‘Double-decker’ discovered in shed?
WHILE double-decker buses are commonplace in Britain, the same cannot be said of our train fleets, writes Gareth Evans.
Although they are no strangers in continental Europe and North America, the restrictive loading gauge of the United Kingdom’s national rail network prevents the use of trains with two fully separated decks.
The only standard gauge doubledeck trains to run on the national rail network in Britain were Bulleid’s experimental 4DD electric multiple units for the newly nationalised Southern Railway’s commuter route from Charing Cross to Dartford. Fortunately, two vehicles survive in preservation – although that is a separate story.
Well-known for its fine collection of steam locomotives, vintage carriages, and period stations, the Bluebell Railway is also home to something which may not be on the radar of enthusiasts. What is believed to be a hitherto unreported ‘double-decker’ was discovered inside the line’s impressive carriage shed at Horsted Keynes on February 28.
It would appear it ticks the ‘green’ box as it is unpowered, so truly zero-emission. However, it seems the economics of operating the ‘doubledecker’ do not ‘stack up’ – the payload is also, well, zero.
Wellwishers may therefore be relieved to know that there were not piles of these ‘double-deckers’ on site – only two.
As is so often the case on Next Stop, all it not quite as it seems… The system serves as a ‘wheely’ useful means of saving space – ‘creating’ valuable floor space.