Rapido Trains OO 944027 Port of London Authority A73 GWR Diagram V16 MINK Ventilated Box Van PLA Bauxite

In 1912 the GWR standardised the twin-bonnet pattern end for their ventilated box vans which continued until after nationalisation. The first vans with the revised end were given diagrams V14 for vans with vacuum train brakes for express goods trains and V16 for the unfitted version. 5,506 'fitted vans were built along with 2,759 unfitted before the underframe was changed to a 10-feet wheelbase in the mid-1920s. The majority of these vans remained in service at nationalisation, though their older 9-feet wheelbase chassis demoted them from express goods service.
This model replicates a diagram V16 van sold to the Port of London Authority and numbered PLA A73. Bauxite livery.