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British Railways (Southern Region) - No. 2531
4w CCT (Covered Carriage Truck, built in 1955)
The late Tony Dunkley

The Southern Railway Van U was very similar in style to other SR parcels vans. A total of 390 were built to essentially the same design from 1928, continuing right into the early days of British Railways. Their end-loading doors allowed cars (or carriages) to be loaded, hence their designation CCT. This vehicle is from the very last batch, built at Lancing, having plywood rather than planked sides.

They were adaptable to many sorts of traffic, including small livestock in cages or parts of aircraft. They were rated to run in passenger trains, and often did so for parcels and newspaper traffic. Of very simple design, with the metal framing exposed, they are easy to maintain. These vans had a long life on BR, most of the later examples remaining in service into the 1980s. This vehicle is preserved by the Camelot Locomotive Society.