6 Pul unit 3019, with Pullman Car "Peggy" and an unidentified 6 Pan unit, at Norbury with a Victoria to Littlehampton via Worthing train.

Photograph: Mike Morant collection

Photograph: Mike Morant collection

The leading MBS is the 6-PUL one (with the drop down sidelights as opposed to sliding ones at the top) which this unit gained in 1949 after accident damage at London Bridge. This makes it coach 11006 so the second coach is 10032, followed by 12265. A 6-Pul unit is attached to the rear of the train as the Pullman car is helpfully visible beyond the 4-Sub unit.

Text from John Atkinson

Other units war damaged were 6 Puls 3004 (at Lancing 30th September 1942) and 3011/15/19/41 at Brighton on 25th April 1943, whilst two more were hit at Streatham Hill by a V1 flying bomb blast on 1st July 1944 and 3043 similarly at New Cross Gate on 7th July 1944. All these damaged units were quickly repaired however. 6 Pan unit 3030 had trailer third 10039 detroyed by a landmine at Brighton in May 1943. A new 10039 was built to replace the destroyed on in May 1946.

After the war, the three 6 Cit units were altered to 6 Pul configuration to reduce the amount of first class, the three TFKs in each being downgraded, two to TCK (30 first and 16 third) and one to TTK (56 third). They now seated 72 first and 212 third (2043 had only 208 third). The dates the units were downgraded were as follows:- 3041 29th November 1947, 3042 10th May 1947, 3043 20th March 1948.

During the 1950s and 1960s some 6 Pans ran as 6 Puls, usually unit 3032 which ran with Pullman car "Lorna" in 1951/2, "Naomi" in 1952 and "Ethel" and "Olive" in 1957

Having spent some 10 years in the Bluebell Railway's Pullman Dining Train, Bertha can be seen today on the Swanage Railway.

The units were given routine maintenance at Lovers Walk (Brighton) and body overhauls were done at Lancing Works with electrical/mechanical overhauls at Peckham Rye Shops (though Slade Green sometimes helped out). The Pullman cars were shopped at a different frequency at Preston Park, units sometimes running as 5 cars whilst they were being done, whilst Pullman cars were occasionally marshalled into 6 Pan units to keep them in service whilst their Pul coaches were being overhauled.

The equalising beam bogies deteriorated and rebuilding of them was authorised from late in 1955, all the trailer bogies being altered by 1958, though motorcoaches retained their originals until withdrawal. 6 Pul units quite often deputised for 5 Bel units on the Brighton Belle and were occasionally used for Royal specials from Portsmouth to Windsor, these, most unusually, taking them away from the Central Section lines.

Units began to have yellow warning panels painted on the cab ends in the 1960s and were fitted with air horns, but all were withdrawn in their original forms still in green livery.

Delivery of new Cig and Big stock saw the first withdrawals in early 1964, some of the displaced trailers being used in 'new' 4 Pul (formed by utilising Pullman cars from withdrawn 6 Pul sets substituting for restaurant cars in former 4 Res units) & 4 Cor (N) units. The bulk of the units went later in 1965 and all had gone by April 1966, the last run by a 6 Pul being on 24th April that year.

Many coaches however saw further service formed into 6 Cor units for the South Eastern Division, or reformed into former 4 Res units to turn them into 4 Cors 3159 - 3168.

6 Pul unit 3010, with Pullman Car "Daisy", near Cooksbridge, 13th June 1965, on an Ore to Victoria train.

photograph by Graham Hoare and reproduced from the book 'A Southern Electric Album', by Michael Welch,
by kind permission of Capital Transport Publishing.