Pullman gangways and buckeye couplings.

[Saint Johnstoun]

I think you will find that the specification of gangways had nothing to do with what became British Standards with the kite mark but the basic dimensions were arrived at through the Railway Clearing House, no doubt as a result of discussions involving the Carriage and Wagon Supremos of the various railways. All that was specified were the dimensions of the gangway face, the maximum extension required, and the size of the floor plates.

The two basic designs, suspended and scissors were developed by different railways, the suspended design is easier on maintenance but more easily damaged, whilst the scissors design requires more in service attention but is more robust and more easily retracted provided that the scissors joints are kept in good maintenance. It was not unknown for difficulties to arise in retraction when a rake had been marshalled together for a long time! I can well remember an additional LMS coach being added to a Saturday Glasgow train one afternoon at Perth and the coach being attached had the gangway stowed. Considerable effort was applied to get it to come out and be connected to the adjacent coach with no success and the train left without the connection and both corridor end doors locked!

Irish rolling stock used gangways to the same dimensions as the rest of the British Isles but the gauge was of course 5'3" and other carriage end dimensions were different.

The BS gangway name may well have been adopted to differentiate from the Pullman one as it was by far the most common pattern at one time.

The scissors design was the original pattern- the Great Western developed the so called Suspended design which was adopted by the LMS around the same time as Stanier arrived as CME.

Pullman gangways contract when two coaches are coupled together whereas BS gangways have to be drawn together and clipped.

In some cases Pullman adaptors were semi-permanently attached to certain coaches (e.g. sleeping cars or catering vehicles) when likely to be used in a rake of pullman gangwayed stock.

[1H was 2E]

Now I know a few GUVs were later fitted with buckeyes (with the floor plate of the Pullman gangway to provide buffing) so it's possible to do but does anyone know why it wasn't done?

The faceplace fitted to these coaches was not intended to take any buffing forces, they were all taken by the coupling itself. All the faceplate did was to prevent a gangway swinging about and damaging the end of the non-gangwayed carriage, or loco.

.

I can see the logic, but I'm still thinking about it........
I mentioned earlier the Inter-City dmus. There's pages in the General Appendix about these. The diagrams (and photos elsewhere) show that the intermediate trailer cars and intermediate power cars (with gangway and side cab) did have buffing plates but the end power cars (with full width cab) did NOT. All fine and dandy, and quite logical - though the circumstance of a gangwayed vehicle being coupled to one of the last-mentioned is surely foreseeable. Then, recently, I saw a photo of one of the Eastleigh-built South Tyneside electric sets. Non-gangwayed at outer ends, but fitted with buffing plates. Eeek!

And there's more..... The GW Railway Journal (sorry) no 17 had an article about South Wales stock, the dining portion of which
had "Laycock Buckeye Couplers". In a quote from the official GW document, "the pressure normally distributed between the buffers is transferred to 4 powerful springs placed one in each corner of the faceplates of the corridor connections".
(Incidentally, the GW chose to use buckeyes only between the 3 kitchen-dining vehicles, which remained coupled together for long periods making their claim about "additional safety the couplers afford to staff" rather hollow).

And does anyone know why, when a class 67 is attached to a 91/225 East Coast set (e.g. for the diversion via Lincoln) a red screw coupling is use even though 67's have (side sliding) buckeyes, and 67's are used with DVTs on Chiltern (buckeye used) and formerly on Post Office trains (buckeye used)?

[sawdust]

Mk 4 coaches don't use buckeyes. But instead have tightlock couplers.

Sawdust.

[1H was 2E]

Mk 4 coaches don't use buckeyes. But instead have tightlock couplers.

Sawdust.

Thanks Sawdust. I now feel very silly!!!!!