Tourist Second Open or Tourist Standard Open, abbreviated to TSO, is a type of British Railways coach. The designation "Tourist" was originally as opposed to a normal SO (Second Open) coach. Both types have the same number of seating bays per coach, but the TSO has four seats across, arranged 2+2 either side of a central aisle, while an SO has 3 seats across, arranged 2+1 with an offset aisle. Both offer the same legroom, but there is slightly less width per passenger in a TSO.
Even though the designations would appear to suggest that the SO was the standard type and the TSO a variant, in reality the TSO has been the default design of open coach on British Railways since the dawn of the Mk1 era, built in large numbers, with comparatively few SO vehicles constructed, mainly for use as Third/Second/Standard class restaurant cars.
In 1987, British Railways changed the title to Tourist Standard Open, when "Second Class" became "Standard Class" across the network. The TSO designation remains in use for Mark 3A and Mark 4 Open Standard carriages., even though no SO coaches have been constructed since the Mk2a build in the mid 1960s.
Read more about Tourist Standard Open: Mark 1, Mark 2, Mark 3, Mark 4
Famous quotes containing the words tourist, standard and/or open:
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—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
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