LMS coach on King's Cross suburban train

[31A]

Looking for an excuse to buy one of the new Hornby LMS non gangwayed coaches to run on my layout which purports to depict part of the GN suburban network, I was reminded of a picture reproduced in 'The Book of the Great Northern - Part One' by P. J. Coster (Irwell Press 2010).

 

The picture in question, on page 139, shows an up train leaving Wood Green Tunnel behind L1 67785.  The picture is dated 27th March 1954, and the train is described as an outer suburban service from Royston.  The front coach appears to be is an ex LMS non gangwayed vehicle, as far as I can tell a full 3rd of the type that Hornby that plan to produce.  The next vehicle is a Thompson CL (as also produced by Hornby), and the rest of the train is in the tunnel.

 

I wondered whether anybody had any knowledge of this use of ex LMS vehicles on the GN - was it a one off or were several vehicles used, how long did it go on for, does anybody know of further sightings?

 

If nobody comes up with anything further, Rule 1 can always apply!

[chrisf]

I do not know how regular was the inclusion of ex LMS coaches in Kings Cross suburban trains but the Railway Observer for March 1954 recorded that "ex LMS Ts 11806 and 12029 are working regularly in Kings Cross outer suburban sets".  The July issue stated that BR standard brake third E53188 replaced 11806, which was seen idle at Wood Green, in the 6.25 pm Kings Cross - Baldock [why would a brake third replace a third? Discuss] but that 12029 was still going strong after seven months of continuous service.  

 

That seems to be all that is written of these coaches.  I would say that by far the majority of coaches used on GN suburban work were of LNER origin, though the BR standards were beginning to appear at the time and, at least at first, were arranged in nice neat sets.

 

Chris

[31A]

Thanks for that information, Chris.  It appears then that the use of ex LMS coaches was probably quite brief and finished by the time of my layout (c1959-60); however 'Rule 1' may be brought into play!  Later as more BR Standard vehicles were introduced the formation of the Outer Suburban non gangwayed sets became more formalised and they normally included two Brake Thirds, usually the first and fifth vehicles on an up train.  Hence the ex LMS Third in the picture would be in a position normally occupied by a Brake Third; possibly the set in question was running temporarily with only one Brake coach and an extra full Third in the place of the other one.  The article by Steve Banks in 'Model Rail', April 2007 is a mine of information relating to the formations of these trains, but tends to focus on the period from the late 1950s until electrification.