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GW goods wagons part 2; The AA7 ‘Toad’ brake vans.


Buckjumper

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Twelve examples of the Great Western’s 13 ton AA7 brake vans were built between 1897 and 1898 to Lot 206 for working the company’s trains from Acton over the Metropolitan and (for a short stretch between Farringdon Street and Aldersgate Street) the Widened Lines to Smithfield – they were numbered in the series 56985-96. Essentially they were a short version of the AA3 vans with a 9ft wheelbase, measuring 16ft over headstocks with a proportionally smaller verandah than the larger vans.

 

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It has been suggested by various authors that the AA7s must have been the among the first fitted brake vans on the GW because of the Smithfield meat trains, which included fitted Micas, but in reality, the perceived volume of meat traffic to Smithfield has been blown out of all proportion, and careful study of the relevant WTTs show that in fact the meat trains made up only a very small percentage of the traffic over the route as Smithfield was also the main general merchandise goods depot for central London and the City. To put things in perspective; in 1912, out of sixteen daily goods trains only four were scheduled for meat traffic, and of these, three were mixed trains of meat and general merchandise. Quite surprisingly, only one single trip each day was solely reserved for the conveyance of meat. It’s worth remembering that Mica’s were vacuum braked to convey chilled and frozen meat between Birkenhead and London at passenger-rated speeds, and it would have been the brake vans on those trains which were first vacuum fitted. It wasn’t until later, maybe much later (post-Grouping?) that vacuum braked stock was required on the Smithfiled trips.

 

The model is from Big Jim’s wonderful Connoisseur range, and the only major deviation I made was the addition of WEP compensation units rather than a solid chassis. GW paint from Precision, weathering from Humbrol and transfers from the HMRS. Glazing is 0.13mm glass, instanter couplings from CPL and sprung buffers from Slater’s.

 

This example was built to commission, and is in 0 Finescale, but I have a pair to build for Basilica Fields where meat traffic not only shuttles between Acton and Smithfield, but east from Smithfield to St. Katherine Dock via Basilica Fields on the (Middle) Circle Extension.

 

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No photoshoppery…well, just a little to get rid of a couple of specks of dust, but the colours and lighting is au natural care of the fat old sun.

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Superb. They are very appealing little Toads (what an odd sentence!).

 

I really like how careful you are with the research. It throws up some interesting new perspectives every time. As you say, it's surprising that there was just one all-meat trip every day. Railway myth busting :-)

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I can't take the credit (but I accept any errors in my deductions); I'd have been equally in the dark had I not pestered Western Star of this parish to provide contemporary evidence of workings to Smithfield, and when the relevant page of the WTT dropped in my inbox it came with a note that ran something like, '...you'll never believe this but...'

 

It does mean that those of us modelling the pre-Grouping scene need to be extra vigilant when reading such wonderful books as Tony Atkins' Goods Services, because not all the information is necessarily relevant to us, and without reference to other works and primary evidence could be misleading. Of course no one can blame Tony; the scope of his series is large as it stands, and to do justice to the whole of the GWR oven the entire life of the company would mean several dozen volumes (Smithfield could fill a volume on its own!) - besides which, I doubt the historical record is sufficiently intact to do so.

 

As ever, traffic on the Metropolitan and Widened Lines in the late Victorian/early Edwardian period an interesting part of or railway history, but throws up some stinkers.

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Fitted toads, now that is an interesting comment!

 

In digging through some GWR drawings which were held in a store near to the middle of the Midlands I came across a couple of official drawings for the addition of vacuum brakes to some AA3 Toads. In discussion with John Lewis we came to a conclusion that the converted Toads might have been for use on services from West Wales.

 

So now you have no excuse for not fitting Vacuum Brakes to your AA7 'cos I have some info as to how it might have been done. Guess I had better see just what is written in the relevant GWR Wagon Register.

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So now you have no excuse for not fitting Vacuum Brakes to your AA7 'cos I have some info as to how it might have been done.

 

The key is when did it happen for the AA7s? A photograph of Acton yard c1911 (assuming the date is correct) with several AA7s in residence shows two with their ends to the camera. One definitely has a vacuum standard, but it appears the other one doesn't. If the photograph isn't lying, and the assumed date is correct, then perhaps the end of the Edwardian period is when conversion took place...in which case perhaps the Basilica AA7s should remain unfitted. More data please mister!

 

In discussion with John Lewis we came to a conclusion that the converted Toads might have been for use on services from West Wales.

 

Which would have been what...from about c1889 onwards using the X3 Micas?

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They are very appealing little Toads (what an odd sentence!)

 

Wish I'd thought of that as the title of the entry!

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As regards the reason for fitting AA3 with vacuum brakes - I shall have to re-visit that discussion with John Lewis.

 

Yhe photo of Acton Yard... I think that you might be referring to the photograph which is featured in Edwardian Enterprise and which can be found at "Steam" as a 6'0" x 4'0" image on one of the walls of the museum. I shall have to take a glass and peer deeply to see what you have noticed - if "vacuum standard" means a pipe and gauge on the face of the cabin wall (adjacent to the door) then that could be just a brake setter for a vehicle with a through pipe (rather than for a complete vacuum brake arrangement).

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