Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet (RBR) cars
ASURPRISING number of Mk.1 catering cars have survived to see service on the privatised railway, in private operator and charter trains. They may turn up on anything from an enthusiast special to higher-end dining trains and have been formed in trains as prestigious as the locomotive-hauled ‘Blue Pullman’ set, the ‘Great Britain’ tours operated by West Coast Railways and the ‘Northern Belle’ tour train.
One of the most common type is the Restaurant-Buffet (refurbished) car or RBR which was derived from two different but similar types of coach refurbished in the 1970s in an effort to extend their lives due to the late arrival of new stock. The interiors were refreshed and improved lighting installed to make the stock more attractive – it should be noted that interior improvements were often
Face-lifting of RBR No. 1658 was recorded in late 1989. Note the fixed plastic chairs in two-plus one formation and the buffet counter beyond. undertaken at different times in the vehicles’ history. Standardisation of the kitchen equipment eliminated awkward incompatibilities between vehicles too. Private operators have made their own changes making reference photographs important.
Hornby announced a Diagram 24 RB and Diagram 33 RBR for its 2020 catalogue which was released late in the year. It represents one of the two types of Mk.1 RBR coaches and has wide operational scope including extensive use as catering and service cars by private operators, as demonstrated in this episode of D&E Files.
Diagram 23 Unclassified Restaurant (RU)
Diagram 23 ‘Unclassified Restaurant’ cars were built between 1957 and 1960
An external view of Diagram 33 (AJ403) RBR No. 1658 finished in InterCity livery but without its markings. The coach is plugged into an external power supply and is marked as being air braked.
The corridor side of No. 1658 as used in the ‘Blue Pullman’ dining train. Private operators often changed the way in which these coaches were used to supply meals to seated passengers instead of being used in the more traditional manner, hence the partially obscured windows at the seating end.
Detail view of RBR No. 1730 as operated by West Coast Railways showing the propane gas cylinder boxes on the kitchen side of the coach. Also visible is the air brake distributor and axle-driven Dynamo, the belt for which is just visible. The coach is dual braked allowing use in steam-hauled charter trains as indicated by the vacuum brake cylinder seen to the left.
by the BR workshops at Ashford and Swindon (or Eastleigh depending on which records are checked). Numbered as 1901-1991, a small number have survived and may be seen today.
After refurbishment which included the fitting of a buffet counter and fixed seating, they were recoded as RBR and reclassified as Diagram 27 (and Diagram 33 depending on records) or AJ414 and may have run on either original Commonwealth bogies or B4 bogies.
Further work was done to facelift the interiors and fit fluorescent lighting at various times. Documents show the number sequence of the resulting RBR to be Nos. 1923-1984 with gaps.
Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet (RB)
Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet cars were constructed by two builders in the early 1960s. Pressed Steel built
two lots including Nos. 1644-99 in
1961 and 1755-71 in 1962. BRCW constructed Nos. 1701-54 in 1961. The coaches differed from Diagram 23 cars slightly in having a emergency door instead of a window on the corridor side and a buffet counter along with fewer seats.
Upon refurbishment, the seating was replaced with plastic seats and the interiors brightened up, creating Diagram 33 RBRs (also referred to as Diagram AJ403). Bogies were Commonwealth type and the coaches were fitted with airbrakes and ETH at various times in their careers. The Diagram AJ402/AJ403 is the coach represented by the new Hornby RB/RBR model.
Number E1700 was not allocated to a Diagram 24 coach, but to one of the 1956 prototypes which were built to prove the new designs of catering car. No. E1700 was built at Eastleigh
Kyle of Lochalsh was the location of this shot of RBR No. 1679 taken on October 7, 2006. By the view of blanked over windows and produce boxes stacked in one seating bay, the coach is used for catering and service rather than as a buffet car.
In contrast, the ‘Blue Pullman’ train of the mid-2000s also ran with a Diagram 27 or AJ414 RBR in the 19xx number sequence, No. 1961. This is not the coach represented by the new Hornby model, but a conversion could be carried out quite easily.
RBR No. 1683 was smartly turned out in lined blue when photographed at Carlisle on July 16, 2011. Note that one door has been plated over in this view of the corridor side of the coach and end footsteps removed. It is air braked and runs on Commonwealth bogies. It is worth checking individual vehicles when contemplating repainting projects because some private operators make changes to their catering vehicles to reflect operating needs.
RBR No. 1699 was labelled as a ‘Kitchen Car’ and has one door plated over on the kitchen side of the coach. Note the blanked out windows in the former seating area and electric train supply equipment. The coach was in the formation of the ‘Orcadian’ rail tour when photographed at Forsinard on June 18, 2006.
to Diagram 21 (AJ401) in 1956 as a prototype Restaurant-Buffet with Kitchen. It is externally similar to Diagram 24 but with differing roof details and
slightly differing door arrangement. It could be converted from the Hornby model, as could the former Diagram 23 RUs in the 19xx number series.
A smartly tuned out RBR No. 1659 shows how well these vehicles can look. Curtains are used to conceal its use as a service car in a classic rail tour set which was photographed at Kyle of Lochalsh on May 10, 2008.