Replica 1830s LMR 2nd class open coach

Replica 1830s Liverpool and Manchester Railway second class open passenger coach built on a standard British Rail 4w wagon chassis. British Railway wagon chassis made in 1956. In 1990 this chassis was used as the basis for a working reproduction Liverpool & Manchester Railway Second Class Carriage.

Many things were experimental about the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, including how to transport people. First-class carriages were like stagecoaches, with compartments featuring comfortable seats, glass windows and a roof to keep out rain and smoke. Wealthy passengers could even travel in their own horse-drawn carriages carried on railway wagons. However, second-class passengers had no such luxuries, their journey would have been cold, wet, windy and smoky. They sat on hard wooden benches in open trucks, to which roofs were only fitted after engine sparks burned passengers’ clothes.