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Hornby R40505

BR - MK1 Corridor - E24453 - Second Class Coach

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs

Prototype Eras
Era 4 (1948 to 1956) British Railways Early Crest
Era 5 (1956 to 1966) British Railways Late Crest

Manufacturer description

The Mk1 was BR’s first standardised design of railway carriage with thousands built across BR’s carriage works in Derby, Wolverton, Doncaster, York, Eastleigh, and Swindon between 1951 and 1963. The design was also used on first-generation Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) until 1974 and for non-passenger stock such as parcel vans and full brake vehicles.

The new coaches gradually replaced older designs inherited from the ‘Big Four’ at nationalisation in 1968 and were used on all British Railways regions. The standard underframe length was 63ft 5in (19.33m) with gangwayed bodies 64ft 6in (19.7m), though suburban coaches and parcel vans were shorter.

Coaches were either fully open or were corridor coaches with seating compartments. Bodywork was of steel panels on wooden frames, with a separate underframe consisting of heavy steel sections braced with steel trusses, originally mounted on ‘BR1’ bogies, though these were superseded by a new cast-steel design from 1958 known as the ‘Commonwealth’ bogie. Later examples utilised a Swindon-designed ‘B4’ bogie which gave a much-improved ride and was adopted for use on Southern Region Mk1 Electric Multiple Units (EMUs).

This highly detailed OO gauge model coach represents a second class corridor coach from the Eastern Region.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

Hornby BR – MK1 Corridor – E24453 – Second Class Coach. Manufacturer part number R40505. The model represents a British Railways early‑crest carriage.

The Mk1 was British Railways' first standardised railway carriage design. It was built in large numbers at the Derby, Wolverton, Doncaster, York, Eastleigh and Swindon works between 1 January 1951 and 31 December 1963. The standard underframe measured 63 ft 5 in (19.33 m) and the gangwayed body was 64 ft 6 in (19.7 m) long. The bodies were steel panels on wooden frames and the underframes were heavy steel sections with steel trusses. Original BR1 bogies were later replaced by Commonwealth cast‑steel bogies from 1958 and then by Swindon‑designed B4 bogies, which gave an improved ride.

This highly detailed OO gauge model depicts a second‑class corridor coach from the Eastern Region, reproducing the external appearance and typical dimensions of the original Mk1 carriage. It is suitable for collectors and railway modelling enthusiasts who wish to represent British Railways' early‑crest period.