<kuid:30992:10038> BR MK1 Maroon RSO

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Type: RESTAURANT SECOND OPEN (RSO)
Built: 1951
Seating: 48, Open plan, 2+1
Length: 64.5 feet
Weight: 31 tons
Era: 1956 - late 60s
BR Region: ALL

The Restaurant Second Open, presented here as No.1015 allocated to the Scotish Region. Mounted on BR1 bogies and fitted internally with tungsten lighting, wooden interior panelling and steam heating.

Designed for standard passenger use as dining cars, these coaches are in the main ordinary SO coaches, but with added trimings, and fitted curtains. The seating arranged in an open plan 2+1 layout, being a pair of facing seats across a table located at each window on onside of the central isle, and a single facing seats across each table on the other side of a central isle. Two toilets are provided, both at the same end of the coach, on opposite sides of the centre isle.

Numbering just fourteen, built to complement the five Restaurant Firsts and ten Kitchen cars built before the catering prototypes appeared in 1956.


USE

This type of coach would be found on all regions of British Railways, during mid 1950s to late 1960s, on mainline express passenger services offering a seated meal. Normally attached to a Kitchen Car or Restaurant Buffet/ First.


LIVERY

A change of government in 1951 saw the passing of a new Transport Act that lead to the abolition of the Railway Executive in 1956, giving the Regions much more autonomy in their actions. One such regional development led to the London Midland, Southern and Western regions adopting new liveries based on their former pre-nationalised companies.

Urged on by the desire to replace the Crimson and Cream livery with a single coloured livery for ease of maintenance and cleaning, the Maroon Livery made its first appearance in the spring of 1956. Instigated by the London Midland Region (the largest BR region) - this livery closely matched that of the former London Midland and Scottish Railway, whose lines outside of Scotland the LM region now controlled.

Maroon was adopted as the standard livery for coaching stock - replacing Crimson and Cream - on all regions, except the Southern. Coach ends were painted black until 1964 where upon new painting techniques, developed at the Southern Region's Eastleigh works, started the trend to paint the coach ends in the same colour as the body sides.

The Maroon livery lasted until the Blue Grey corporate livery was unveiled in 1965. During the mid 50s and late 60s, many rakes would be formed with a mixture of coaching stock bearing old and new liveries.


THE MARK 1 PROGRAMME

After the Second World War, wartime conditions highlighted the need for better standards in regards to vehicle lengths, profiles and couplings, for stock working between the 'Big Four' companies. A commission of senior officers was duly appointed by the UK 'Railway Companies Association' to create and implement a set of dimensions that would be applied to all future stock from each company. Although completed, the standards were not implemented, as nationalisation was imminent.

On nationalisation in 1948, the commission's findings were used by the new 'British Railways Carriage Standards Committee' as the basis to developed the 'C1 Restriction' profile - a set of standards governing coach length, profile and bogie centres. Thus from this the classic Mark 1 design was born, the prototypes unveiled on 18th September 1950, production coaches entering revenue service in March 1951. The Mk1 became the standard design for all new coaches between 1951 and 1964. Built using standard components - frame, coach ends and bogies - the body sides constructed from panelled sections with standard door and window fittings.