The covered ventilated van was an extremely common sight across the country during the time of the ‘Big Four’, with each company inheriting a plethora of vans from the pre-grouping operators, as well as creating their own. Thousands were built to various designs with the intention that they would carry all manner of goods – from canned food and bananas to cement and fertiliser. The model depicted here is an LMS grey example with running number 581932.

Model Specification:

• Crisp plank detailing
• Detailed underframe
• Separately fitted brake equipment
• Kinematic NEM couplings
• Recommended for use on 2nd radius curves or higher, but capable of traversing 1st radius.

Livery:

• LMS Grey
• Accurate colours and typefaces used
• Satin finish
• Era 3.

History:

Ventilated vans were used to transport perishable goods and the LMS inherited a wide variety of these from its constituent companies, such as the Midland Railway and London & North Western Railway. It went on to introduce its own standard types between the war years and these survived in large numbers into BR days, and with users such as the Ministry of Defence.