Liveries

A full description of all variety of liveries carried by the range of specialised wagons, such as the special cattle wagons, is beyond the scope of this short dissertation. For these details the reader is referred to "LNWR Liveries" by Talbot, Millard, Dow and Davis and published by HMRS in 1985. It is sufficient here to say that all ordinary wagons were painted a dark grey colour, derived from equal measures of white and black paint. All iron work below the solebar, including buffer heads and couplings were painted black when they left the workshop but were quickly weathered once in service. Until 1908 the only mark of ownership was the two white diamonds painted on the side planking and a cast iron plate at the centre of the solebar, displaying the letters L.N.W. and the number of the vehicle. After that date the letters LNWR were added to the side planking of all newly painted vehicles and from about 1912 onwards the white diamonds gradually fell out of use. Perusal of a few photographs will soon show the reader how these were applied to the various types of wagon. The number of the wagon headed by the letters L.N.W. was carried on a cast iron plate bolted to the centre of the solebar. It was also painted on the top plank at each end of the wagon between the stanchions. Only in the last few years of the company was it painted on the left-hand side of the wagon on the lowest plank.