Red indicator on old carriages

[romain441]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. I'm from Switzerland and very interested in UK railways.

I wondered if someone could help me figure out what are the red "indicators" that can be found on some old carriage (at the end).

Example here on the Isle of Wight railway: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...HXM&tbnid=MWvzsUEjYoTgfM&vet=1&source=sh/x/im

Thank you very much for your help!
Romain

 

[eastwestdivide]

They're an indicator that the emergency communication cord has been pulled in that coach. It turns 90 degrees if someone pulls the cord. Sometimes known as a "butterfly".
A lot more info over at RMWeb: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/i...-happen-when-you-pull-the-communication-cord/

And welcome/bienvenue to the forum!

 

[pdeaves]

The things just below roof level? They are for resetting brakes after the emergency chord has been pulled.

 

[kje7812]

Not always painted red though! Butterfly values on GWR and LNER stock were painted white, while LMS, SR and BR were red.

 

[romain441]

Thank you very much for these quick and clear answers!
It makes sense