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GWR Iron Minks in BR livery


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Surprisingly though a number did survive in general service into the early 1950s. I have a vague feeling that I have seen a Roye England photo somewhere that showed one with a Wxxxxx number. There were certainly several in departmental use that acquired DWxxxxxx numbers.

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There's a photo of an in service iron mink in early BR livery in the book 'All About Iron Minks' published by HMRS. It is an absorbed Rhymney wagon - different to the GWR design (6" longer for a start). I'm afraid that's the only photo I could find.

 

In the chapter about 'standard' iron Minks, they list the history of a few examples with a couple or so lasting to early 50s before being taken out of revenue earning service - these ones may not have even got BR livery. If you want the numbers to use, let me know.

 

Will

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10 hours ago, WillCav said:

There's a photo of an in service iron mink in early BR livery in the book 'All About Iron Minks' published by HMRS. It is an absorbed Rhymney wagon - different to the GWR design (6" longer for a start). 

 

What were the build dates for the Rhymney and other South Walian minks? I'm suspecting they may be younger than the Great Western ones, hand in hand with the vogue for Iron Mink-esque gunpowder vans c. 1904-8. (Possibly in response to an RCH specification?)

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11 hours ago, WillCav said:

.......with a couple or so lasting to early 50s before being taken out of revenue earning service - these ones may not have even got BR livery. 

There was an internal user which stood at Banbury for many years. I was aware of different paint colours as it rusted away and think it had a coat of lighter grey over the standard GWR grey.

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1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

What were the build dates for the Rhymney and other South Walian minks? I'm suspecting they may be younger than the Great Western ones, hand in hand with the vogue for Iron Mink-esque gunpowder vans c. 1904-8. (Possibly in response to an RCH specification?)

The Rhymney iron Minks were ordered 1912 (50 from Cravens). They were 16'6" and a right hand version of DC brakes. 100993 in 1949 had wooden doors and self contained buffers.

Will

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The Rhymney ones were in two groups: the ex-Spillers ones built in 1906 and two batches from Cravens in 1912 and 1913.

Of the Cravens ones there is a record of one lasting until 1952 and two to 1950, while one lasted until 1961 as a sawdust van, but I do not have complete records to hand. Of the Harrison & Camm ones (ex Spillers and GWR), one lasted until 1951, 2 to 1952, 1 to 1953 and 1 to 1954.

The Barry Railway owned 730 Iron Minks at the Grouping. The first batch was from Turner in 1904 with more from Cravens in 1905  I do not have dates to hand but the WRRC book of Barry drawings states that most of the first two batches were withdrawn after 1947. The next batch was from the Midland Wagon Co in 1912, again many lasting until after Nationalisation. More were obtained from S J Claye in 1913 and Metropolitan in 1914.

The Cambrian was still building 6 ton wooden vans a few years before the Grouping.

I don't have records for the other South Wales companies, though there are lists compiled from GWR registers by Harold Morgan which give withdrawal dates if pre Nationalisation.

So yes, they were younger than the GWR ones and quite a few lasted for a few years after Nationalisation.

But none of these were identical to the GWR examples.

Jonathan

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@corneliuslundie, much as I suspected. I think one is really straining credulity for a genuine 19th-century GWR V6 still in ordinary traffic after nationalisation. I should think the chance of genuine BR grey livery is next to nil. 

 

Scrutiny of the GW wagon registers will reveal actual withdrawal dates. 

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Although sand vans are specifically  excluded from Garethp8873's original question, apologies in advance but I just had to mention that by pure coincidence I'm in the process of painting a Ratio kit I've had for about 4 years to represent such a thing right now, having spotted DW59370 (last digit not confirmed) in an early 60s photo of D837 Ramillies inside Bristol Bath Road depot which appears in a couple of books (Book of/Power of the Warships). Just the thing for my proposed 1962-5 WR diesel depot layout, it'll give the shunters something to play with in addition to the fuel tankers.

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  • 2 months later...

Updates since I last created this posting...

 

I've found a photo in my collection of a GWR Iron Mink in BR era livery. I remember I picked it up at Warley a few years ago either from the HMRS stand or one of the other trade stands but since completely forgot about it. The photo reference is AEX915 and the Iron Mink is in derelict condition with it's GWR livery emerging from beneath. It does have a running number but I cannot fully read it (W20XXXX). I am waiting on a reply with the number from HMRS but that may take a while due to the current situation. If anyone has this photo and knows the running number please let me know.

 

Upon seeing the running number it reminded me of the SVR residing Improvised Gunpowder Iron Mink Van, GWR 58725. When the van was acquired for preservation by the GWR 813 Fund at Cashmores in 1977, she was bearing the running number of W204988 rather than 58725. I have seen several Iron Minks bearing running numbers of W2xxxxx. Can anyone explain why this would've occured as GWR 58725 was condemned in 1949 but is seen at Wellington in 1976 as a stores van, a year before preservation acquired it.

 

Would this mean that 58725 along several other GWR Iron Minks found a reprieve not long after they were condemned one by one?

 

There is also a photo in the GWR Pictorial No.3 on P.54  of a GWR Iron Mink in BR livery. Does anyone know where I could get an enlarged copy of this photo?

 

46994664245_3c0c426edb_b.jpg

Edited by Garethp8873
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On 24/11/2020 at 18:43, TheSignalEngineer said:

There was an internal user which stood at Banbury for many years. I was aware of different paint colours as it rusted away and think it had a coat of lighter grey over the standard GWR grey.

Probably in use as a 'runiments store' - there was one at Reading Goods at one time as well.  Goods depots were required to store vast quantities of paperwork and very often, especially as cartage areas were concentrated onto larger depots, the amount of paper - particularly delivery sheets - outgrew the indoor storage facilities so older documents which still had to be kept were moved into old wagons provided to create additional storage space.

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57 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Probably in use as a 'runiments store'.......

I had two internal user 12T vans in my yard when I was a Signal Works Engineer. They contained materials left over from jobs but not returned into store as they were hard-to-get or obsolescent items. 

When the Stores people were coming to do a stocktake on my live project materials and depot Impressed Stock the vans were moved into the TMD yard across the way, then returned when the report of the stores audit had been signed off. 

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Not what you are really after, I think, but may I draw your attention to British Railways Illustrated June 2019, which has an image of W69121.

 

However, the van is still in 1936 small GW livery except that the GW has been painted out and a W painted in front of the number.

 

The image is dated 1951.  The standard work on GW Wagons (Ref 2) has an image of GW 69131 from the same lot (L182) which the caption claims was built in 1897.  69131 was photographed in 1947.

 

References:

1.    ‘Working Wagons 29 Huntingdon North’, Deacon N (Image by AE West), British Railways Illustrated June 2019, Vol 28, No 9, pp 408.

2.    GWR Goods Wagons, Atkins A, Beard W, Tourret R, Oxford Publishing Co (Ian Allan, Hersham) 2013, pp 371, plate 495.

 

Regards

TMc

26/02/2021

 

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On 26/02/2021 at 16:29, watfordtmc said:

Not what you are really after, I think, but may I draw your attention to British Railways Illustrated June 2019, which has an image of W69121.

 

However, the van is still in 1936 small GW livery except that the GW has been painted out and a W painted in front of the number.

 

The image is dated 1951.  The standard work on GW Wagons (Ref 2) has an image of GW 69131 from the same lot (L182) which the caption claims was built in 1897.  69131 was photographed in 1947.

 

References:

1.    ‘Working Wagons 29 Huntingdon North’, Deacon N (Image by AE West), British Railways Illustrated June 2019, Vol 28, No 9, pp 408.

2.    GWR Goods Wagons, Atkins A, Beard W, Tourret R, Oxford Publishing Co (Ian Allan, Hersham) 2013, pp 371, plate 495.

 

Regards

TMc

26/02/2021

 

 

Would you happen to have a copy of this issue please? If so could you send me a scan or a good photo of the picture please? You have made my day so much better!! :)

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On 09/02/2021 at 19:39, Garethp8873 said:

...  SVR residing Improvised Gunpowder Iron Mink Van, GWR 58725. When the van was acquired for preservation by the GWR 813 Fund at Cashmores in 1977, she was bearing the running number of W204988 rather than 58725. I have seen several Iron Minks bearing running numbers of W2xxxxx. Can anyone explain why this would've occured as GWR 58725 was condemned in 1949 but is seen at Wellington in 1976 as a stores van, a year before preservation acquired it.

 

Would this mean that 58725 along several other GWR Iron Minks found a reprieve not long after they were condemned one by one?

 

 

Just when you thought this thread was dead …

 

I cannot answer your specific question, but a recent opportunity to look through Mike Barnsley’s book on the Midland & South Western Junction Railway’s (MSWJ) rolling stock (See Ref.) provides a possible clue – I think.

 

The MWJ had no Iron Minks, but Mike Barnsley’s listings of the MSWJ’s wagon stock tell us that a number of MSWJ wagons were used “… in the South Wales docks …”  When these wagons were transferred to docks use they were renumbered into a 20xxxx series.

 

Thus:

MSWJ Open No.     30 (GW 34334) became Barry Docks wagon 203610 in 1930

MSWJ Ballast No. 278 (GW 80814) became Cardiff Docks wagon 202931 in 1927

MSWJ Open No.     68 (GW 34372) became Newport Docks wagon 203501 in 1930

MSWJ Open No.   294 (GW 34501) became Port Talbot Docks wagon 201471 in 1936, and

MSWJ Open No.     38 (not renumbered) became Swansea Docks wagon 200836 in 1924.

 

Not every wagon transferred was an Open:

MSWJ Brake Van No. 4 (not renumbered) became ‘Cardiff Docks Tool Van’ 200928 in 1924.

 

Nor was every location involved either in South Wales or a dock:

MSWJ Open No. 102 (not renumbered) became Brentford Docks wagon 202184 in 1925

MSWJ Open No.   32 (GW 34336) became Gloucester Depot wagon 204117 in 1933

MSWJ Open No.   33 (GW 34370 became Newport Depot wagon 204746 in 1934

 

The last transfer noted under the GWR was MSWJ Open No. 166 (GW 34457) which became Cardiff Docks wagon 203134 in 1947.  By 1951 however, when MSWJ Open No. 169 (GW 34460) became a Cardiff Docks wagon, it was renumbered 067558 in the British Railways (Great Western Region) Internal User number series.

 

Clearly the 20xxxx number series was reserved for wagons that had very restricted spheres of operation, but were possibly not internal users as we might understand the term today – I have seen reference to such wagons being written: Not to run more than 3 Miles on the Main Lines.

 

My assessment is that when 58725 was ‘condemned’ from ordinary traffic use in 1949 it then transferred to an storage use.  It would appear that in 1949 the BR internal numbering system had not come into use and internal/restricted user numbers were still being issued on the GWR system.

 

This is a speculation only though I have to say.

 

Reference

Midland & South Western Junction Railway Volume 3 Carriages and Wagons, Barnsley M, Wild Swan (Didcot) 1995.

 

Regards

TMc

22/08/2021

 

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