LNER Laundry van info please

[Londontram]

My son has asked me to draw and build a model of this LNER Landry van with my Silhouette cutter. Has any one got the overall length of this van and if possible its wheel base. Any other views would be helpfull including one showing the end so I can calculate the number of planks. Other details like what (if fitted) type of ventilators and or lighting the van had.

So any information would be appreciated

[Dava]

Identifying the originating company would be a start, the traffic message on the side looks like 'New Holland and Manchester' suggesting it is ex North Eastern Railway and the traffic may have been laundry from the Humber ferries to be laundered in Manchester, for some reason?

 

The North Eastern Railway Society and Isinglass Models are two possible sources for information on the vehicle. The Ken Hoole Archive is one collection within the former.

 

Dava

[Compound2632]

The style of the panelling looks more MSLR than NER to me - compare this. New Holland was the MSLR's Hull station - or at least the point of interchange with the Humber ferry, which the company owned. But why take New Holland laundry to Manchester to wash - or vice-versa? And why does the travelling laundry attendant get to travel first class? (Not that it would be a very first class journey in such a short-wheelbase vehicle.)

[jwealleans]

As far as I recall it is ex-MSLR or GC. They were used for taking hotel laundry to a central point for washing. The LNER one was at York (at least, one of them was) as there's a train on Grantham which carries a 6 wheel GN brake clearly identified in the CWN as being for hotel laundry, detached York. It may be that the GC area laundry was at Manchester and this was used for hotel/ferry washing (or perhaps the other way round).

 

Your best bet is the GC Society, I'd have said.

[Fat Controller]

There was one opposite Gateshead shed; the last bits of the building were in use into the 1980s, as a car repairer's.

The railways would have produced lots of laundry; as well as stuff from the hotels and refreshment rooms, there would be antimacassars, table linen and bedding from the trains. Even into the 1960s, there were some parcels vans branded as laundry wagons.

[31A]

An outline drawing of the same (or very similar) van is in George Dow's "Great Central", Vol. 2 p.386 where it is described as "MS&L dummy van (for laundry) built at Gorton in 1882 (Not. 51, 57-9).  Perhaps the van in the photo is No. 51, as subsequently re-numbered?

 

The drawing is from the railway company's 'Diagram Book' and as such is only a basic outline drawing.  Nevertheless it gives dimensions:

 

Length overall - 22' 8.5"

Length over headstocks - 18' 11"

Wheelbase - 10' 0"

Height rail level to cantrail (top of sides) - 10' 8 7/8"

Height rail level to top of roof - 11' 7"

Width over body - 8' 0"

Overall width (over handrails etc.) - 8' 4"

Large compartment - 11' 9" internally (between end and partition)

Small compartment (fitted with two three-a-side bench seats separated by armrests) - 6' 7" internally (between end and partition)

 

The drawing shows a kind of pitched roof ventilator on the roof above the double doors, the same length as the width of the double doors.  This is not apparent in the photo, but is quite narrow so may not be apparent from the angle of the photograph, or it may have 'got lost' against the sky.  In the drawing, it looks similar to the kind of roof light you find on the roofs of GNR coach brake compartments, albeit no indication that it was glazed.  The height to the top of this ventilator is given as 12' 5" above rail level.

 

The panelling shown in the drawing is the same as that in the photograph, except that the upper panels of each of the double doors are shown as a single panel in the drawing, whereas the photo shows a vertical line of beading dividing them into two panels.  Possibly the van was altered at some stage, or it could be just an instance of the 'Diagram Book' drawing not reflecting what was actually built?  No details given of brake gear or lighting.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Edited to correct length over headstocks dimension, originally mis-typed.

Edited August 31, 2018 by 31A

[Londontram]

Thank you Steve that's extremely helpful thanks, its enough to start drawing it out on inkscape ready for a Silhouette cutter file, I'll keep you all.posted with the progress.

[Jim Martin]

As far as I recall it is ex-MSLR or GC. They were used for taking hotel laundry to a central point for washing. The LNER one was at York (at least, one of them was) as there's a train on Grantham which carries a 6 wheel GN brake clearly identified in the CWN as being for hotel laundry, detached York. It may be that the GC area laundry was at Manchester and this was used for hotel/ferry washing (or perhaps the other way round).

 

Your best bet is the GC Society, I'd have said.

It's the other way round: the MS&L's (later GCR's) laundry was at New Holland, attached to the railway-owned Yarborough Hotel. I have a copy of this photo, which I think is from the HMRS collection.

[Daddyman]

 

Length overall - 22' 8.5"

Length over headstocks - 11' 11"

I may be wrong, but something doesn't seem quite right here - especially if the two internal compartments add up to over 18 feet. 

[Londontram]

I had spotted that and agree Daddyman so was going to use the internal measurements and add a bit for panel thickness also Looking at the distance between the axle center and end of the wagon which looks a tad under 5ft i would day the van is between 19 and 20ft long or 19ft 6in is what I reckon

[Daddyman]

I had spotted that and agree Daddyman so was going to use the internal measurements and add a bit for panel thickness also Looking at the distance between the axle center and end of the wagon which looks a tad under 5ft i would day the van is between 19 and 20ft long or 19ft 6in is what I reckon

I'd hang fire - hopefully it's just a typo and 31A will be along soon with a correction... 

[Joseph_Pestell]

Fascinating vehicle.

 

I too would like to know why laundry has to be accompanied by someone travelling first class.

[Nearholmer]

Shady characters laundering money?

[kevinlms]

Fascinating vehicle.

 

I too would like to know why laundry has to be accompanied by someone travelling first class.

With a short wheelbase like that, perhaps the trailing zero has fallen off?

[Compound2632]

6'7" is a bit wide for a third class compartment but a bit narrow for a first. Perhaps it was just branded first to discourage ordinary third class passengers from using it, in the confidence that no first class passenger would contemplate using it.

[31A]

I may be wrong, but something doesn't seem quite right here - especially if the two internal compartments add up to over 18 feet. 

 

 

I had spotted that and agree Daddyman so was going to use the internal measurements and add a bit for panel thickness also Looking at the distance between the axle center and end of the wagon which looks a tad under 5ft i would day the van is between 19 and 20ft long or 19ft 6in is what I reckon

 

 

I'd hang fire - hopefully it's just a typo and 31A will be along soon with a correction... 

 

 

Typo indeed - sorry!

 

The diagram actually states 18' 11" over headstocks.  The other dimensions quoted are as printed in the book.

 

I will edit my original post in case it is referred to in future.