Rather like breakfast cereal companies here, UK cigarette manufacturers included collector cards in their packs. This Wills cigarette card shows one of the GWR's chocolate and cream liveried railcars, inspired, like other European railcars of the 1930s, by the German "Flying Hamburger".
They wore this colour scheme until the GWR was nationalised to become part of British Rail in 1947 after which they were re-painted in a maroon and cream livery. The 38 GWR Railcars built 1934-1942 became known as the "Flying Bananas" and served until the last was retired in 1962. The clip belows shows No. 22, presered operational at the Didcot Railway Centre.
An unusual feature was the external Cardan Shaft drive from the gearbox on the rear of a horizontally-mounted engine to road-vehicle style reduction boxes outboard of the two axles on one bogie. Later units had two such engine and drive combinations placed on opposite sides. Railcars 19-20 were fitted with a separate high-low ratio gearbox on the final drive side of the gearbox.
Specifications of GWR Railcar No. 1
Built: 1934Engine: 8.85 litre AEC diesel
Length over buffers: 63 feet 7 inches (19.38 metres)
Bogie centres: 40 feet (12.19 metres)
Bogie wheelbase: 7 feet (2.13 metres)
Seating capacity: 69
Fuel tank: 45 imperial gallons (193 litres)
Weight: 24 tons
Maximum speed: 63 mph (101 km/h)
Withdrawn: 1955
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