Restaurant Miniature Buffet

British Rail Restaurant Miniature Buffet
RMB M1848 on the East Lancashire Railway
In service1957–
ManufacturerYork Works (12)
Wolverton Works (70)
Family nameBritish Railways Mark 1
Constructed1957–1962
Number built82
Fleet numbers1801–1882
Capacity48 or 44 seats
OperatorsBritish Rail
Specifications
Car length64 ft 6 in (19.66 m)
Width9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Height12 ft 9+12 in (3.90 m)
Maximum speed90–100 mph (145–161 km/h)
Weight34.5–38 tonnes (34.0–37.4 long tons; 38.0–41.9 short tons)
HVACDual steam and electric – ETH 3, Cooking by bottled gas
BogiesBR1, Commonwealth or B4
Braking system(s)Vacuum, air, or both
Coupling systemDrop-head knuckle coupler on draw-hook (dual)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)

The Restaurant Miniature Buffet (or RMB) is a British Railways Mark 1 railway coach. It is a Tourist Standard Open (TSO) coach with two full seating bays next to the centre transverse vestibule removed and replaced with a buffet counter and customers standing space, and one bay on one side (same side as the buffet counter) removed and replaced with a store cupboard on the other side of the centre vestibule. They were built in five lots from 1957 to 1962.

Lot No. Diagram Built Builder Qty Fleet numbers Notes
30485 97 1957–1958 York 12 1801–1812 No store cupboard, 48 seats, BR1 Bogies
30507 98 1960 Wolverton 15 1838–1852 1851 fitted with B5 Bogies for EMU use, the rest fitted with Commonwealth bogies
30520 99 1960 Wolverton 25 1813–1837 Commonwealth bogies
30670 99 1961–1962 Wolverton 12 1853–1864 Commonwealth bogies
30702 99 1962 Wolverton 18 1865–1882 Commonwealth bogies

Quite a few still operate on the national network on Railtours, but not on service trains. A lot have made it into railway preservation and are used by many heritage railways in the UK. Even though the first batch had no store cupboard 1807 on the Watercress has been fitted with one and B4 Bogies.