Clark Railworks have announced a newly tooled range of LMS 42' General Utility Vans in OO Gauge!

An octet of entrants have been selected for the initial run of GUVs, portraying the main identities worn throughout their long and interesting lives including LMS crimson lake, BR plain crimson, BR plain maroon, BR blue, BR Gulf red, BR Departmental yellow, Denparts blue and BR crimson & cream (as preserved).

Now fully tooled, we’re expecting to see decorated GUV samples this autumn, with delivery in early 2027. The new GUVs will retail at £75, and all variants are available for pre-order now (at no upfront cost) from Rails!

Spanning half a century – as well as a multitude of roles – the ex-LMS GUVs were an important player in Britain’s everyday railway landscape. They travelled to almost every corner of the country behind almost every type of engine. Recreated in model form to Clark Railworks' demanding specification, there’s never been a better time to add a GUV to your fleet – pre-order yours today!

The GUVs feature the usual Clark Railworks hallmarks of die-cast chassis, brass bearings and impeccable levels of chassis and underframe detail. They’ll be fitted with an enhanced version of their ‘ultraflex’ vacuum pipes and – like all their wagons – will be easily convertible to EM or P4 gauges.

Real-life GUVs were a varied bunch; correspondingly, no two of our eight models are the same, with subtle variations to bogies, roof vents and bodyside panelling according to how – and when – they were used.

The LMS constructed 240 42ft bogie parcels vans between 1933 and 1937, at both Derby and Wolverton works. Classified as Non Passenger Coaching Stock, they were known as Covered Carriage Trucks (CCT) at the time and were designed to carry parcels and luggage alongside other general goods. They often ran in dedicated parcels trains but were sometimes included in passenger services, where their coach-like profile ensured they blended in well.

All vehicles wore LMS crimson lake livery when new, with those built in 1933/34 treated to bodyside lining, which was abandoned for non-passenger stock thereafter. Aluminium roofs gave them a rather dashing appearance; this lasted for a few weeks, when – in common with most of the railway landscape of the era – silver turned to soot!

The CCTs became known as General Utility Vans (GUV) when absorbed into British Railways after 1948 and are generally referred to as such today. Crimson became maroon and then blue, with many of these well-built, compact and useful vans frequenting the main line well into the 1970s. Some took up Departmental duties (including work in breakdown trains and with steam cranes) while others became permanent fixtures in sidings, yards and stations as stores vehicles. Three 42ft GUVs have been preserved, all of them in Scotland.