GWR 1925 Collett 57' "Mainline" Profile and Models

No. 6913 at Eardington on the Severn Valley Railway in April 2021. ©Hugh Llewelyn

During the tenure of Charles Collett as Chief Mechanical Officer, the Great Western Railway priortised the modernisation of their ageing 'Toplight' coaching stock. Collett's primary design was the 57' 'bow-ended' coach, which reduced the length of the corridor connections between coaches. This was done in response to some passengers who were unnerved by the swaying gangways of previous coach designs. The GWR produced these coaches en-masse and by the end of the 1920s, all mainline services were composed of modern carriages. Many of these coaches remained in general service with BR until the 1960s, and all were withdrawn by 1963. Some survived into departmental use and later into preservation.

Type of Vehicle	Coach
Builder	Great Western Railway
Wheel Configuration	Bogies
Operated By	Great Western Railway British Railways
Main Duties	Mainline passenger services
In Service Until	1963
Surviving Examples	Some in preservation