GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Leamington Shed: gwrls3003

Ex-Great Western Railway Breakdown Gang's Mess Van No W41 at Leamington Shed on 7th August 1953. The Appendix to the Service Time Table included in the March 1929 and April 1953 issues (but not March 1921) that a Breakdown Gang was stationed at ‘Leamington Spa for slight mishaps between Fenny Compton (exclusive) and Bearley (exclusive) where the use of a Crane and large staff of men is not necessary’. The main Breakdown Gang for this area was identified as being stationed at Tyseley Shed.

This Mess Van appears to be a converted forty foot Passenger Brake Van (PBV). A large number of similar PBVs (diagram K15) were built between 1890 and 1906 to accommodate passenger's luggage. The Brake Vans were forty feet long with a three centre roof outline and eight foot, six inch standard Dean suspension bogies. As built they had a luggage compartment at each end, both of which were serviced by two double doors on each side and there was a central guard's vestibule which originally had a protruding lookout on each side. This three compartment arrangement made them similar in layout to the purpose-built four wheeled Breakdown Mess Vans (see 'gwrhg3002' and 'gwrhj100a'). In the middle below the solebar is a long steel cylinder, which is the reservoir for the incandescent gas lighting. The preference for longer coaches on express services reduced the requirement for these short PBVs and they started to be withdrawn from revenue earning service in the 1930s. This allowed their conversion to other duties, such as Stores Vans and for other special purposes. For comparison an unconverted diagram K15 PBV can be seen at 'gwrbsh1781'.

Robert Ferris

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