British Rail Coach Designations - List of Codes Used

List of Codes Used

The following list lists those codes that were actually used on British Railways, cross-referred to the comparable code used by the LMS, with the exception that the letter S ("Second", later "Standard") is used where until 1956 the letter T ("Third") is used. Suffix codes Y or Z are not shown, as these could apply to variants of any or all vehicle types.

In the original LNER coding system, S stood for "Second", an intermediate class between First and Third (which later became Second). The original Second was more or less abolished in the 1870s (as a result of the Railway Regulation Act 1844), remaining only in limited use for special services, such as those meeting ships (which retained the three-class system from which railway classifications had originated). In the 1980s, BR renamed Second to Standard. Many of the classifications listed below are no longer used, and some did not survive until the designation "Standard".

Note that in modern usage, composite semi-open vehicles are classified Cso - the s signifying that the Standard portion is open (implying that the First portion is compartments with corridor).

• See also: British Carriage and Wagon Numbering and Classification