BR MK1 BCK

BR MK1 BCK

The Mark One Coach

The ubiquitous Mark One coach will be instantly recognisable to those familiar with the British railway scene over the last 50 years. A train of MARK One’s is as much a symbol of the 1960’s and early 1970’s as the HST became during the 1980’s and 1990’s. On nationalisation in 1948, British Railways inherited a mixed bag of rolling stock from the “Big Four” private companies. Much of this was life expired – little new stock had been constructed during World War II and the existing fleet had been run into the ground. A new design of standard coach was therefore conceived and the first production Mark One (as they came to be known) appeared in 1951. The subsequent build period lasted into the early 1960’s. In addition to a wide range of passenger seating coaches a number of suburban, catering, sleeping and non-passenger (parcels) coaches were also constructed. The design also formed the basis for much of the multiple unit stock built during the same period.

Following the introduction of more modern Mark 2 and later Mark 3 stock in the 1970’s the Mark Ones were still to be found across the UK, particularly on cross country services, relief trains and other secondary services. However during the 1980’s the winds of change (ultimately ending in privatisation of the infrastructure and train operating companies) started to sweep through the British railway network. The Inter City service managers increasingly profit motivated focused on a core network of services operated by fixed formation. They did not want the high costs of maintaining resources for occasional relief or seasonal extra trains. Pricing policy or subtle timetable changes were used to try and regulate supply and demand. In many cases it was simply just accepted at the busiest times passengers would have to put up without a seat – even on a 3 or 4-hour journey. The (then) Provincial service managers were even more anxious to cut costs. In a climate of decreasing subsidies they saw the reduction and ultimately elimination of loco hauled workings as essential. A massive build programme of second generation DMU’s was undertaken (Sprinters and the unloved Pacers), even though in many cases this led to trains of 5 or 6 loco hauled coaches being replaced by a cramped multiple unit – not just for short journeys either.

This was the beginning of the end for the Mark One coach, though they held out until the early 1990’s on some of the London commuter runs (notably the London Euston to Northampton “Cobblers” and Western Region Paddington to Oxford and Thames Valley services). Eventually these services too succumbed to modernisation and replacement by fixed formation multiple units.

To be fair by the late eighties and early nineties many of the Mark One coaches were becoming life expired as were the locomotives which hauled them. The use of asbestos materials during construction – acceptable in the 1950’s – posed a serious hazard in the more safety conscious modern age. At today’s prices the cost of replacement like for like would have been prohibitively expensive. Old fossils such as myself may regret the passing of traditional hauled trains but there is no doubt the cost effectiveness and ease of utilisation of the new trains has grown the business on many routes and perhaps even saved some from closure.

However the Mark One can still be found in service. Several private charter companies still have rakes available for main line use – often refurbished to a high standard. Most of the standard gauge preserved lines in the UK use the Mark One as their basic passenger vehicle. Indeed a visit to such a railway can now be just as rewarding for the chance to travel in heritage rolling stock as for the classic steam or diesel loco hauling it.

The basic Mark One design called for all steel construction with a separate body mounted on a welded underframe. Standard length was 64’ 6” over the body (66’ 6” over gangway connections. Non passenger carrying coaches had a standard length of 57’ 6”. Vacuum brakes and steam heating were fitted as

BR MK1 BCK
• config.txt 48.96KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_art
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_art_512.texture.txt 105 bytes
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_art_512.tga 1.00MB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_art_icon.texture.txt 107 bytes
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_art_icon.tga 32.04KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_body
env_glass.bmp 12.05KB
env_glass.texture.txt 32 bytes
env_metal.bmp 192.05KB
env_metal.texture.txt 32 bytes
left_door
env_glass.bmp 12.05KB
env_glass.texture.txt 32 bytes
env_metal.bmp 12.05KB
left_door.im 19.09KB
left_door.kin 9.46KB
mk1_door.texture.txt 31 bytes
mk1_door.tga 12.04KB
window+interior.texture.txt 38 bytes
window+interior.tga 12.04KB
lowest_bog-lowest_bogop.texture.txt 57 bytes
lowest_bog.tga 1.54KB
lowest_bogop.bmp 1.55KB
mk1_bck_a.texture.txt 32 bytes
mk1_bck_a.tga 96.04KB
mk1_bck_a_lowest.texture.txt 39 bytes
mk1_bck_a_lowest.tga 12.04KB
mk1_bck_b.texture.txt 32 bytes
mk1_bck_b.tga 96.04KB
mk1_bck_b_lowest.texture.txt 39 bytes
mk1_bck_b_lowest.tga 12.04KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_body.im 149.74KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_body.lm.txt 372 bytes
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_body_low.im 101.13KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_body_lowest.im 24.23KB
right_door
env_glass.bmp 12.05KB
env_glass.texture.txt 32 bytes
env_metal.bmp 12.05KB
mk1_door.texture.txt 31 bytes
mk1_door.tga 12.04KB
right_door.im 18.36KB
right_door.kin 9.47KB
window+interior.texture.txt 38 bytes
window+interior.tga 12.04KB
window+interior.texture.txt 38 bytes
window+interior.tga 12.04KB
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_shadow
black.texture.txt 28 bytes
black.tga 812 bytes
mk1_bck_br_bld_custd_shadow.im 4.95KB
• start.wav 21.50KB