ventilated meat van

The header raised a question.

In North America, meat and othrer perishables were, and still are, transported in reefers. During the steam age, these were all coolled by ice and or ice and brine carried in large large bunkers (usually) at each end of the reefer. These days of course, they are mechanically cooled, both rail and road reefers.

Was iced refrigeration ever used in the UK or were perishables just transported in ventilated or insulated vans with no on board refrigeration? I recall seeing both ventilated and white painted insulated vans, but never noticed if they were refrigerated or not.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

They were indeed - Originally with ice, loaded via roof hatches (look for hatches and end ladders. Later dry-ice was used and the roof hatches were dispensed with. Insulated vans were used for carrying pre-chilled meat. Having said which as the UK is fairly small a lot of meat was shipped in ventilated meat vans, fitted with hooks to hang the meat, the refrigerated vans mostly handled imported meat. Once the container was introduced this was then the preferred option for meat, reducing handling and transit time. The LSWR supplied meat to London (the biggest single market for pretty much everything in the UK) from the docks, to speed up delivery they had horse drawn road vans, these had their wheels removed and were transported beween the docks on london on rail flat cars. The flats were purpose built, notably the purpose built LSWR 'ruck' wagons, later used for meat containers and by BR for ordinary containers.

HTH

Mike

Thanks Mike.

Ian