Many people associate corridor railway coaches with earlier decades than this website covers, but they were in fact in service with British Rail up until the mid-1980s.
Even if you've never travelled in one, you will have seen such carriages in old films or news clips. They were partitioned into six separate compartments, each one seating 6 people, with a sliding door opening out onto a narrow corridor than ran the length of the carriage. The compartments had window-blinds that could be drawn down for extra privacy. In earlier decades, scenic pictures were on the compartment walls below the luggage-racks, although by the late '70s these had mostly become replaced with adverts or public info. notices.
Compartment coaches offered greater comfort, ensured better peace & quiet, and were also extremely warm in the Winter. However, by the late '70s rising crime-rates meant that they could easily become deathtraps for people travelling alone, particularly women, and were also a gift to fare-dodgers (mind you, they had ALWAYS been this!). They probably also failed to comply with the ever-rising health & safety requirements. British Rail also became aware that the modern style of central-aisle carriage could accommodate more passengers, and increase ticket sales.
These classic railway coaches were thus phased out when the last of the locomotive-hauled inter-city trains were replaced by 125s, in late 1986. However, they remain in use on preserved steam railways, and also in Continental Europe. Tickets, please....
Do You Remember Corridor railway carriages?
Do You Remember Corridor railway carriages?