GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Handsworth & Smethwick: gwrhs2641

Handsworth and Smethwick goods shed was extended in 1926 by the construction of a platform approximately 120 feet long on the Birmingham side of the Goods Shed. The platform had a timber boarded surface to provide some protection to the goods if they were dropped and along its entire length was a glazed umbrella style canopy. This photograph was taken in February 1933 and shows wagons on the tracks that run through the old goods shed on the left. There was also a siding on the other side of the platform, under where the horse drawn carts are being loaded. The sidings in the background are on the goods yard’s mileage sidings.

The wooden covered goods van (telegraphic code - Mink) being unloaded is No 93552 built to diagram V16 under Lot L763 for total of 225 covered goods vans. There were 2,959 of these diagram V16 Mink A wagons built between 1912 and 1923. They were sixteen foot long over their headstocks with a nine foot wheelbase, the maximum height inside was seven foot, seven inches and the door aperture was six foot, one inch high by four foot, ten inches wide. They had a capacity of 880 cubic feet and those built before 1921 were rated to carry ten tons. The end bonnets (two on each end) had sliding shutters which were individually controlled by external handles and this qualified the wagons to be called ventilated and have the suffix A applied to the telegraphic code. As built these Mink A wagons had Dean-Churchward (DC3) brakes and were unfitted.

Robert Ferris

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