New Rapido LMS 12T vans revealed

Available to pre-order now priced at £32.95 and due to arrive at the beginning of 2025, the new models will feature the usual wealth of detail, including separately fitted parts such as grab handles, full external and underframe details, brass bearings, NEM coupling pockets and a high-quality livery application.

Available models

• SKU 970001: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (pre-36) No.200009
• SKU 970002: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (pre-36) No.143116
• SKU 970003: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (pre-36) No.133592
• SKU 970004: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (post-36) No.5803
• SKU 970005: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (post-36) No.158995
• SKU 970006: LMS D1663 Van - LMS (post-36) No.148117
• SKU 970007: LMS D1663 Van - BR No.M306611
• SKU 970008: LMS D1663 Van - BR No.M5823
• SKU 970009: LMS D1663 Van - BR No.M133555
• SKU 970010: LMS D1663 Van - BR No.M132445
• SKU 970011: LMS D1663 Van - BR Departmental No.DM155543
• SKU 970101: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (pre-36) No.155005
• SKU 970102: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (pre-36) No.172239
• SKU 970103: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (pre-36) No.203837
• SKU 970104: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (post-36) No.156079
• SKU 970105: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (post-36) No.186772
• SKU 970106: LMS D1832A Van - LMS (post-36) No.202942
• SKU 970107: LMS D1832A Van - BR No.M283704
• SKU 970108: LMS D1832A Van - BR No.M182378
• SKU 970109: LMS D1832A Van - BR No.M170019
• SKU 970110: LMS D1832A Van - BR No.M203310
• SKU 970111: LMS D1832A Van - BR Departmental No.DM179979
• SKU 970112: LMS D1832A Van - BR Departmental No.DM150756

About the prototype

Following the grouping of the railways in 1923, the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish Railway inherited a host of ageing and dilapidated freight stock from their pre-grouping predecessors.

To remedy this and remain competitive, the LMS undertook a massive modernisation program of its freight stock, though many of the designs were either adapted or simply copied from pre-grouping companies a swathe of brand-new prototypes started rolling off the production line in late 1923. The humble box van was no exception.

Production of the newly conceived 9ft wheelbase Dia.1663 12-Ton Vans began in 1924, and 850 wagons were produced over 2 years. Standing out amongst a sea of hinged doored and wooden-ended vans, the Dia.1663 vans featured a stylish sliding door, corrugated steel ends, and external steel cross braces at one end to facilitate the clearance of the sliding doors.

The LMS had a habit of applying new diagram numbers to almost identical prototypes that featured only minor differences, and the sliding door 12-Ton Vans of the 1920s and 30s were no different.

Much like their earlier counterparts, the Dia.1832A 12-ton vans had the same sliding door, 9ft wheelbase, corrugated steel end, and cross-brace design, however, they also featured a single ventilator bonnet at either end. Some variants were produced with roof vents for extra ventilation. The Dia.1832A were then fitted with different headstocks and buffers. With added ventilation, a greater variety of freight traffic could be transported throughout the LMS network and beyond.

This later diagram clearly refined the design as a whopping 3,450 vans were built between 1929 and 1931.

Surviving into the late years of Nationalisation, both the LMS D1832A and D1663 12-Ton Vans could be found up and down the country, some still soldiered on in departmental use way into the 1970s.

Your weekly World of Railways newsletter

Are you subscribed to our weekly email newsletter? Don't miss the latest news, reviews, modelling advice and competitions.