Women on holiday in a camping coach at Sandsend, c 1936

Women on holiday in a camping coach at Sandsend, c 1936. LNER camping coach No CC20 (ex GNR 3rd Class 6-wheeler), with a wind-up gramophone on the roof. Camping coaches, redundant railway carriages converted to provide holiday accommodation, were introduced in 1933. Families or groups of friends could hire them, and the relatively low rent of about £3 per week made them immediately popular. Soon each of the 'Big Four' railway companies offered camping holidays. They usually contained a bedroom and bathroom, kitchen and living room. They were situated on camp sites in railway sidings at different places across Britain, particularly at coastal resorts and in the countryside. By 1935 there were over 200 camping coaches located at 160 holiday destinations across the United Kingdom. ©SSPL/National Railway Museum