4-character Train Reporting Numbers

All trains running on the British railway system were allocated a 4 character identification code - called a train reporting number or headcode, for once it was carried on a display panel on the front of the train. This practice of displaying the headcode was abandoned on the 1st January 1976, so there are very few pictures on my site of trains carrying headcodes - especially as many of the locomotives and most of the DMUs running along the North Wales Coast at that time were not equipped to display the 4 character headcodes anyway!

However, the code was (and still is) used to identify the trains in the working timetable and for train reporting. In the 4-character code, the first position indicates the classification of the train, the second the destination indication as shown in Table 1, and the third and fourth positions the identity number, or, in the case of Class 2 and empty coaching stock trains, the route indication as shown in Table 2.

A number of services which have codes defined in these tables no longer run. Indeed, some of them had ceased before these tables were issued in 1976. Notable are the codes for Rock Ferry, Liverpool Lime St to N.Wales, Runcorn-Chester and New Brighton-Wrexham. Even Aberystwyth-Devil's Bridge appears.

Table 1 - Destination Indication Letters

Letter	Destination Division	Letter	Destination Region	Letter	Other Type
A	London	E	Eastern	L	Special train within division
B	London	M	London Midland	T	(Passenger) Special train within division
C	London	O	Southern	T	(Freight) Trip Working
D	Stoke-on-Trent / Nottingham	S	Scottish	X	Royal trains and Out-of-Gauge Loads
F	Nottingham / Liverpool	V	Western	Z	Special train outside division
G	Birmingham	(N)	(North Eastern)(redundant)
H	Birmingham / Manchester
J	Stoke-on-Trent / Manchester
K	Stoke-on-Trent
P	Nottingham / Preston

Table 2 - Route Indication Numbers - Class 2 and Empty Stock Trains

Trains between	and	Via	Route Number
Blythe Bridge / Crewe	Chester		50
Wolverhampton HL	Shrewsbury		51
Crewe	Rhyl		51
Blythe Bridge / Crewe	Llandudno		52
Crewe	Bangor		53
Wolverhampton HL	Aberystwyth		54
Stoke-on-Trent / Crewe	Holyhead		54
Chester	Rhyl		56
Shrewsbury	Aberystwyth		57
Chester	Holyhead		58
Manchester Oxford Rd	Chester		59
Shrewsbury	Chester		60
Shrewsbury	Cardiff		61
Manchester Vic / Warrington	Chester		61
Manchester Vic / Warrington	Llandudno		62
Birmingham New St	Barmouth	Shrewsbury	65
Wolverhampton HL	Chester	Shrewsbury	66
Prestatyn	Llandudno		67
Crewe	Cardiff	Hereford	67
Rhyl	Bangor		68
Birmingham New St	Aberystwyth	Shrewsbury	69
Rhyl	Holyhead		69
Llandudno	Blaenau Ffestiniog		70
Runcorn	Chester		71
Llandudno	Bangor		73
Rock Ferry	Helsby		73
Llandudno	Holyhead		74
Shrewsbury	Machynlleth		74
Rock Ferry	Chester		75
Machynlleth	Aberystwyth		75
Rock Ferry	Holyhead		76
Machynlleth	Barmouth		76
Dovey Jn	Barmouth		77
Rock Ferry	Llandudno		77
Barmouth	Pwllheli		78
Birkenhead North	Wrexham Gen		78
New Brighton	Hawarden Bridge / Wrexham Cent		79
Machynlleth	Pwllheli		79
Birkenhead North	Hawarden Bridge / Wrexham Cent		80
Aberystwyth	Pwllheli		80
Liverpool	Rhyl		81
Liverpool	Llandudno		82
Liverpool	Bangor		83
Liverpool	Holyhead		84
Colwyn Bay / Llandudno Jn	Blaenau Ffestiniog		85
Llandudno Jn	Llandudno		87
Llandudno Jn	Bangor		88
Llandudno Jn	Holyhead		89
Wrexham Cent	Wrexham Gen		90
Manchester Pic	Llandudno		90
Chester	Wrexham Cent	Wrexham Ex	91
Shrewsbury	Swansea		93
Bangor	Holyhead		94
Chester	Manchester Pic		95
Rock Ferry	Birkenhead		97
Aberystwyth	Devil's Bridge		98
Manchester Vic / Warrington	Holyhead		98
Manchester Vic / Warrington	Bangor		99

	Back in 1973, Class 47 1614 runs light engine from Holyhead, carrying code 0Z00 - indicating that it was returning to depot - probably Crewe.
	Seen at a Crewe Works Open Day in 1975, 47137 is ready for a return to traffic, complete with an appropriate headcode for Crewe.
	Following the edict of 1st January 1976 that all headcode displays should be set to '0000', 47444 is seen at Bangor on the 20th April 1976 working the 15:40 to Euston - train 1A72.
	For a special working on 19th February 1977 from Crewe to Blaenau Ffestiniog and Holyhead, 24133 (the only remaining headcode fitted Class 24) had its headcode display brought back into use to show the reporting number of the train - '1L27'.
	On busy days along the North Wales coast with its mechanical signal boxes, it sometimes became necessary for trains to carry their headcode. This was usually done with carriage labels, as seen here. 47187 carries 1P72 on 24th July 1976

2D53

Locations

Miscellany

4-character Train Reporting Numbers

Table 1 - Destination Indication Letters

Table 2 - Route Indication Numbers - Class 2 and Empty Stock Trains

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