Mark 3 stock for sale

Intercity, originally uploaded by kpmarek.

Irish Railways has put up 120 of these mark 3 coaches for sale. They are not quite identical to the British ones. The Irish gauge is wider than that in the UK, 5ft 3in instead of 4ft 8 1/2 in, which means that the bogies would need to be re-gauged or possibly replaced. The carriages also have the advantage of plug doors as fitted to the Bournemouth line class 442 stock.

The electrical system is different from the British vehicles, being supplied from generator vehicles which are included in each train set.

This latter feature could prove useful as it would enable any form of traction to be used, such as, for instance, class 66 freight locomotives, without loss of the air conditioning and other on-train services; the vehicles could even operate with steam haulage and for this reason could be of interest to charter companies.

Provided that too many seats are not crammed in (not more than about 70), these are pleasant and comfortable vehicles and someone could end up with a bargain.

In addition to the 120 mark 3 vehicles, also included in the sale are a further 10 vehicles originally built by BREL in 1986 as part of the International Train. These have an improved bodyshell design with larger windows and 9 bays instead of 8 in the mark 3 stock, making them ideal for scenic routes.