General Utility Van
Encyclopedia
A General Utility Van is a type of rail vehicle built by British Rail
and its predecessors, which was primarily used for transporting mail and parcels. They were used by both Express Parcels Systems
, the British
Post Office
and Railtrack
. National Rail
and some Train Operating Companies still use them.
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and its predecessors, which was primarily used for transporting mail and parcels. They were used by both Express Parcels Systems
Rail Express Systems
Upon the sectorisation of British Rail during the 1980s the Parcels Sector was created. In 1991 this was rebranded Rail Express Systems. The Rail Express Systems launch event was held at Crewe Diesel Depot in October 1991. For this event examples of Class 08, 47, 86 & 90 locomotives were painted...
, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
. National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
and some Train Operating Companies still use them.
Fleet details
| Number range | Previous number range | TOPS code | Primary use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80250-80259 | - | NPX | Post Office van | Converted from 940xx range |
| 93000-93999 | 86000-86999 | NJ or NK | Mail van | - |
| 94000-94034 | 85500-85534 | NLX | Newspaper van | Converted from 86xxx range |
| 94050-94078 | - | NMV | Newspaper van | Converted from 93xxx range |
| 94100-94229 | - | NKA | Mail van (high-security) | Rebuilt from 93xxx, 951xx and 953xx ranges |
| 95100-95199 | - | NOX | Mail van (100 mph) | Converted from 93xxx range |
| 95350-95374 | - | NOX | Mail van (100 mph) | Converted from 93xxx range |
| 95715-95763 | - | NOA | Mail van (High-security) | Rebuilt from 951xx range |
| 96100-96195 | - | NX | Motorail van | Converted from 93xxx range |
| 96210-96218 | - | NPA | Motorail van (110 mph) | Converted from 961xx range |
| 96602-96609 | - | NVA | Motorail van | Rebuilt from 961xx range |