LMS 6w Fish Vans

[31A]

Evening all! A quick question if I may.

 

I've just about finished a Chivers LMS 6w Fish Van kit. It's gone together very nicely, and I've reached the lettering stage, but can't find any details of this for BR livery. The pictures on Paul Bartlett's site mainly show vehicles in Departmental use or in a decrepit state, and from pictures I can find, the preserved one at Bo'ness appears to be devoid of lettering. There's a picture of one in BR days in 'Historic Carriage Drawings', but in such a filthy state no lettering can be discerned, and Bob Essery's article in the 'Modeller' (11/69) gives a description which is somewhat inconclusive.

 

So I was wondering whether anybody on here could shed any light on the matter? I've painted the van in BR Crimson. One or two of Paul Bartlett's photos seem to suggest they might have been lettered as wagons rather than coaches, i.e. with 'FISH', '6T', 'M402xx' above each other at the left hand end, and 'XP', 'WB', 'TARE' above each other at the right hand end, but is this correct? Were 'M' suffixes as well as prefixes applied; was the lettering cream/yellow (coaching stock style) or white (wagon style)?

 

I've tried using the forum search facility to no avail, so apologies if this information is already in here somewhere, otherwise thanks in advance to anyone who may know the answers!

[jwealleans]

Hi Steve,

 

Larkin, BR General Parcels Rolling Stock, page 18: M40312 in Crimson lake with yellow lettering; FISH, M40312, Load 6 Tons visible reading down at the near (left hand) end. Larkin suggests that this one was built after 1948 and so has no M suffix.

 

Gamble, British Railway Non-Passenger Rolling Stock, Plate 4 (page 7); M40259, doesn't say what colour but although apparently in departmental use when photographed still has FISH, illegible ([presumably 'Load 6 tons'), M40259 visible reading down from the top at the left hand end. The M is quite a bit bigger than the numbers.

 

I think these are also illustrated in Vol 3 of Historical Carriage Drawings, are they not?

 

This is mine, part lettered - they were still maroon for a while after nationalisation, so that's how it runs on Thurston. I used the Modelmaster transfers; I'm still not keen on them.

 

[coachmann]

In LMS and early BR days they were crimson lake. Lettered 'FISH' high up on each door, this gave way to X-FISH on both doors in early BR days. I don't know if LMS crimson lake gave way to carmine red or bauxite/red oxide in the early 1950s. But the lettering at this stage consisted of:-

[Pennine MC]

Hi Steve, you dont seem to have been around lately

 

Not wanting to divert but I have a Don Rowland print of one in white with BR lettering - possibly an error, but does anybody know any more?

[31A]

Hello again,

 

Thanks for the answers chaps, very helpful information which I'll bear in mind when I come to apply the transfers.

 

Having said that the pictures of these vans on Paul Bartlett's web site aren't too helpful on this occasion, these two contain some useful clues, in particular as to the lettering on the right hand end, but don't answer all the questions:

 

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/p29816777.html

 

http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/p29816791.html

 

Ian - quite right, I haven't been around lately , altered work circumstances (no more shifts!) seemed to leave me with less free time and the choice between forum or model railway; the latter won, I'm afraid! Interesting to hear of the white painted example - if I'd known about that one earlier, given the selection of transfers I have to hand it might actually have been an easier option, however my van is now resplendent in BR crimson.