Fish and Express Parcels Vans
| One traffic that disappeared from BR was the conveyance of
fish from ports to markets, often hundreds of miles away. In later years to
keep fish fresh it was packed in boxes in ice and conveyed in insulated vans.
BR needed its own fish vans and adopted an LNER design, several hundred of
which were built at Faverdale. They were equipped with oleo buffers and
LNER-type handbrakes. When their original oil axleboxes proved unsatisfactory,
roller bearing ones were substituted and they were then marked with a large
blue spot on the body side. Note that these vans were regarded as coaching
stock, not goods.
When the fish traffic was lost these vans were put to other uses, some as goods vans, and some, refurbished, as Parcels Vans (the latter still rated as carriage stock) in plain blue livery with "Express Parcels" written on them. These were used all over the system including in Southern Region parcels trains, although they mostly retained their Eastern Region "E" prefix to their number. Known as SPV or Special Parcels Vehicle, their TOPS vehicle code was NRV. Many of the remainder were in general freight use for a few years. None was ever renumbered, so adjacent numbered vehicles could have been in freight and parcels use. The last of the Parcels allocated vehicles was withdrawn in 1981. A number existed for further years as "internal user" stock - often to be seen at the buffer stops of sidings, or grounded as stores. |
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80749 at Clapham Junction in the 1970s. This is an early example, having
been built in 1954 and shows some detail differences to later examples, e.g. in
the roof and side strapping.
photograph by John Lewis |
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photographs by John Lewis |
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| 083402 was originally insulated fish van E87720, but it was
made into an internal user van, painted olive green, numbered 083402, allocated
to East Croydon. This van is now to be found on the Bluebell Railway where it
is in use as the Tool Van for their SR hand crane.
photograph by John Lewis |
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| These vehicles were built at Faverdale Works as insulated (or "blue
spot") fish vans as follows:
In 1954-55 Nos. 87000-87499 Lot No. 30125 When in use as fish vans they ran in white livery with a "blue spot" on the body side. |
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This page was last updated 28 July 2004
