I need help from those experts on rolling stock in the audience.
I just picked up a lot of three old Mini-Models MLV louvre van kits on ebay, and am looking for additional information on the prototypes of these cars.
From what I can gather, the models were based on a 25-car order of aluminum bodied 40' wagons constructed sometime in the 1950s. A photograph of one of these cars in new condition, 25693, is displayed in Preston's "Goods Train" and the accompanying caption says these cars were painted in the same maroon of the passenger equipment they often accompanied. There is no mention of these cars (at least explicitly) in Beckhaus' NSWGR 1982 rolling stock book.
A photo of the same car in latter day service is found on Rob O'Reagan's exhaustive photo site, taken in Albury in 1979. It appears by this date that electrical conduits for power to the train's hotel services have been fitted to the solebars of the car, and it now rides on modern roller-bearing trucks. It's tough to say looking at a black and white photograph, but it would appear the car has been repainted in gun-metal grey.
The Mini-Models kit includes a decal for number 25677; given that this car was produced in a 25-car lot, and the O'Reagan photo depicts the 25693, I'm assuming the cars were numbered in the 25675-25699 series.
Does anyone have any further information on this series of cars? Their paint scheme?
I really only need one of these cars for the railroad; I'd be willing to swap my two extra kits for a pair of AR Kits MLV cars, which would give me a good representation of three different styles of cars thus coded.
2 comments:
Blair,
A very informative article on the NSWGR Aluminum MLV by Paul Rogers along with an excellent Roger Porter drafted plan (including an underframe plan) with details appeared in AMRM #115 - August 1982
My understanding is that originally the vans were painted a silver colour to increase / improve their ventilation capabilities.
No doubt as time passed they were repainted into gunmetal grey etc.
Preston is correct in that several were painted in to passenger stock colours and the through conduit along the van side you note was for the electrical connection from the locomotive on heated passenger services to the likes of Cooma (willing to stand corrected on this)
Hope this helps,
Regards
Tom.
Tom is pretty much correct Blair. The aluminium MLVs were numbered 25675-25699 and entered service between May 1947 and December 1948. They were initially outshoped with a silver body and a black underframe and fitted with hook and buffer drawgear, as they were designed to be attached to passenger trains for parcels traffic. It seems that they were repainted Gunmetal grey and fitted with automatic couplers sometime between the 1950s and when I saw them in the late 1970s. The electrical cabling was fitted to 25681, 25685 and 25693 around 1964 for use on electrically heated trains, such as the Cooma mail.
The August 1982 issue is still available as a back issue, for the princely sum of $au1.80 (plus postage) from the AMRM site: www.australianmodelrailways.com I would definitely recommend getting the back issue, as the drawing is one of the best ever published in AMRM and will allow you to detail the model to your heart's desire. The girls at the office will have the magazine posted to you within a day or so of your ordering it on the net!
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