Darstaed Mk1 Suburbans

Down the rabbit hole with Mk1 Suburbans...

Masters of the mundane

In the world of model railways, it’s often engines that steal the limelight. But as with any cast of characters, the supporting players are just as important – and at Ellis Clark Trains, we love an unsung hero. The MK1 Suburban coaches were our second joint project with Darstaed and the first to be produced exclusively for us. Whether you’re new to O gauge or looking to make a useful new addition to your carriage fleet, you can’t go far wrong with a ‘Sub’ or two on the roster. So we thought it was time to revisit these award-winning models and get under the skin of what makes them special.

With the formation of British Railways in 1948, it was inevitable that stock from ‘The Big Four’ (the LMS, LNER, GWR & SR) would, at some stage, require replacing by a single standardised design.

The project was treated with lesser urgency than the replacement of mainline coaching stock, and suburban coach designs from the big four were still being built as late as 1953. As such, it wasn't until 1954 that the first Mk1 suburbans began to appear on the railways.

Much like the Mk1 mainline coaches, the Mk1 Suburbans were used throughout the UK and were hauled by both steam and diesel locos until they began to be replaced by DMUs. Six coach types were built in total, all of which received four different liveries throughout their lives, with lavatory coaches only being built for Eastern region services.

The non-gangwayed coaches were still being used on BR services as late as 1977, and there are still many Mk1 suburban coaches in preservation today.