Carriage destination boards BR(E)

[great northern]

I'm now looking at equipping my rakes of carriages with destination boards, but I'm somewhat at a loss as to whether they actually got used much in practice by the late '50's. My memory is of seeing most coaches in a rake carrying boards at least saying Kings Cross- Leeds or whatever was appropriate, and that named trains would have some with " The White Rose" or whatever. The trouble is that my memory is of things I saw over 50 years ago, and when I was a relatively unobservant young lad, except of course for loco numbers and names.

 

I've trawled my pretty extensive collection of books, and so far as can be seen, there seem to be very few boards. As most are of classic three quarter shots though, that isn't definitive by any means. Is there anyone out there who actually knows the answer? If so, I would be very grateful if you would share it with me. Thanks in anticpation.

 

Gilbert

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

For circa 1960 I have formed the same impression. On the basis of the photographic record, my feeling is that their use was already falling off through the LNER period. In the 1920s they are much in evidence on every principal train, by 1939 on only a few vehicles in a train, and the proportion falls further post war and into BR(ER) operation. At the end of my period of modelling interest there's a single short board on the buffet car of an original condition two tone green Baby Deltic hauled Cambridge Buffet Car express - wonder what it said, wonder if it arrived with the same traction?

[Les Bird]

........wonder if it arrived with the same traction?

 

 

Probably not, it's a long way for a Baby Deltic to go without breaking down!

[gresley]

I'm now looking at equipping my rakes of carriages with destination boards, but I'm somewhat at a loss as to whether they actually got used much in practice by the late '50's. My memory is of seeing most coaches in a rake carrying boards at least saying Kings Cross- Leeds or whatever was appropriate, and that named trains would have some with " The White Rose" or whatever. The trouble is that my memory is of things I saw over 50 years ago, and when I was a relatively unobservant young lad, except of course for loco numbers and names.

 

I've trawled my pretty extensive collection of books, and so far as can be seen, there seem to be very few boards. As most are of classic three quarter shots though, that isn't definitive by any means. Is there anyone out there who actually knows the answer? If so, I would be very grateful if you would share it with me. Thanks in anticpation.

 

Gilbert

 

Gilbert,

 

From memory and the normal photo sources, I think they tended to dwindle from around the mid 50s. Certainly, I remember that as long as trains consisted mainly of Gresley and Thompson coaches, the boards were in regular use. I recall seeing them on formations of Mk 1s, but not as widespread.

 

gresley