 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2022) |
| British Rail Tourist Second Open | |
|---|---|
 Mark 2A TSO 5278 "Melisande" at Cheltenham Spa in September 2004 | |
| In service | 1952- |
| Manufacturer | Derby Doncaster York Ashford Eastleigh Wolverton Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company Cravens Metro-Cammell |
| Operators | British Rail |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 64 ft 6 in (19.66 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
| Height | 12 ft 9+1⁄2 in (3.90 m) |
| Weight | 39.9 long tons (40.5 t; 44.7 short tons) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Tourist Second Open or Tourist Standard Open, abbreviated to TSO, is a type of British Railways coach. The designation "Tourist" was originally as opposed to a normal SO (Second Open) coach. Both types have the same number of seating bays per coach, but the TSO has four seats across, arranged 2+2 either side of a central aisle, while an SO has 3 seats across, arranged 2+1 with an offset aisle. Both offer the same legroom, but there is slightly less width per passenger in a TSO.
Even though the designations would appear to suggest that the SO was the standard type and the TSO a variant, in reality the TSO has been the default design of open coach on British Railways since the dawn of the Mark 1 era, built in large numbers, with comparatively few SO vehicles constructed, mainly for use as Third/Second/Standard class restaurant cars.
In 1987, British Rail changed the title to Tourist Standard Open, when "Second Class" became "Standard Class" across the network. The TSO designation remains in use for Mark 3A and Mark 4 Open Standard carriages.,[1] even though no SO coaches have been constructed since the Mark 2a build in the mid 1960s.
The designation TSO is also used for Trailer Standard Open in the system of British Rail coach type codes. Whereas Tourist Standard Open applies only to loco-hauled stock, Trailer Standard Open is used in multiple-unit stock; in this case most have 2+2 seating but some have 3+2.
- ^ Fox, Peter; Hall, Peter; Pritchard, Robert (2007). British Railways Locomotives & Coaching Stock 2007. Platform 5, Sheffield. ISBN 978-1-902336-55-8.