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British Railways - Standard Steam Stock (Mk.1)
25769 - Corridor Second (SK) (1961)
Richard Salmon

Type: SK (Second Corridor), Diagram 146
Built: 1961, at BR Litchurch Lane Carriage Works, Derby (Lot 30685)
Original No: M25769
Other Nos: M18769, 18769
Seating: 64 2nd class (originally 48)
Body Length: 64' 6"
Weight: 37 Tons
Withdrawn: 1990
Preserved: 1991
To Bluebell: 9/1991

Coaches such as this, from the early sixties, are the core of most steam railways' carriage fleets. We are lucky on the Bluebell to have rather more pre-nationalisation vintage stock running than most others. However, a carefully restored and well-maintained Mk.1 coach has an important role to play in the recreation of the last years of the steam era. Built for London Midland Region, seating only 48 in a three-a-side arrangement, this was subsequently altered to its current 4-a-side, higher capacity form.

During 1992 this coach had considerable attention paid to its steel structure. The bodyside sheeting around the base of the door openings was removed, exposing severely corroded door pillars. These have been repaired by welding in new sections of pillar. The interior of the coach has also been "de-furbished", with the lighting converted from florescent tubes back to the original bulbs. The windows and gutters have been removed and re-bedded to keep the coach watertight. It is only by giving Mk.1 coaches such thorough overhauls that their long-term future can be secured. Attention to the end structure, involving the removal of the Gangway connectors, will be required at some time in the next decade, and the seats must, perforce, retain their modern moquette until such time as it wears out.