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![]() photograph by Keith Harwood.
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Such is the scope of this subject it is not possible to provide definitive coverage so we only aim to give a flavour of this stock. Only Bulleid's locomotive hauled stock will be covered on this pages. Both the Southern Railway and the Southern Region ran the majority of its Bulleid coach stock in fixed sets. The formation of these sets could either be fairly stable throughout their lives or reformed seasonally (or indeed as and when required) to respond to changing traffic demands. (For further details of Bulleid coach set formations please follow this link to our page on Southern set formations.
The two BSKs (4225 and 4226) in set 897 were built by the BRCW
Co. in May 1948 being formed with CK 5783 into set 803. They were subsequently
reformed into 7-Buffet set 473 with the CK going to 8-set 474, both sets being
allocated to London - Ramsgate services. Following the completion of Phase One
of the Kent Coast electrification the two BSKs were again reformed but this time
into set 897 for London -Tunbridge Wells West - Brighton services. The formation
was in June 1959: BSK 4225 (Bulleid), SK 816 (Maunsell), FK 7665 (Maunsell), SK
844 (Maunsell), SK 1160 (Maunsell) and BSK 4226 Bulleid).
For the winter 1959 service the Maunsell SKs were replaced by Bulleid ones, the
formation becoming 4225, 41, 7665, 42, 43 and 4226. By June 1960 the Maunsell FK
had been replaced by a Bulleid vehicle, 7646. The FK was once again replaced in
early 1963 with a Mark 1 FK, 13143. The set was disbanded around October 1963.
From looking at photograph all vehicles appear to be Bulleid suggesting a date
of circa 1961 (Where the set has been renumbered is still visible on the coach
end). Due to the acute angle it is not possible to say which BSK is nearest the
camera.
For more information on Bulleid coaches you are strongly advised to read the master work on this subject - the book "Bulleid's S.R. Steam Passenger Stock" by David Gould published by the Oakwood Press - second edition published 1994 ISBN 0 85361 467 9 or the first edition published 1980, no ISBN.
Bulleid always engaged in innovative designs, amongst these were welded construction and his plywood sleeper.
There is a lot of mystery surrounding the plywood construction Bulleid coach which was, apparently, built without the full knowledge of the Southern Railway board and once built was kept hidden from view at Stewarts Lane. It was authorised by Head Office Order 3359 of 27th April 1946, which was an instruction to Lancing works for "one saloon for inspection purposes", no mention of a sleeping car! It was officially completed in November 1946, but probably outshopped some months earlier. It had Bulleid's own design of radial bearing bogies, on a standard underframe, branded 67ft 1in overall and was plated as 32tons. The Southern's drawing register lists the coach as being to Diagram 1873. The design has been likened to an inverted ship's hull with the keep plate or ridge rail running along the centre of the roof like the keel of an upsode-down ship. Pre-formed sections 9ft 5ins wide made of 9/16ths in nine-ply birch were bolted to the ridge rail and underframe and resin-bonded to the saloon framework which was of similar ply construction. The bogie design involved two radial bearing pads, one on the front and one on the back of the bogie, 14ft 2in apart. The pads were sprung to accommodate both the swing and the fore and aft pitching of the bogies. The downside to this arrangement was that unless kept very well lubricated the bogies were sluggish in rotating when meeting a curve which resulted in excess wheel wear, rail wear and rough riding.
According to Kidner* it was a sleeping car built for the use of the top management of the Railway, including Bulleid himself. It was numbered 100S and ran with a generator van, ex-SECR LV 1987, 97S, two dining cars, 98S (ex-7940) and 99S (ex-7943,) with a nondescript brake 444S (ex-4444). The coach had a single centre door and six windows all placed high up the sides. Its sleeping capacity was provided by twelve berths - eleven bedrooms with hot and cold water and an attendant's room, a lavatory and a shower. Kidner suggests that it was only out on the road once. However, Bulleid's son** writes that Sir Cyril Hurcomb, first Chairman of British Railways, "made one or two trips in this saloon and remarked to Bulleid that it was the most beautifully riding coach he had ever been in". Additionally he refers to "on one occasion after an overnight stop". It has been suggested, though there is no substantive evidence, that Bulleid designed this as a prototype for a trial of an overnight sleeper to the west country.
Whatever its true purpose, the coach was obviously very little used and was withdrawn by 1955 then cut up and burnt at Lancing carriage works in 1956.
* Service Stock of the Southern Railway, R.W. Kidner, Oakwood
Press.
(There is a good photograph of this coach on p73 of this book)
** Bulleid of the Southern, H.A.V. Bulleid, Ian Allan
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This section was last updated 3 December 2002
![]() photograph by Colin Duff
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Bullied coaches had a light and airy interior, especially the open stock, thanks largely to having good sized windows. Built by both the Southern Railway and British Railways, those built by the latter had shallower sliding lights leading to an even larger main window. Seat coverings were various iterations of moquette, usually a red based cloth for third/second class and blue based for first class. Luggage storage was provided by the usual stringed racks in compartments and by stringed hammocks in open stock. Seats were arranged as four each side in third/second class compartment stock and two by two, facing each other, in open stock. First class had three per side in compartments and in dining cars only, one and two across, again facing (except those for the Tavern Sets which had single seats with their backs to the side of the coach and an individual table in front of each seat.
Compartment had posters displayed above the seats, which could be an advertisement for a place served by the railway, a map of the system or a mirror.
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This section was last updated 9 July 2003
Coach Fittings | Coach Sets