New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriage

In Britain

The British Rail Mark 2 was the second design of carriage by British Railways (BR). The first Mark 2 was a prototype First Corridor (FK), 13252, built in 1963.

Between 1964 and 1975, 1,876 Mark 2 carriages were constructed at Derby Carriage and Wagon Works. There were seven sub-classes, 2 & 2A to 2F. The 2D to 2F classes, unlike their predecessors, were air-conditioned and could be distinguished by having sheet glass windows. All of those imported into New Zealand were from these latter three subclasses. When introduced they were used on all mainline services in the United Kingdom. They were gradually superseded by British Rail Mark 3 carriages.

At the time of the privatisation of British Rail in the mid-1990s, they were still operated in substantial numbers by Anglia Railways, Gatwick Express, Great Western Trains, Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast. They were gradually replaced in the early 2000s, although Arriva Trains Northern, Arriva Trains Wales, First Great Western and Wessex Trains have operated them at times since. Today they remain in service with Abellio Greater Anglia, Abellio ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper and Northern Rail. A number are also maintained by charter operators, notably Riviera Trains and West Coast Railways.

In New Zealand

New Zealand has about 3,900 kilometres (2,400 mi) of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) railway, chosen due to the mountainous terrain. Because of construction constraints, most lines have a limited loading gauge. Great Britain uses 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge, but its loading gauge is only slightly larger than New Zealand's. This means that BR rolling stock like the Mark 2 carriage, can run on most New Zealand lines after gauge conversion.

National rail operator Tranz Rail and heritage operator Mainline Steam bought 69 Mark 2 carriages (one damaged by fire after arrival) in 1996. Eight were extensively refurbished for the Wellington–Palmerston North Capital Connection, classified S (for Scenic), with new Japanese bogies and new auto plug doors and interiors. The refurbishment proved more costly than expected, and the remaining carriages were laid up until a rebuilding programme began for the Auckland Regional Transport Authority for Auckland suburban trains. Classified SA/SD, these have two sets of sliding doors each side and are operated by Transdev Auckland for Auckland Transport in push-pull mode, with DC (four-car sets) or DFT (six-car sets) locomotives leased from KiwiRail. The SD carriages include a driver's cab and operate in a similar manner to DBSOs in the UK.

In the southern autumn of 2006, Mark 2E and 2F carriages formerly operated by One were imported into New Zealand. They were bought by Greater Wellington Regional Council for operation by Tranz Metro on the Metlink Wairarapa Connection between Wellington and Masterton and were rebuilt at Hillside Workshops in Dunedin, classified SW, SWG and SWS.

Six more were bought by Greater Wellington Regional Council for trains between Wellington, Upper Hutt and Plimmerton, top-and-tailed by EO electric locomotives. These were refurbished by Hillside Workshops and classified SE, SEG and SES.

In late 2009, all S, SE and SW carriages were required to be modified so that their pneumatically-operated interior doors open automatically if the compressed air supply is lost. This was identified as an issue after the locomotive on a Wairarapa Connection train derailed when it hit a landslide on 23 July 2009, resulting in the locomotive having to be shut down and cutting the compressed air supply to the SW carriages in the process. The doors stuck in position, and three people were required to open them manually, sparking safety concerns that the carriages could not be evacuated quickly in the event of a fire.

All New Zealand Mark 2 carriages hold the numbers that they were built with. This has meant that some coaches have been renumbered in New Zealand upon rebuilding, as a number of coaches were renumbered by British Rail when converted to SO, TSO and RFB coaches. It is unknown whether Mainline Steam will renumber their vehicles.

Classes

There are five classes of Mark 2 carriages operating in New Zealand, with two classes having two sub-classes each.

S class

The eight S (Scenic) carriages operate on KiwiRail Scenic's Capital Connection between Wellington and Palmerston North, each seating 60 (except the servery car, S 3200, which seats 31) in both alcove and airline-style arrangements. These were the first Mark 2 rebuilds, and they retain the original window configuration and curved Corten-steel vestibule ends. Seven cars, accompanied by refurbished baggage/generator carriage AG 130, were provided in 1998. An eighth car was added in 1999.

They are in the Capital Connection livery of light and dark blue, having originally been in Tranz Rail 'Cato Blue' with grey roofs and black underfloor equipment. Their future is in doubt due to decrease in patronage brought about by the extension of the Wellington suburban electrification to Waikanae.

SA class

SA (Suburban Auckland) Auckland Transport carriages are operated by Transdev Auckland Auckland in sets of three to five cars, with an SD car (see below) and a DC (four- and five-car total) or DFT/DFB (six-car total) diesel-electric locomotive in push-pull configuration. They have electronic double doors and have two types of bogie: re-used from 56 foot carriages, and new with air-cushion secondary suspension, nicknamed S-Ride bogies.

They are in the MAXX livery of blue and grey. Their future is in doubt (see entry for the SD class).

SD class

The 24 SD (Suburban Driving) Auckland Transport carriages have a driving cab to allow push-pull SA/SD trains, similar to British Rail Mark 2 Driving Brake Standard Open (DBSO) carriages, and diesel generators to power the carriages.

They are in MAXX livery. Their future use is in question as the AM class EMUs, under construction by CAF, will be replacing diesel-hauled services from 2014 onwards.

Besides the two different bogie types (x28020 and S-Ride), the SD fleet do not vary by much. However, SD 5624 and SD 5762, both being x28020 type vehicles, are fitted with park brake controls as their sets contain S-Ride type cars fitted with park brakes. Both of those SDs retain a conventional ratchet type handbrake. SD 5794 was fitted for several years with ETCS equipment, to test the system prior to full scale introduction on board the AM class EMU. As at August 2014, this ETCS equipment has been removed, and the cab instruments reverted to the standard layout, and ETP installed. All SDs are now fitted with Electronic Train Protection (ETP) equipment.

SE class

The SE (Suburban Express) type is similar to the SW, owned by Greater Wellington Rail Ltd. They were brought into service as part of a number of temporary measures to increase capacity until arrival of the FP/FT class "Matangi" units in 2010–2012, with the intent that they may be eventually transferred to the Wairarapa Connection service. They were operated as a single consist by Tranz Metro on peak express services top-and-tailed by EO class electric locomotives.

There are four SE, one SES and one SEG carriages, which received a less thorough rebuild than the SWs and retain their BR airline-style seating. The SES is accessible like SWS carriages, but lacks the servery. In November 2011, they were taken out of service due to frequent faults of the run-down electric locomotives pulling them and the availability of sufficient Matangi units to replace them.

In December 2012, it was announced that they would be reused on the Wairarapa Connection to alleviate capacity issue and rolling stock constraints. After minor modifications, the SE carriages would be introduced on the Wairarapa line in July 2013, however were criticised by train users for their smaller seat pitch, poor lighting, and lack of tray tables and power outlets. This led Greater Wellington to make additional modifications to the carriages over Christmas 2013 by installing a number of tables and removing a row of seating to increase space between the seats.

They are in the Metlink livery of dark blue and grey, with lime green highlights.

SW class

The SW (Suburban Wairarapa) type is owned by Greater Wellington Rail Ltd, a subsidiary of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, leased to KiwiRail's Tranz Metro to operate on Metlink's Wairarapa Connection between Wellington and Masterton. There are 12 SW, three SWS and three SWG carriages in three sets, of three to eight cars depending on the service, with the consist made up of an SWG, an SW, an SWS, and then the remaining SW cars. Some trains have luggage/generator van AG 222 to supplement or replace the SWG.

SW carriages have 64 seats in both alcove and airline-style arrangements with a single toilet at the north end (next to the A2 door), automatic doors and a public address system. SWS carriages have 37 seats (31 plus six that can be folded away to fit up to four wheelchairs), with a space for a servery (not used), a wheelchair hoist on each side, an audio induction loop system, and an accessible toilet. SWG carriages have 37 seats, a luggage compartment and a diesel generator to power the carriages.

They are in Metlink livery.

Mainline Steam Trust

In 1996, Mainline Steam Trust principal Ian Welch bought 15 former Anglia Railways Mark 2 coaches with the intention of rebuilding them for MLST excursions. Seven cars were unloaded at the Port of Lyttelton for MLST's Christchurch depot at Middleton, the other eight at the Port of Auckland for MLST Auckland at the former Parnell Diesel Depot.

This move was initiated by concerns that Tranz Rail would no longer be able to offer carriages from its charter fleet, made up of the ubiqitous 56" steel-panelled A class carriages. Rather than fitting them with x-28020 'high-speed' bogies from scrapped F^M guards' vans, they were to be fitted with x-27750 'Kinki' bogies from scrapped F^S steam-heating vans built in the late 1960s. However, in 1997 Tranz Rail advised that the charter fleet would be available in future and Welch sold them to Tranz Rail, which moved them into storage at Hutt Workshops by the end of that year.

In 2007, the situation had changed with rail operator Toll Rail having moved the Auckland charter fleet carriages south to Wellington to replace more 56" A class cars, which were being withdrawn so that their x-28020 bogies could be fitted to the SW cars being rebuilt at Hillside Workshops in Dunedin. With very few options available, Welch purchased ex Virgin Trains Mark 2F FO 3433 and TSOs 5915/5939/6419, arriving later that year at the Port of Auckland. They were trucked to the group's Wellington base, adjacent to Plimmerton railway station.

In 2008, Welch purchased four ex Virgin and five ex Gatwick Express coaches from Angel Trains and Porterbrook, arriving at the port of Auckland in 2008 and trucked to Hutt Workshops for storage. This brought the total to 13 coaches, nine of which were in storage at Hutt.

The Virgin cars - Mark 2E FO 3299/3393, Mark 2F TSO 5914/5988 - were stored until MLST had space at Plimmerton, which was becoming increasingly pressured for secure storage space.

The Gatwick Mark 2F cars were:

Class 488/2 set 488209: TFOH 72508 (ex FO 3409), TSOH 72644 (ex TSO 6039)

Class 488/3 set 488313: TSOLH 72624 (ex TSO 5972), TSOLH 72625 (ex TSO 6085), TSOL 72172 (ex TSO 6091).

In 2009, rebuilding began with TSO 5939 as the template, 5915, 6149 and 3433 following in order. In 2011 FO 3299/3409 and TSO 5914/5988 were trucked to Plimmerton for rebuilding. As of 2012, work had begun on rebuilding 5914.

The work involves the following:

They are painted Midnight Blue with a Pearl Grey roof (easier to clean than a white roof, as they will be steam-hauled) and a white window band. Four have been named after railway landmarks, famous sections of line, and railway companies:

TSO ML5939 - Wellington Manawatu (Railway)

TSO ML5915 - Raurimu

TSO ML6149 - Rimutaka

FO ML3433 - Mangaweka

Like the S class, they retain their original external appearance with curved Corten-steel ends (the SA/SD/SW/SE cars have flat ends). It is believed that they will receive new numbers in the 30xx series but they may retain their BR identities. Five cars are still in open storage at Hutt: Mark 2E FO 3393, and Mark 2F TSO 5972/6039/6085/6091. They will be overhauled at a later date when time, space and funding allow (Mainline Steam Plimmerton is expanding its storage to hold all its stock).