Train Carriages

[David H]

Why did national rail stop using carriages with compartments? They are far more civilised and don't cost any more.

[wolf63]

I think that it was mainly due to safety concerns over people being isolated in a compartment, unable to escape if there was a problem.

[1ozzy]

So they could fit in more seats per carriage?

[barry1010]

Yes, more seats.

[1ozzy]

👍 income wins, every time.

[barry1010]

They would cost more to build, too - all those extra doors and bulkheads - and take much longer to clean.

[Zacs-Master]

They should bring back smoking rooms and those chocolate dispensing machines on the platforms too. 

[New Judge]

Not forgetting steam locomotives.  😎

[Jonathan-Joe]

Some old style carriages had many more seats than modern ones,  there was suburban stock that had seats for six passengers each side. On board ticket checks were not possible on these. It was the side corridor stock that had fewer seats, a second class compartment offering only four places each side (sometimes only three if arm rests were lowered).
The great advantage for the operator in modern, open stock is that airline style seating (feet going under the seat in front) can be used and seats  do not have to align with windows.
The capacity of modern trains is (other things being equal) lower than in years past because more space is used for wheelchairs, bicycles and toilets.

[barry1010]

I much prefer non-compartment trains with individual seats rather than the  benches that were in compartment trains.  I always felt awkward being a stranger in amongst a group of friends or family in a carriage. A bit claustrophobic.

 

 

[1ozzy]

With a tender behind..

[barry1010]

The old style carriages with no corridor also meant no loos on board.  

[1ozzy]

That would *** me off.

[Jonathan-Joe]

The answer to the OP is that from the nineteenth century, railways have used different styles of carriage. The elimination of all but "open saloon" has been a gradual process starting in the days of British Railways.

[New Judge]

Trains with full width compartments (i.e. those with no access to the rest of the carriage) were used mainly on short distance frequent stop suburban services. They were particularly common on the electrified London commuter routes of BR's Southern Region but could also be found on some of the steam hauled services including those into London’s Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street Stations. They were also used on commuter services serving other cities such as Liverpool and Manchester.  The “Jazz” commuter services into London Liverpool Street were the most intensive steam hauled railway service in Europe and possibly the world. The trains wer  formed of “Quintart” compartment stock. These were permanently coupled sets of five carriages, with the ends of each pair of carriages being mounted on a singled four wheeled bogie (hence the name, Quintiple Articulated).

By 1980 these steam services had long since been replaced by electric multiple units of the “open saloon” variety but the Southern compartment stock soldiered on. In the early 1980s BR began a programme of converting that stock to open “saloon” variations. This programme was in progress when, in 1988 a woman was murdered in a compartment carriage on a train between Bromley South and London Victoria:  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21875096

The conversion programme was speeded up and in the meantime the remaining compartment stock carriages had red lines painted above the windows of those sections of carriages that had such compartments, so that they could be avoided by anyone who didn't wish to sit in one.

The last train formed of compartment stock ran on Southern Region in 1995, though one or two units have been preserved in working order.

[David H]

To correct a couple of points, my annual trip to Devon with compartments both had toilets, restaurant carriages (extremely high quality) and access up and down the entire train through the corridors. With current cctv and other technology surely they could be as made as safe as the others and at least give people a choice of both?

[Buenchico]

Fitting automatic sliding doors into compartment trains would probably be extremely difficult.  (The alternative would be to stick to slam doors, with all the built-in risks of doors being left open or 'on the catch').  Further, providing accommodation for wheelchairs could cause great difficulties.  

I'd regard the rolling stock that we've got around here as far more 'civilised' than the old compartment trains anyway:
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news-desk/news-articles/take-look-inside-greater-anglias-new-intercity-trains

[barry1010]

David, those carriages are commonly called corridor carriages.  

Carriages without corridors were coaches or carriages and became known as compartment carriages when corridor carriages came in to use.

In my opion, compartments were only more civilised when occupied with my travelling companions, not strangers.

[Jonathan-Joe]

Points made above show that corridor carriages with compartments are more expensive (per seat) to build and operate. If a train operating company saw a market and offered such accommodation it would probably be at a higher fare.

[sandyRoe]

Whatever happened to ladies only waiting rooms in stations?

[Arrods]

I remember commuting with those six aside compartments - all of us bouncing up and down in unison!