GWR Container

{{Short description|British railway company's goods containers}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}

Between WWI and WWII, the Great Western Railway developed the use of containers that could be packed and locked at a client's premises, taken by lorry to a station, then carried by train and again by lorry to the final destination. Using these containers, they offered a door-to-door removals service, providing a team to pack the furniture, and a discount on fares to the destination.{{sfn|Russell|1983|pp=201–203}} Some containers could carry up to 72 bicycles.{{sfn|Atkins|Beard|Hyde|Tourret|1976|p=36}} Insulated containers, cooled by boxes of ice, were used to transport flower bulbs and other perishable items.{{sfn|Russell|1983|p=203}}

Originally such containers were carried on general-purpose flat trucks and wagons, but from 1931 the GWR built or converted a number of special purpose flat-bedded wagons, provided with chains for securing the load. They were called by the telegraphic code Conflat, and most of them were fitted with vacuum brakes.{{sfn|Atkins|Beard|Hyde|Tourret|1975|p=38}}{{sfn|Atkins|Beard|Hyde|Tourret|1976|pp=35–36}}

In 1930 the railway introduced 100 containers primarily for building materials.{{sfn|SydneyMorningHerald1930}}

• External size: {{convert|2235|x|1334|mm|ftin|frac=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} height {{convert|1|ft|6+1/2|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
• Internal size: {{convert|2134|x|1219|mm|ftin|frac=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} height {{convert|1|ft|3|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
• Capacity: {{long ton|1|10}}, tare weight {{long ton||6}}