Centre doors on Mark 1s

[Wilts Wanderer]

I recall some MK 1 FO stock also had no centre doors and with only 7 windows spread out along each carriage side, same as a MK 1 FK?

Have to agree I would prefer doors to be welded closed and droplights remain rather than welded a sheet over the doorway as this does harm the aesthetics.

The examples without centre doors were the true FO dining cars, but in practice the standard FOs were eventually used interchangeably. I believe there were also a number of Second Opens which were built with 2+1 seating for boat trains etc and would be used as dining vehicles, someone may remember if they had curtains? Only a very small number of the earliest Tourist Second Opens were built without centre doors. Of course the usual standard class vehicle was the Second Corridor (SK) with the TSOs usually deployed in football special, holiday relief and charter trains.

 

[Gloster]

The examples without centre doors were the true FO dining cars, but in practice the standard FOs were eventually used interchangeably. I believe there were also a number of Second Opens which were built with 2+1 seating for boat trains etc and would be used as dining vehicles, someone may remember if they had curtains? Only a very small number of the earliest Tourist Second Opens were built without centre doors. Of course the usual standard class vehicle was the Second Corridor (SK) with the TSOs usually deployed in football special, holiday relief and charter trains.

In the days when BR’s domestic traffic was entirely First and Third Class S3500-3514 were built as Second Class for boat trains: they had centre doors. (Source as #8 and 30, which explains a bit more about the FO.)

 

[Spartacus]

Passing loop stations rarely have much traffic on heritage lines, which is typically end-to-end, where turnround is not impacted by less doors. They are not the London Underground.

This is one reason why I specifically mentioned galas, where you’ll usually find many more people at usually quiet intermediate stations than normal, switching between services. It can also affect lines on normal days where they’ve an intermediate station that’s a big draw, such as Howarth or Goathland.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

This is one reason why I specifically mentioned galas, where you’ll usually find many more people at usually quiet intermediate stations than normal, switching between services. It can also affect lines on normal days where they’ve an intermediate station that’s a big draw, such as Howarth or Goathland.

Highley was a good example of that, before the footbridge was reinstated so that access to the platform was across the foot crossing. With local trains, goods trains and demonstration runs in addition to the through traffic the station staff had their work cut out!