I wonder how different things would have been if the 1978 Taunton sleeping car fire hadn't happened?
I believe that the Taunton fire led to the design specifications of the Mark 3 sleepers being modified to incorporate a sophisticated fire alarm system, which added considerably to the cost of each vehicle. I would guess that that also meant that it took longer to finalise their design than it would have done otherwise.
I suppose if it weren't for the Taunton fire, the Mark 3s would have been built without fire alarms, and might have entered service up to a year or so earlier than they did (say early 1981 instead of early 1982).
On the other hand, BR might not have been in such a hurry to phase out the Mark 1 sleepers, some of which might have lasted until say the mid to late 1980s, and they could even have lasted long enough to receive Intercity livery. They would probably still have had to be withdrawn by the deadline for getting rid of asbestos-insulated stock, though (end of 1987 as I recall).
In that scenario, I suppose the marginal sleeper services that never got Mark 3s, and that were withdrawn by the time the Mark 1s finished (e.g. Paddington-Milford Haven, King's Cross-Newcastle via Hartlepool, the Euston-Perth terminator), might have lasted a few more years than they did.
Conversely, the secondary sleeper routes that did get Mark 3s (e.g. the Glasgow/Edinburgh-Inverness "Scottish internals", Euston-Manchester/Liverpool) might have remained Mark 1 until the asbestos withdrawal deadline but might then have finished a few years earlier than they did (as I recall the Scottish internals ended in May 1990 and the Manchester/Liverpool at the end of the 1991 summer timetable).
According to the Wikipedia entry on the Night Ferry, BR considered replacing the purpose-built Night Ferry sleeping cars with Mark 1 sleepers, but I expect the Taunton fire put paid to that idea. They would presumably have needed various modifications such as fitting retractable steps for the lower platforms in France and Belgium, fitting Westinghouse brakes, and fitting gangway connections that were compatible with SNCF and SNCB domestic coaching stock (as I believe happened with the Mark 1 Brake Corridor Composites that were used on the London-Dover leg of the Night Ferry to make them compatible with the Night Ferry coaches).
That might have kept the Night Ferry going until the Channel Tunnel opened, or at least until the 1987 asbestos withdrawal deadline. Not sure what visitors from mainland Europe would have thought of the Mark 1s, though. Imagine how they'd have looked in SNCF blue! Or they might have kept them in BR blue & grey but replaced the Inter-City Sleeper branding with Night Ferry branding (and maybe a BR, SNCF and Belgian Railways "B" logo).
I believe that the Taunton fire led to the design specifications of the Mark 3 sleepers being modified to incorporate a sophisticated fire alarm system, which added considerably to the cost of each vehicle. I would guess that that also meant that it took longer to finalise their design than it would have done otherwise.
I suppose if it weren't for the Taunton fire, the Mark 3s would have been built without fire alarms, and might have entered service up to a year or so earlier than they did (say early 1981 instead of early 1982).
On the other hand, BR might not have been in such a hurry to phase out the Mark 1 sleepers, some of which might have lasted until say the mid to late 1980s, and they could even have lasted long enough to receive Intercity livery. They would probably still have had to be withdrawn by the deadline for getting rid of asbestos-insulated stock, though (end of 1987 as I recall).
In that scenario, I suppose the marginal sleeper services that never got Mark 3s, and that were withdrawn by the time the Mark 1s finished (e.g. Paddington-Milford Haven, King's Cross-Newcastle via Hartlepool, the Euston-Perth terminator), might have lasted a few more years than they did.
Conversely, the secondary sleeper routes that did get Mark 3s (e.g. the Glasgow/Edinburgh-Inverness "Scottish internals", Euston-Manchester/Liverpool) might have remained Mark 1 until the asbestos withdrawal deadline but might then have finished a few years earlier than they did (as I recall the Scottish internals ended in May 1990 and the Manchester/Liverpool at the end of the 1991 summer timetable).
According to the Wikipedia entry on the Night Ferry, BR considered replacing the purpose-built Night Ferry sleeping cars with Mark 1 sleepers, but I expect the Taunton fire put paid to that idea. They would presumably have needed various modifications such as fitting retractable steps for the lower platforms in France and Belgium, fitting Westinghouse brakes, and fitting gangway connections that were compatible with SNCF and SNCB domestic coaching stock (as I believe happened with the Mark 1 Brake Corridor Composites that were used on the London-Dover leg of the Night Ferry to make them compatible with the Night Ferry coaches).
That might have kept the Night Ferry going until the Channel Tunnel opened, or at least until the 1987 asbestos withdrawal deadline. Not sure what visitors from mainland Europe would have thought of the Mark 1s, though. Imagine how they'd have looked in SNCF blue! Or they might have kept them in BR blue & grey but replaced the Inter-City Sleeper branding with Night Ferry branding (and maybe a BR, SNCF and Belgian Railways "B" logo).
