cream, and so this non-passenger carrying coaching stock came to be known as "brown vehicles".

Numbering

Each class of carriage was initially numbered in its own series, starting at 1. This entailed renumbering any vehicles that were reclassified, for instance first class carriages downgraded to second class. To bring them all into one series in 1907 third class carriages were left with their original numbers; second class had 5000 added to their numbers; composites had 6000 added; first class had 8000 added; sleepers and saloons were renumbered in the 9000-9399 series; and catering cars were renumbered in the 9500 series.

Diagram codes

Diagram codes were introduced by George Jackson Churchward

George Jackson Churchward

George Jackson Churchward CBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922.-Early career:...

 for easy reference to different carriage types. Each type could then be identified with a diagram that combined a letter (which represented a general type) and a number (which represented a distinctive design of that type ), for instance C3 or H16.

• A – Bogie
  Bogie
  A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
  
   first class
• B – Bogie second class
• C – Bogie third class
• D – Bogie brake third
• E – Bogie composite
• F – Slip
  Slip coach
  A slip coach or slip carriage is a British and Irish railway term for passenger rolling stock that is uncoupled from an express train while the train is in motion, then slowed by a guard in the coach using a hand brake, bringing it to a stop at the next station. The coach was thus said to be...
  
  
• G – Saloon
• H – Catering vehicle
• J – Sleeping car
  Sleeping car
  The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
  
  
• K – Brake van
• L – Mail van

• M – Bogie parcels van, etc.
• N – Horse box
• O – Milk van
• P – Carriage truck
• Q – Inspection saloon
• R – First class
• S – Third class (ex-second)
• T – Brake third (ex second)
• U – Composite
• V – Brake van
• W – Parcels van

Telegraphic codes

The GWR pioneered telegraphic communication in 1839, and a number of code words

Great Western Railway telegraphic codes

Great Western Railway telegraphic codes were a commercial telegraph code used to shorten the telegraphic messages sent between the stations and offices of the railway....

 came to be used to represent various carriage types. The codes changed over the years as needs changed. Many of the codes could have an extra letter to identify variations, such as Scorpion C ( a 45 ft (13.7 m) carriage truck), or Scorpion D (a 21 ft (6.4 m) carriage truck). In 1939 the following codes were in use:

• Beetle – special cattle truck
• Bloater – covered fish truck
• Catox – cattle box
• Chafer – invalid carriage
• Chintz – family carriage
• Chub – third saloon
• Cricket – composite carriage
• Emmett – brake third carriage
• First – first class carriage
• Gnat – slip coach
  Slip coach
  A slip coach or slip carriage is a British and Irish railway term for passenger rolling stock that is uncoupled from an express train while the train is in motion, then slowed by a guard in the coach using a hand brake, bringing it to a stop at the next station. The coach was thus said to be...
  
  

• Hydra – well truck for road vehicles
• Melon – brake third carriage
• Mex – cattle wagon
• Monster – scenery truck
• Paco – horse box
• Python – covered carriage truck
• Scorpion – carriage truck
• Siphon – milk van
• Snake – passenger brake van
• Termite – third class carriage