LMR: Center Entry 2nd Class Carriage (Ackermann / Shaw)

[What About The Bee]

Continuation of the request to investigate the second class carriages.

There is an unusual 2nd class carriage illustrated in the Ackermann long aquatints.  The artist is Shaw, known good observer.  As such, we can trust what we see.

 

The consist is labeled "A Train of the second class for outside passengers".  This particular 2nd class carriage only appears on the 1831 dated version of the Ackermann long prints. 

We have essentially 3 views of this carriage.

Aligning this 2nd class from the 1831 print, I note that the carriage and wheelbase are the identical sizes as compared to our ubiquitous blue 2nd class carriage.

Naturally, I've sketched this in FreeCAD, so as to explore the design.  There is only one stirrup, centrally mounted, denoting that passengers entered into and departed from the carriage from this center walkway.  Further, in carriage #1, we can just make out an opening in the middle of that walkway, so as to enter the left compartment.  A symmetric design is expected, so there would be a matching opening for the other compartment, on the right.

This, then, is the interpretation of the shell

By careful examination of the direction each passenger is facing, I determined that this is omnibus style seating.  That is, all passenger seating is sideways, facing in.

When examining the passengers, you will observe some facing forward or back.  It appears to me that these are small groups of passengers, talking.  They are still seated omnibus style, merely turned to converse.

Seating is 4 or 5 persons per bench.  With 4 benches, 5 passengers per bench, we obtain a total of 20 passengers per carriage, or 4 less than the other carriage type in same consist.

Note also that we see the upper half of the back of the seated passengers.  Therefore, unless the passengers have abnormally long lower legs, the floor under the benches is quite elevated.

Removing the shell, you may observe my interpretation of the raised floor.  The benches are of the same type as the G. Stephenson 2nd carriage.  We have no image of the benches, therefore, my benches are simply conceptual.

Which leaves the central step between the two compartments.  This gives the odd appearance to the Ackermann aquatint.  Further, close examination of Shaws depiction shows a curve from this step, up to the raised floor. 

And all together

There is a first class carriage with a middle entry.  The Chinese Liverpool carriage.  You may read about it here.   https://community.hornbyhobbies.com/topic/31356-chinese-liverpool-an-odd-liverpool-and-manchester-railway-carriage/

Bee
 

Edited March 24 by What About The Bee
Grammar