CIE bulk grain vans - a study of the variations

[Mol_PMB]

I'm presently modelling a flour mill so thoughts are turning to the grain deliveries. I'm spoilt for choice really, with IRM producing the CIE design grain hopper, JM Design and now Enda producing the GSR/Ranks design, and Provincial Wagons producing a GNR van that can be converted to their design of grain hopper. I'm intending to have some examples of all of these. Possibly also some grain containers.

Recently I've been looking in more detail at the CIE grain hoppers which were based on the H van design. There are some comments on the forum already about some of the variations of these. I may have answered some questions but uncovered some other queries! I'll jot down my thoughts in this thread.

Pender & Richards (1967) say:

Bulk Grain Wagons. The three groups are conversions from standard wagons, the doors of which have been welded up. They have roof fillers and are of the bottom gravity discharge type. They work over various parts of the system.

Their wagon listing includes:

• ·        23901-23950 [total 50], Bulk Grain introduced 1956. Ex series 17222 vans.
• ·        23967-23996 [total 30], Bulk Grain introduced 1961. Ex series 18862 vans.
• ·        25021-25040 [total 20], Bulk Grain introduced 1963/4. Ex series 18862 vans.

This indicates that all three batches were conversions. The 17222 and 18862 series H vans were very similar, with only subtle details such as the position of worksplates to distinguish them. The 17222 series was introduced in 1953/4 and the 18862 series in 1958/62. All were unfitted, but there were some variations in the arrangement of brake rigging (2 or 4 blocks).

Regarding liveries, all would have been grey originally. The first batch would definitely have carried the flying snail logo. The last batch would have probably had the roundel applied when converted. The middle batch would have been in the transition period but probably carried the snail. From 1970, some received the brown livery with roundel.

 

Irish Railway Models datasheet (2024) says:

Distinguished from standard H vans by the presence of walkways and manholes on the roof, along with bodyside access ladders and an unloading chute on the underside, 56 of these wagons were produced by Inchicore in 1955. However, the level of traffic called for several standard H vans to be converted to bulk grain wagons over the coming years, with 29 being reconstructed in 1961 and a further 20 following in 1964.

The IRM models are numbered as follows:

• ·      Snail livery: 23901 / 23928 / 23934 (i.e. all the 1956 batch)
• ·        Grey roundel livery: 23945 / 23952 / 23956 (i.e. at the end of the 1956 batch)
• ·        Brown roundel livery: 25027 / 25033 / 25039 (i.e. all the 1963/4 batch)

 

Although they tell basically the same story, these two accounts are not entirely consistent in the quantities involved, nor whether the first batch were built new or converted. The number series 23951-23956 is vacant in the Pender & Richards listing so there might have been 56 in the first batch - some of the IRM models are numbered in this extended range.

Looking at photos I have identified a number of detail differences among these bulk grain hoppers. They include:

• Ladders - 0, 1 or 2 per wagon
• Roof catwalks - at least two different styles
• Hopper door release mechanism - at least two types
• Side doors - sealed, or removed and plated over
• Brakes - 2 shoe or 4 shoe handbrakes

In some cases there is a pattern to be discerned, in other cases there are some mysteries!

[Mol_PMB]

This NLI photo is dated 1958 and therefore these vans are definitely from the first batch:

https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000303852        

• Four vans are visible, all with roofwalks that have continuous planks the full length of the van (not the same as the IRM model).
• Two vans have ladders on the near corner. The other two do not. When the first batch of vans were built, did some vans have ladders and others not? Or did they have just one ladder, and whether we see it depends on the orientation of the van in the photo? This is a question I have not been able to answer definitively. I do think more ladders were added later.
• All the vans have a vertical rib below the middle of the doors, which can be seen quite clearly here including a diagonal brace. There appears to be a handle and a horizontal rod to the chute hatch so I think this is associated with opening the chute door. It's very likely that this arrangement was repeated on both sides, since we can see it on all 4 vans here. (note for comparison: GSR bulk grain vans had a ladder on one side, and the chute door release on the opposite side). 
• All these vans have a 4-shoe brake arrangement, with the brake blocks outboard of the wheels. This arrangement was used on Bulleid triangulated underframes under many types of wagon (corrugated open, H van, flat etc) but was superseded by the 2-shoe arrangement.
• Of these four vans, all retain their side doors but they are now sealed up.
• All the vans have the classic H-van sides with a grid of bolt heads. I believe these were used to secure internal shelving on the H vans, but would be redundant on a grain hopper. In my mind this is circumstantial evidence that the grain hoppers were all converted from H vans, rather than built new. 

This photo probably represents the as-built state of most of the first batch. Some or all may have been modified later.