1910 Recoding

From 1910, the majority of carriages were relettered and renumbered. Up to this time the carriage fleet has been transformed from mainly fixed wheel carriages to mainly bogie stock. As well, new types of cars were introduced along with an impending introduction to an electric suburban system.

Until this date the coding system was based on fixed wheel stock. Bogie stock was represented with double letters which represented a double 'capacity' rather than a specific bogie reference. So class 'A' was First Class, fixed wheel while 'AA' was First Class, bogie stock. The first bogie carriages were placed into the fixed wheel number group; no doubt leading to capacity problems on trains.

This reached the level of six letters for a class with First/Second/Guards Compartment cars being coded ABD^ABD.

The fixed wheel stock was relettered away from A, B, C, D grouping and placed into the unused letters X, Y and Z.

The bogie cars of AA, AB^AB type designations were relettered into single letter classing. AB^AB stock became AB class for example.

For both fixed wheel and bogie stock, renumbering occurred as well. Until the 1920's the rail administration attempted to fill all unused numbers. Scrapped cars were replaced. This provided for the complexity of multiple cars occupying the same number.

The only reason the author can present for this working is the ability of the rail administration to quickly track the total numbers of stock running. With six to seven hundred carriages and about ten thousand freight vehicles, the easiest method is to ensure a full number group.

New rolling stock actually received the start of the new coding system about 1909 with the introduction of ACP, BCP, AP, BP cars placed into service 1910.

Circular A.1860/10 dated 1/7/1910 lists the code changes and was reprinted in a mid 1910 Weekly Notice. Whilst the recoding is referred to by historians and the like as the "1910" recoding, this is the start date. No dates were recorded for the changes, apart from some single scattered carriages.

Cars
Present designation	New designation
A	X
AA	A
AC	AL
AB	XY
ABh	XYh
ABAB	AB
ABC	ABL
ABD	XYZ
ABDABD	ABC
ABVE	ABe
AD	XZ
ADAD	AC
AV	Av
AVE	Ae
B	Y
BH	Yh
BB	B
BV	Bv
BVE	Be
BD	YZ
BDH	YZh
BDBD	BC
ESBV	BDSe
BE	BDS
Narrow Guage
N ABAB	NAB
N BB	NB
N BDBD	NBC
N DD	NC
Vans and other Passenger Rolling Stock
C	J
D	Z
D h	Z h
DMS	ZDS
DD	C
DDMS	CDS
DV	Cv
DVE	Ce
EEB	D
EES	DS
F and FF	F (6 wheel and 6 stall)
FFF	FF
WS	W
WS 9, 10 & 11	WW

Note: Typesetting on the original document is duplicated as much as possible; lower case e, h and v. Original Narrow Guage classes were typeset with a space between the N and remaining class letters.

The author now believes this recoding took place within the first two or three weekends of July 1910. At this time the triennial stocktakes were usually done on a Sunday and involved all staff at all stations. Given the number of fixed wheel passenger cars and bogie vehicles it is quite possible for the fixed wheel stock stock to be quickly relettered over a weekend with bogie stock being done the next weekend.