📢 Please take a minute to read this personal message from the creator of RailwayModels.uk

Hornby R40518

BR - MK1 Tourist - W3817 - Second Open 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consisting of heavy steel sections braced with steel trusses, originally mounted on ‘BR1’ bogies, though these were superseded by a new cast-steel design from 1958 known as the ‘Commonwealth’ bogie.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 is a highly detailed OO gauge scale model of a second class open coach from the Western Region.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

Hornby BR – MK1 Tourist – W3817 – Second Open Coach is an OO gauge model representing a British Railways early‑crest second‑class open carriage from the Western Region. The model carries the manufacturer part number R40518.

The full‑size Mk1 coaches were BR’s first standardised carriage design, built in large numbers between 1951 and 1963 at works in Derby, Wolverton, Doncaster, York, Eastleigh and Swindon. They replaced the older “Big Four” stock after nationalisation in 1948 and were used nationwide on passenger, parcel and brake vehicles. Typical Mk1 underframes measured 63 ft 5 in (19.33 m) with bodies 64 ft 6 in (19.7 m); they were constructed of steel panels on wooden frames and ran on steel bogies, initially the BR1 type, later the Commonwealth and Swindon‑designed B4 bogies.

This Hornby model is a highly detailed replica of a second‑class open coach, featuring the external styling of the Western Region Mk1 stock and suitable for collectors and railway enthusiasts seeking an accurate representation of the period.