Difference between revisions of "TOPS codes"

TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. classification

TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. locomotive classification and numbering

BRBritish Rail or British Railways steam had finished before the introduction of TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock.. BRBritish Rail or British Railways Diesel locomotives were allocated numbers forming the unique ID in the form xxyyy, with xx being the class and yyy one of up to 999 members of it, for example 50031 Hood would have been the 31st Class 50 locomotive while in service.

Heritage diesel locomotives working on the main line are allocated numbers in the 89yyy series. Generally the third digit represents the power classification and the final two digits are the last two digits of the pre-TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. number, except where duplication occurs. TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. numbers allocated to SVRSevern Valley Railway locomotives include:^[1]

• 89413: D1013 Western Ranger
• 89416: D1015 Western Champion
• 89421: D821 Greyhound
• 89431: 50031 Hood
• 89444: 50044 Exeter
• 89449: 50049 Defiance
• 89462: D1062 Western Courier

Heritage steam locomotives working on the main line are allocated numbers in the 98yyy series. Generally the third digit represents the power classification and the final two digits are the last two digits of the BRBritish Rail or British Railways era number, except where duplication occurs. TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. numbers allocated to SVRSevern Valley Railway locos still resident on the SVRSevern Valley Railway include:^[2]

• 98243: 46443
• 98406: 43106
• 98425: 7325
• 98469: 75069
• 98479: 80079
• 98502: 7802 Bradley Manor
• 98510: 45110
• 98512: 7812 Erlestoke Manor
• 98519: 7819 Hinton Manor
• 98530: 4930 Hagley Hall
• 98568: 42968
• 98727: 34027 Taw Valley
• 98857: 2857
• 98873: 48773

For heritage locomotives, the TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. number was used for reporting purposes and was commonly displayed inside the cab.

TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. carriage and wagon classification codes

TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. classifications were applied to all carriages and wagons and recorded in a field called CARKND. For most rolling stock the classification comprises three letters, the first letter indicating the broad type, the second letter giving more detailed information of that type (different for each series) and a suffix giving the braking arrangements. The last was an important aid to marshalling trains at a time when BRBritish Rail or British Railways had a mixture of air, vacuum and other braking arrangements.^[3]

Passenger carrying stock (type A) included a digit after the first two letters to specify the class of passenger accommodation (1=First, 2=Second, later Standard, 3=CompositeCarriage having more than one class of seating, ie First and Third or latterly First and Standard., 4=Unclassified, 5=None). The suffix indicated the build rather than the braking arrangement (1=Mk 1, Z=Mk 2, A=Mk 2a, etc.)^[4]

Examples of the main classification codes (first letter) after 1984 were:

• A: Hauled passenger carriages
• B: Bogie Steel wagons
• C: Covered bulk wagons (except CA: goods brake vans)
• D: Diesel Multiple Unit carriages
• F: Flat wagons
• H: Hopper wagons
• M: Mineral wagons
• N: Hauled non-passenger carriages
• O: Open wagons
• Q: Hauled departmental (non-revenue) carriages
• S: 2-axle steel wagons
• T: Tank wagons
• V: Vans
• W: Flat wagons
• Y: DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. bogie wagons
• Z: DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. two-axle vehicle (carriage or wagon)

Examples of braking codes (third letter) were:

• A: Air brake only
• B: Air brake plus through vacuum pipe
• O: Unfitted (handbrake only)
• P: Unfitted with through vacuum pipe
• Q: Unfitted with through air pipe
• V: Vacuum brake only
• W: Vacuum brake plus through air pipe
• X: Dual brake (air and vacuum)

SVRSevern Valley Railway rolling stock with TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. classification codes

Note: Most of the GWRGreat Western Railway / LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway / LMSLondon Midland & Scottish Railway era rolling stock had been withdrawn by the time TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. was introduced in the late 1960s and would therefore not have received TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. classification codes. Later SVRSevern Valley Railway rolling stock with TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. classification codes includes:

Carriages

Wagons

(To follow)

TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. location codes

• 65941 Kidderminster Severn Valley Railway^[5]
• 65942 Kidderminster Severn Valley Railway Diesel Depot

See also

• List of carriages
• List of wagons
• Locomotive numbering
• Carriage and Wagon numbering
• TOPS Location Codes

References

1. ↑ RCTS TOPS Class 89 listing
2. ↑ RCTS TOPS class 98 listing
3. ↑ Wikipedia
4. ↑ Longworth (2013) pp. 7-8.
5. ↑ Location Codes on www.railwaycodes.org.uk

Links

• Wikipedia: TOPS
• Wikipedia: British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification
• Wikipedia: British carriage and wagon numbering and classification
• RCTS: Class 89 TOPS listing
• RCTS: Class 98 TOPS listing