Period I non-corridor coach question

[65179]

On Coachman's suburban coaches blog here there is a Period I D1700 third. Mid-way down the end it has a sort of bar across the body with a box in the middle.

 

Can anyone tell me what this is? Were they fitted at both ends and did all Period I coaches have them?

 

Thanks,

 

Simon

 

 

 

[Galtee More]

It's the linkage associated with the communication cord. The vertical goes down to the vacuum brake gear. The horizontal shaft operates the 'Tell Tales' on each side of the coach so that, when the cord is pulled, railway staff can easily tell which vehicle it was operated from. This equipment is/was fitted, I believe, to all British coaching stock to one end only.

 

Ian

[TheSignalEngineer]

The box and bar across half way up the end is a switch to control the carriage lighting from outside. It was fitted to Non-corridor coaches without a guards compartment, including MU centre coaches

[coachmann]

To save any invisible ink, SignalEngineer has got it. Found a lot on LNER non-corridor coaches and on some pre-groupo including the LNWR. My etch was a left-over from a John Fozard (North Eastern Design) Gresley coach kit.

[65179]

Thank to you all. I'm building some 2mm LMS non-corridor coaches and the kits I'm building don't include this lighting switch. This fitting seems to be at the same end as the alarm gear on period I coaches, and I've just found a photo suggesting the same on period II vehicles, but all the official views in Jenkinson and Essery's LMS coaching stock book show the alarm gear end of period III vehicles without the lighting switch. This presumably means that the switch is at the other (non-alarm gear) end?

 

Simon