Did Corridors Zig Zag?

[88D]

I know that corridors were kept as one-sided, especially for the grand expresses. But was this still the case for your ordinary cross-country? Did standards slip as time went on? Cheers, Dai

[Dunsignalling]

GWR and WR corridor stock, other than that used in prestige services, often appeared to be selected on the basis:

 

1. How many do we need?

 

2. Do the nearest "x" we can get at include at least one brake and enough first class compartments.

 

As a result, secondary main line services generally included an apparently random mixture of designs and vintages, which gave them much of their appeal. 

 

Under those circumstances, I can't see anyone being too bothered what side the corridor happened to be.

 

John

[DCB]

The GWR had very complicated carriage workings to try to match capacity to demand, this gradually reduced through WW2 and BR until almost empty HSTs roamed West Cornwall in recent years.

The basic unit for a main line service was a Corridor Brake Composite to which anything else could be coupled.  The GW liked to have a brake compartment at the back of trains and at the front and liked corridors to be on the same side of the train so logically they made left and right hand corridor versions of corridor brake coaches.

Coach design evolved and the newest coaches were allocated to the most prestigious services so generally the newest coaches ran in sets with the corridors all on the same side.  However the older stock would often be used for shorter runs and re marshalled en route,  Leaving Paddington with 11 coaches, 5 could be dropped at Swindon, 4 for Cheltenham 1 for Hereford, and on to Bristol where coaches from the north and west could be attached and on to Exeter where the Torbay coaches could be separated from the Plymouth/Cornwall trains.   Each of these portions would often be a different vintage, and may be strengthened or a defective vehicle replaced by random spare coaches,  This is what gave GW trains their distinctive "Random" appearance.   None of this should affect the corridor side as coaches were seldom turned, but the GW did have a few triangles where trains were turned in service.  Shrewsbury, Carmarthen, Swansea Gloucester, where trains reversed if they went into the station and not if they bypassed it.   So coaches got turned, less on West of England services more on Welsh services.

 

BR didn't as far as I know  make left and right hand corridor versions of the Mk1 stock so either the corridor zig zagged or they used open stock on the prestige services which always seemed to have a brake compartment front and rear

 

So don't worry about it.  Rule of thumb, if it has a  Cornish Riviera Headboard  a matched set with all the corridors the same side and a brake compartment at each end (means modifying a RTR Brake Comp to change the corridor to the other side)      Lesser express half the coaches Brake Composites with at least LH corridor Brake Comp and one RH Corridor Brake Comp and at least two different types (ages) of coaches, pot luck as to which side any corridors are. and Cross country train anything, as long as it has at least 50% Brake Composites any old way round.   

 

However on the flip side West of England trains tended not to get turned round so beware using reversing loops

Edited February 16, 2018 by DavidCBroad

[Satan's Goldfish]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the corridors on the Dreadnoughts swap sides halfway along the carriage length anyway.

[County of Yorkshire]

BR didn't as far as I know  make left and right hand corridor versions of the Mk1 stock so either the corridor zig zagged or they used open stock on the prestige services which always seemed to have a brake compartment front and rear

 

So don't worry about it.  Rule of thumb, if it has a  Cornish Riviera Headboard  a matched set with all the corridors the same side and a brake compartment at each end (means modifying a RTR Brake Comp to change the corridor to the other side)      Lesser express half the coaches Brake Composites with at least LH corridor Brake Comp and one RH Corridor Brake Comp and at least two different types (ages) of coaches, pot luck as to which side any corridors are. and Cross country train anything, as long as it has at least 50% Brake Composites any old way round.   

 

The final 'handed' coaches built by the GWR (and I think in the UK for that matter) were in fact the Centenary stock of 1935, with the BTK's handed. All else built after this was built right handed (brake comp on the right when viewed from corridor side).

.

CoY

[88D]

Thanks for all your replies, esp D Broad. They have panned out the way I wanted! Cheers, Dai

[NCB]

The final 'handed' coaches built by the GWR (and I think in the UK for that matter) were in fact the Centenary stock of 1935, with the BTK's handed. All else built after this was built right handed (brake comp on the right when viewed from corridor side).

.

CoY

 Yep. Even by that time it was only the prestige trains at which an attempt was made for the corridors to be on one side. A lot of other mainline services included other companies' stock anyway, so it was a bit pointless.

[kevinlms]

I know that corridors were kept as one-sided, especially for the grand expresses. But was this still the case for your ordinary cross-country? Did standards slip as time went on? Cheers, Dai

You have to wonder how much difference it made and did most passengers actually notice? My reasoning is that the corridor connectors were in the centre (Post Office vehicles usually excepted), so passengers passing through the train would have done a half zig zag anyway. I realise that its not that difficult to build handed wooden coach bodies, as to a degree, they were of modular construction and could be assembled in different ways.

 

The GWR, weren't the only ones, as the LNWR built handed stock for trains, such as the 2pm Corridor.

 

However, the Midland it seems didn't bother. Although the open saloon became fairly common with 2+1 seating, especially for dining cars, so largely irrelevant as to which side.

[corneliuslundie]

I have a feeling that I have read that changing the side of the corridor mid vehicle was to help the weight balance, but i may be imagining it.

Jonathan

[NCB]

I've an idea that with the move away from each compartment having it's own door to the outside, there was less point in worrying about which side the corridor was on; the corridor would have had to have been used anyway when getting on and off. Before that, it was a bit easier if the compartments were platform side.

 

Of course, with a lot of stations if the compartments were platform side say on the down platform, when returning they wouldn't have been platform side on the up platform.

 

Nigel