Old LMS van kit

[petethemole]

I found this in my local second hand emporium. It's a made-up kit of an LMS van with wood underframe, 12ft wheelbase and 21ft 6in long body. The works plate actually has LMS moulded on it. It's quite an old kit as all the plank and door parting lines are raised rather than incised. Apart from that it's quite a nice model, complete with brake gear.

 

 

I put it on the scanner rather than get the camera out!

 

I can't find this van in my references or on-line. Can anyone identify it please? It would be usefui to know the kit manufacturer as well.

 

Thanks, Pete

[jwealleans]

MAJ kit of an ex-L & Y van. Some had roof doors, identifiable by the end stanchions being in a V formation rather than vertical and parallel. Really good kits apart from the raised planking lines instead of grooves and even they aren't too conspicuous. Shame they aren't available any more.

[petethemole]

Thanks. This has vertical end stanchions and no roof door. The doors (double) are different from the image I found of one of these kits. I wonder if it represents either an LMS rebuild, or a post-grouping build to a modified L & Y diagram, either of which would explain the LMS worksplate.

 

Pete

[Poor Old Bruce]

MAJ made three kits for L&Y vans:

 

10'6" wb Motor Car Van with end doors.

10'6" wb Sliding-door Van.

12' wb Folding-door Van.

 

For the princely sum of £1.88 each in 1978.

[uax6]

I heard on the grapevine that if you want bodies of these vans Adrian at ABS still has some, but he no-longer has any chassis for them as the moulds were destroyed when his moulder went bust....

 

Andy G

[petethemole]

12' wb Folding-door Van.

 

It has to be that one then. It's not a bad model apart from the planking and well made. A wash to remove the odd off-white residue that's stuck on it, a retouch of the paintwork and some subtle weathering should see it right. The wheels are good but need the back to back resetting and with new couplings to replace the Hornby?Triang metal jobs it's a good buy, I think, for something a bit different in a freight train.

 

Thanks for your input,

Pete

 

[Phil Traxson]

I heard on the grapevine that if you want bodies of these vans Adrian at ABS still has some, but he no-longer has any chassis for them as the moulds were destroyed when his moulder went bust....

 

Andy G

Great pity that as the brake gear on the chassis moulding was excellent.

 

Phil T

[petethemole]

I've just watched this go on E-bay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAJ-WAGON-KIT-L-Y-LMS-folding-door-van-00-/400615207376?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item5d4686f1d0&autorefresh=true#ht_786wt_1097

 

which is the same thing. Mine was £4.50 made up.

 

Pete

[uax6]

This thread has sort of lead me to another issue, the sad fact that people don't get any younger and Adrian at ABS must now be into his 70's. I hope that there is someone out there who has the skills and the money to take his range on when the time comes, so that we don't end up with another Nu-cast/Autocomm disappearing act.

 

Andy G

(who wishes he had both the skills and the money!)

[Sasquatch]

They were very good kits. The under frame moldings had both 10'6" and 12' solebars. Of which I found a pair in my scrap box last year so built a 1 plank.

Thinking back I took a crash course in injection molding at school, just wish that I had pursued  that now because there was an injection molding machine for sale here a short while back for $800.