Driving Brake Standard Open 9705

Driving Brake Standard Open 9705, operated by Direct Rail Services, at Carlisle Station. It is working the 11.56 Northern Rail Carlisle to Lancaster via the Cumbria Coastal line. Providing motive power at the other end of the train was class 37 locomotive 37409 "Lord Hinton" also operated by Direct Rail Services. A Driving Brake Standard is a control car, converted from a Mark 2F Brake Standard Open carriage. They allow a locomotive to be driven from the opposite end of a train, removing the need for the locomotive to run round at the end of a journey. Fourteen were converted between 1979 and 1986 by British Rail. Seven are still in service whilst six are in storage. This was the first example I have seen and I had a bad episode of "Enthusiast's Syndrome". I really wanted to jump aboard and ride the train all the way along the coastal railway to Lancaster. But Mrs. Legodude would not have been too happy if I had, for obvious reasons!