Open Goods Wagons

When the L&NWR was formed in 1846 it inherited the wagon stock of its constituent companies. Out of a total stock of 6236 wagons, the Opens totalled 4874. Only a little is known about these vehicles and their study is beyond the scope of this work. In 1859 the company decided that the new standard wagon size should measure, internally, 15ft x 7ft 1in with a depth of 9in and a wheelbase of 9ft. The planks were 3in thick so the external length amounted to 15ft 6in. The external width was 7ft 8in, (7ft 2in inside). Hundreds of wagons to this standard design were built annually until 1887, by which time about 20,000 were in use, and the 13,000 or so still extant when the wagon diagram book was drawn-up in 1903 were designated Diagram 1.