START AGAIN . . . AND AGAIN

Believe it or not . . . NYMR workers take a break from renovating the last surviving LNER Fish Van No E75169. Built in 1949, it used to be a member of a sizeable fleet of fish van, serving the UK East Coast ports. It was often tagged onto passenger trains, although there were also numerous complete fish van trains from ports such as Aberdeen, Hull and Grimsby. At the time there was around 2,000 tons of fish moved daily.
Full History below for those who want more . . . this fishy tail is in the tale, otherwise, stay safe !
E75169 was built at Faverdale Works, Darlington, in 1949, so it was built in BR days, but to an LNER design. Fish van days were numbered in the early 1960s. The advent of the refrigerated lorry, plus freezing of fish at plants near the ports, rapidly spelt the end for the long-lived fish van.
And now a mystery! This van was condemned for demolition in Doncaster in 1964. However, they used it as a works van and then a static storage facility. Records show that DE75169 was condemned for a second time on May 26, 1972 and broken up in the Works on June 7, 1972. Oh, no, it wasn’t! In fact, the van managed to survive in the Works yard for another 15 years. Finally, it September 1987, it was sold to the Nene Valley Railway. At Wansford, it was kitted out as a volunteer accommodation with a partition and sleeping facilities! A change of ownership saw it sold  in late 2008 and E 75169 arrived at Pickering by road on January 29, 2009.
When complete will be immediately visible, as it will be painted white – this was done originally, of course, to reflect the sun’s heat. It will carry the self explanatory lettering ‘INSULFISH’ as well as the elite letters ‘XP’ which denote it was allowed to work with passenger trains at express passenger speed.

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