Thank you The Johnster for your very helpful information. I wonder, has anyone written a proper book on the Queen Mary's?, as they surely deserve one. I once read somewhere that the SR guards once commented that these wonderful bogeyed brake vans were 'fit for a queen' to ride on, and that is where the name comes from. Can anyone confirm this, as I've noticed that so many people ask where the name comes from.
Also, given that the wooden bodies of planked brakevans could be prone to draughts as they got older, could this be a reason why some of the Queen Mary's bodies were part-plated, especially as these were for fast goods trains ie. the higher the speed, the stronger the draughts!! And of course the GW Toads were part-plated.
