BRITISH RAIL developed the ‘Vanwide’ 12t ventilated van in response to customer demand for a general freight vehicle with doors wide enough for loading palleted goods. Equipped with flush fitting sliding doors on curved runners that guided the open doors along the van sides, they were ideal for loading in confined locations unlike vans with traditional barn doors.
The name ‘Vanwide’ came about through the wide nine-foot opening which made the vehicles quite useful, even after the delivery of larger capacity air braked vans. Furthermore, its short wheelbase permitted operation at loading points with sharp curves. In effect, the ‘Vanwide’ bridged the gap between traditional BR wagons and the large capacity vans of the
