LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
LMS Route: Nuneaton to Leamington

Coventry Shed: lnwrcov4085

A rake of empty LNWR four-plank 'Loco' coal wagons stand on Coventry shed's coaling road in 1911. On the side of the wagons is the LNWR diamond, often referred to as the 'LNWR diamond illiterate sign'. The description arising from the belief that the diamond made it easy for illiterate people to identify the LNWR wagon. Philip Millard of the LNWR society writes, 'it is by no means generally accepted that the diamond marks were "illiterate" symbols. Many people believe that they were simply what today would be called "logos". Even before the 1870 Education Act made primary education compulsory, most children received a basic education ("The three R's) in church schools. I would have thought that the railway would not employ anybody who was illiterate, except perhaps in the lowest grade of labouring jobs. The object of the marks was to enable staff to easily recognise wagons belonging to that company (rather than attempting to read the cast iron plate on the solebar, often in the dark). It was important for an LNWR staitonmaster to easily recognise non-LNWR wagons which if detained would incur demurrage charges. And LNWR wagons needed to be sent on (empty) to their next destination or place where they were required. The Shell logo is not intended to enable illiterate motorists to identify Shell filling stations!'

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