Rolling stock

[Malcolm]

A couple of nice ones for those of you who model the LNER and like details.

Malcolm

[Malcolm]

A couple more. The first one is good, but it is the second that interests me.
It shows a tunnel cleaning wagon (with crew) and what appears to be "GC" on the side.
Is this Great Central? Anyone know anything about this? I know that other regions had these kind of vehicles, but this is the first LNER one I have seen a picture of.
Would make a good model, wouldn't it?

Malcolm

[robertcwp]

A couple more. The first one is good, but it is the second that interests me.
It shows a tunnel cleaning wagon (with crew) and what appears to be "GC" on the side.
Is this Great Central? Anyone know anything about this? I know that other regions had these kind of vehicles, but this is the first LNER one I have seen a picture of.
Would make a good model, wouldn't it?

Malcolm

The cafeteria car appears to have a British Standard adaptor gangway rather than the Pullman type normally found on Gresley stock.

Also, did they run in service with such a prominent CAFETERIA sign on the side or was that done for publicity purposes, with there being normal yellow lettering on the crimson underneath?

[mick b]

Excellent photos , more please if you have any??
The van is GCR lettering never seen anything like it before???

Mick

[52D]

Tunnel cleaning van looks like it is near Neepsend in Sheffield judging by the background any further comments.

[Malcolm]

The following link shows another Gresley cafeteria car.

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/p25599311.html

Malcolm

[Malcolm]

Further to the tunnel cleaning van: Now, here it is in action.
Note the axlebox covers on the wagon behind the van. To stop gunge getting into the boxes??

Malcolm

[52D]

In 1950 whats with NE on the following wagon.

[jwealleans]

In 1950 whats with NE on the following wagon

The last loco carrying LNER livery wasn't repainted until 1956 (IIRC). I suspect they were even less concerned with wagons, many of which were for the scrap heap after the war anyway. There are pictures dated well into the 1930s of wagons with their pregrouping branding.

I'm a bit surprised to see the wagon actually being used to clean a tunnel - I thought from the original photo that it was a whitewash van used for painting the inside of buildings. Why would you need to clean a tunnnel - was there a risk of fire from the soot, was it a preparatory measure for inspection or maintenance or have I missed something?

[Bryan]

Why would you need to clean a tunnnel

You need to clean off soot etc to be able to examine the condition of the brickwork for cracks spalling brickwork etc and enable repair work to be carried out.

[hq1hitchin]

Didn't know that Gresley corridor stock was fitted with BS gangways and screw couplings before - fascinating - could these have been conversions from Pullman gangways and buckeyes for them to work with ease on other regions like, say, the LM?
Was once told that when buckeye stock was introduced on services out of Euston, they sent shunters along the Euston Road from KX to teach their maroon comrades the finer points of buffer saddles, jaws and support pins etc.

[wehf100]

Interesting GCR van! Looks like it was an ex GCR diag 13, with it's 'cupboard' doors simply nailed shut and the hinges removed. Judging by the state of the paint (or rather the total lack thereof above the bodyside 'running board'!) it may very well have been converted in GCR days, but I cannot find any reference to it in the index to the GCR diagram books- so I would vote for an 1920's LNER-sanctioned conversion.Does Tatlow have anything in it about this van?- I don't have a copy near me at the moment.

It is quite interesting to see that the ballast wagon in the same photograph is also of GCR design (probably an ex-diag 30- alas I'm divorced from my sources at present).

Cheers for the pics, very interesting. I shall check a couple of sources when I return to the ancestral seat after Xmas.

Will

[John B]

Regarding being divorced from your sources, would that be from HP or Worcester?

[industrial]

Notice the brakes on the ex GC wagon it lookes to have 4 brake shoes but the brake handle in the tunnel photo is facing the left not the right as normal this was done in a few cases only, to save having morton brake leaver with a cam on it.

What was the lamp powered by was it by a generator etc as the light must be good to see through the smoke as you can see in the photo from the engine pulling the train as the engin will be moving very slowly so the pw gaung must have been well smoked when the end of the tunnel came.

Also was the EX GC wagon an ex coke wagon?.

[CVR1865]

So is one to summise then from this discussion of couplings that the LMS was not buckeye equipped?? for all their work on coaching stock and locomotives, no one can doubt the genius of Stanier, they never got into buckeyes?

I am rather taken a back by this I must confess.