WAGONPLATES

 
A brief History

Wagon identification plates were used to show the owner, the load limit and to show when the wagon was last overhauled. The big 4 owners showed GWR, LMS, SR & LNER followed by a number. After Nationalisation new wagons introduced had just one prefix letter B. The most common plates are D shaped as shown below.

 Many Companies also had their own wagons and these would have their name on them - other plates would show the builder plus there were repair plates. These come in many different styles and shapes and make a good starting point for a collection as most are very reasonable priced due to the fact that a great number survived. Some examples are shown below.

Because of the large number of wagons that were used on the Railways there are plenty of Wagonplates that survived when these wagons were scrapped. Prices vary but with a minimum price of around £10 this can be a good way to start collecting Railwayana before you start buying Loco nameplates!! Try to avoid any that are damaged unless they are very unusual.

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