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| Title: | The Coaching Stock of British Railways - 1972 (reprint) |
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| Author: | L J Bowles and P Mallaband | |
| Publisher: | RCTS (Railway Correspondence and Travel Society) | |
| Format: | Book | |
| Subject: | Coaches | |
| Category: | Numbers - Current | |
| Spec: | 7in x 10in, softback, 148 pages, 1 colour photo, ISBN: 979-8-86140-284-2 | |
| Publication date: | 2023 | |
| Summary: | These were the first books to list BR coaching stock and they are now available as reprinted editions | |
| Review: | Although books listing locos (and multiple units) had been around for some time, the first ABC-style book to individually list BR's coaching stock did not appear until 1972. The RCTS then updated the publication every 2 years until 1982, after which it was decided to merge their efforts into the Ian Allan ABC series. As well as listing hauled coaching stock, the books also detailed multiple units, including formations for numbered sets, information that had not previously been available. The books included a lot of details such as lot numbers and (later) design codes, and they were still useful many years later when I was compiling the data for this website. I thought I had already added a review of these books to LTSV but it seems that I must have imagined it, so I will address that shortly. However, this review is specifically to cover the re-release of these titles by the RCTS. Two of the books (1972 and 1974) are available as printed editions priced at GBP10 each, while all six can be bought as digital downloads for GBP6 each from the RCTS website. | |
| Reviewed: | 11/02/2025 by Thomas Young (Comments made by others can appear in the notes section towards the bottom of this page) | |
| Sample pages: | (Click on any image to view full-sized in a new window)
The re-issues have new covers, now with colour photos.
The new books are somewhat larger than the originals, so there is a lot of blank space. Some pages also have two page numbers (the original plus a new one). As shown here, individual variations (such as bogies, heating and brakes) are detailed.
DMUs were listed in their original formations, each car also having an allocation (still using the pre-TOPS codes). This showed that some of the formations had since changed, and later books listed all DMU cars individually.
The books are sold as 'fasimiles' rather than reprints, and some pages are rather poor quality, as with the illegible numbers here. The x symbol (which was only explained in the corrections) showed cars where the formation was actually the reverse of that shown.
Build details were summarised towards the end of the book and included lot numbers.
A 12 page addendum is included, showing corrections plus changes up to the end of 1972.
The addendum also included a very brief listing of all stock (for the benefit of readers who did not buy the original book) as well as a useful statistical summary. | |
| Notes: | No notes have been left yet. ?There may be some notes posted but which have not yet been approved. |
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| Edits: | This item has not been edited. | |