The LNER Encyclopedia

Seeking information gents on extent to which 'instanter' couplings were used on goods vans a various types, which would regularly be used in the faster freight services g fish, fruit. I'm modelling early BR era in central Scotland, and need to have an accurate idea as to frequency of use of screw couplers and 'instanters' on these types of freight stock.

I am fairly sure that instanter couplings were peculiar to ex GW stock and possibly GW types produced after Nationalisation. I have had a quick skim through my wagon photos and Tatlow and they do not appear to have been used on LNER vehicles whereas screw couplings seem to be far more common

There was a discussion about Instanters on the BR Yahoo group last year. It's a bit hazy but ISTR they were a GW invention and were slower to be widely adopted than people had thought.

Try Googling for that if you're not a member, otherwise I'll look back through the thread if I get time.

jwealleans wrote:There was a discussion about Instanters on the BR Yahoo group last year. It's a bit hazy but ISTR they were a GW invention and were slower to be widely adopted than people had thought.

Try Googling for that if you're not a member, otherwise I'll look back through the thread if I get time.

Ay up!

I always understood that the Instanter didn't really catch on until BR days and then only on BR stock. Certainly the LMS brakes at Healy Mills had screw couplings whereas the BR vans had Instanters in the late '70s.