Headcode definitions of routes.

[0121modeller]

Headcodes / definitions of routes, is there an easy way to define & understand them ? as used till approx mid 1970's.
I've always wondered what IV08 meant ,

I'd imagine maybe ; IV = inverness , & 08 meant the 8th train that day to inverness ?
Am I on the right track here ? (no punn intended ) or is there another definative way of reading what they define,

Seen referances in posts & I havent a clue what they mean , i think they still use the codes today , but not on the marker light area like they used to pre 75.

Dave.

[Tosh]

1,class of train
V,destination
08,train running/identification number

have a look at this site
http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/headcodeA.htm

[m8internet]

1,class of train
V,destination
08,train running/identification number

have a look at this site
http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/headcodeA.htm

V isn't the strictly the destination, it is the regional (old BR) and operational code

So for example
If the regional code is E, M, S, W then that train is likely to be from another regional and will terminate in Eastern, Midland, Scottish, or Western
If the regional code is any other letter then it is a designator to the type of train

For example
2C18
This is a local train (2), EMU calling at all stations (C), sequence 18

[m8internet]

have a look at this site
http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/headcodeA.htm

That link is incorrect or a page that shouldn't be in use try :
http://www.2d53.co.uk/Headcode/Headcode4.htm

[50035 Ark Royal]

Very Important when bashing so you know what loco was working what as on a TOPS report it only used the heacode .As peoplle have said The number denotes the class of train
1 Class 1 Passenger 1CO1 00.12 Paddington -Newquay
2 Class 2 usually a shorter distance (Local)eg 2C08 07.12 Neton Abbot -Exeter St Davids
3 Parcels as in 3S15 12.10 Penzance -Glasgow Pacels
4 Freight fast as in speedlink 17.50 Swindon-Longbridge
5 E.C.S as in for example 5C02 used to mean ECS for the 00.05 Paddington -Penzance Sleeper or 5A02 meaning ecs of the 21.35 Penzance -Paddington Sleepers
6 Freight
7 Freight
8 Freight
9 Royal i think
Now where it got confusing was Newspaper and TPO were classed as class 1 for example
Newspaper
1C04 00.30 Paddington -Penzance
1V01 01.40 Waterloo-Yeovil Junction (Newspaper and passenger combined)
TPO
1C76 22.25 Paddington -Penzance
1A01 19.22 Penzance-Paddington
Then you got the letters that determine the reigon the train is going to end up
A London excep Southern stations
B Bristol/WSM Cardiff/south Walese/Worcester/Hereford eg 1B56 18.07 Paddington -Hereford
C Devon/Cornwall 1C39 12.10 Paddington -Penzance
E Eastern Reigon 1E91 08.53 Penzance -Newcastle
M Midlan Reigon 1M83 10.24 Penzance -Liverpool
J Shrewsbury/central Wales
H Holyhead/North Wales
O Meant Southern Reigon usually London or Inter Reigonal 1086 10.50 Penzance -Brighton or 1034 08.111 Exeter -Waterloo
Scottish 1S61 07.35 Cardiff -Glasgow
F usually denoted Oxford/Banbury/Newbury -Paddington Trains, also Twyford and Reading and also Westbury
eg 1F48 17.45 Paddington -Westbury
V denoted Western reigon either from London or Inter-Reigonal
eg 1V13 13.10 Waterloo-Exeter
1V73 07.30 Aberdeen -Penzance
Z usually an Adex,Additional or a railtour.
The examples i used may no longer be in use now and date from 84-91
cheers
Ian

[0121modeller]

Thankyou both chaps M8 , Ark Royal & Tosh , I'll study all links you've given for a better understanding as to get the idea of headcode meanings

Dave.

[TerryB]

Hi all .....so [presumably] in the case of my Lima Deltic [55] D9003 "Meld" ....

1S14 ....would mean "Express,Scottish, , . .....what did the "14" stand for

cheers guys
best regards
T.

[50035 Ark Royal]

Hi all .....so [presumably] in the case of my Lima Deltic [55] D9003 "Meld" ....

1S14 ....would mean "Express,Scottish, , . .....what did the "14" stand for

cheers guys
best regards
T.

Hi terry the 14 is the identification of the train for example could be 10.00 Kings Cross -Edinburgh which was the down Flying Scotsman.
I will try and find out yours i have a book somewhere.
cheers
Ian

[0121modeller]

So, What I'm starting to summarize here, for example; After the 1S14, the next passenger service via same route would be 1S15 ?

I had a brief look at those links gave by Tosh & M8, a little confusing to start with maybe, but very interesting indeed & useful source of referance,...for example; a loco returning / no passengers (something like that) would have last 2 digits "00" , which seems logical enough really.

Ian, I have noticed in your posts that you seem to use these type of referance's quite often with your huge source of info & notes, thier meanings have never made any sense to myself & many others up to now, so hopefully all who read this thread who were un-sure will understand a little more about headcodes & thier basic meanings.

Without wanting to complicate matters, one other question someone may know the answer to is ;..
- If for example the 1S14 train broke down half way to its destination & needed a tow /replacement loco, would the same detail of headcode digits have be transfered onto the replacement loco or change in some way ? , & on its way to rescue the failed train I assume that the lone replacement loco would need to display "0000" to start with ?

Cheers ,
Dave.

[50035 Ark Royal]

Hi Dave yes headcodes are very important when bashing but also when i worked at New St as for example this kind of message would come from the Signal Box over our radio's
Box to Chief(head of the Station) 1S76 down 9
which meant
09.20 Brighton -Edinburgh down plaform 9 instead of 7.
Yes O meant light diesel
eg
Loco booked to work
1M20 O9.15 Paddington-Manchester (To Coventry)
0M20 LD to Birmingham New St OM20 was code seen by the signal box and used by TOPS so if said code appeared they would know it was the light diesel from Coventry to Brum off 1M20,which later on would work
1V96 11.18 York-Paddington (13.45 off Birm) loco of OM20
Ian

[b308]

Re the final two numbers usually the later in the day, the higher the number! Many of ours use sequencial numbers , ie, 1O06, 1O08, etc on the Manchester to Bournemouths, but sometimes other operators can have a number and cause a gap in the sequence...

BTW its not unknown for two trains to have the same headcode and be passing through the same station at similar times... when I worked in the control office at New Street I saw it several times... must give the Bobby a headache!!

[50035 Ark Royal]

[quote="b308"]Re the final two numbers usually the later in the day, the higher the number! Many of ours use sequencial numbers , ie, 1O06, 1O08, etc on the Manchester to Bournemouths, but sometimes other operators can have a number and cause a gap in the sequence...

Yes that would be very true hence
1C80 21.05 Padd -Exeter
1C02 00.05 Padd -Penzance Sleeper (Night Riviera)
Some intersting ones were theese
The 1V96 11.18 York - Paddington was invaribly late and was the stock for the 1M60 16.57 Paddington -Derby and on several occasions was terminated at Oxford so loco and stock became 1M60
Another one i could never fathom was 89 -90 2 departures from Paddington to Banbury in the evening
1F50 17.20 Paddington -Banbury (via Oxford)
1G58 17.47 Paddington -Banbury (via High Wycombe)
Now why the G was it was because of a different route?
thanks
Ian

[stuartp]

To add to the other replies:

Classes 6 to 9:

Until recently(ish) these were all freights - the higher the number, the slower it was booked to run with brake force being the deciding factor. When I was a signalman Class 6s were fully fitted freights running at 60mph with Class 9s being unfitted (i.e. no brakes other than on the loco and brake van) running at no more than 25mph. MGR trains made up of HAA wagons, for example, were booked to run as Class 6 empty (60mph) and Class 7 loaded (45mph) because of the different brake forces required.

Unfitted freights were extinct by the early 90s and the class number was re-used for Eurostar trains.

The Royal train always ran as a Class 1 loaded or empty, usually the loaded train was 1X00 and the empty stock would be 1X01. Likewise the light engine movement to collect the stock would be 0X01.

The last two digits are often arranged as odd for down trains and even for up trains. For example, the first stopping DMU of the day from Sheffield to Huddersfield was 2F01, the next one was 2F03, then 2F05 etc etc. The up trains were 2F00, 2F02, 2F04... finishing with 2F20 late in the evening. The Sheffield - Leeds trains which shared a route with these as far as Barnsley were 2G01, 2G03 etc, and the Sheffield - Leeds via Rotherham service would be 2Y01, 2Y03, 2Y05 etc.

Those of you modelling the Scottish Region in the 60s/70s should note that the ScR seemed to regard 4 character headcodes as something that happened to other people. You might get a solitary "I" displayed on an express passenger if you were lucky . There's a smashing Derek Cross photo of three 25/3s standing in the sidings at one of the collieries on the Nith Valley line, not one of them is displaying a correct headcode.

[TerryB]

Ah-Ah ...cheers guys .....that makes things a bit clearer .....[I'd been wondering what that Deltic headcode meant since I bought the model about two years ago] ....

T.

[50035 Ark Royal]

Been going throuhgh my records and found some more interesting ones
Summer timetable 1984
10.24 Penzance -Liverpool Mon -Fri 1M83
10.00 Penzance-Liverpool So 1M33
So why so low it was only 24 minutes earlier?
Also
07.30 Aberdeen-Penzance 1V90 1984-1986
New timetable May 86
same working but now 1V73
yet the up
07.30 Pebzance-Aberdeen remained at 1S71
14.20 Glasgow -Cardiff now 1V90
So although simlar or same trains the reporting numbers change