Anybody ever seen one of these and know what it is or was used for

As per the title has anybody ever seen one of these and know what it is, or what it was used for


its a BR(WR) steel box with a very specific outline, it has BR (WR) in raised lettering on the front i am discounting tool box as it is to deep to be practical and the inside is fairly clean and i would expect most of the paint to have gone if used for tools, its very sturdy heavy gauge steel and has no fixing holes so was not intended to be fixed permanently anywhere with a carry handle on top and at both ends, inside had traces of a oily substance on the floor (wondering if evaporated spilt paraffin) I have been through all the books in my library that have anything to do with BR (WR) or GWR and have not come across it in any pics. oh nearly forgot, the band you see around the base strengthens it and also keeps the base of the box off the floor by about 1/2"

size is 18.5" high 9" deep and 17.5" Long

the pic below shows the box open with a WR style rear lamp to give an idea of size and what may fit in it, in fact i was wondering if this was its function as another lamp will fit in there just not sure if the handles will live with each other as the lid will not close if the handle is up more.



I am open to ideas or better still facts regarding it, i have spent over a week going through every book in my library dealing with BR Western Region as well as many hours of searching online and come up with nothing

many thanks for taking the time to read the thread

Is it for holding loco headlamps? These tended to have fixed handles and were, I think, slightly smaller than tail lamps. If it held headlamps then either it protected them on the footplate when the loco was out of service or may have been a way of issuing them from stores, but I'll admit this is a bit of a guess, being more accustomed to LMS/BR(M) things.

Thanks, I must admit i do not have a clue, the lamps is just a guess based on the oily deposit found in the base, but considering most steam engines except the smaller ones had 2 or 3 spare brackets on the engineers side of the footplate near the smoke box it seems unlikely, its also way over the sort of gauge i would have expected for something like a lamp, i have seen film of the crew picking up lamps for their shift and they were always loose, but on the other hand as a toolbox its to deep, any tools near the bottom would have been impossible to extract and i would have expected more internal paint damage, which leaves something carried that was specialized, but that is the reason for the thread, hopefully someone will have been around these, cannot believe its a one off and knows what it was for, as is may be a good place to store all my rule books , operating manuals, diagram books etc.

Another thought - possibly contained a hydraulic re-railing jack or something similar? That too would leave oily deposits and would need to be protected in transit.

Looks a bit lightweight for a rerailing jack.
Think of the weight on the rivets on the end handles.

Fireproof document file?

Thanks, both good ideas, i never considered hydraulic oil, but have to agree on weight, it is substantially built but there is a handle on top of the lid as well which you can lift it by and all the weight from the contents would in effect be passed down to the hasp, so i am guessing we could still be talking hydraulic but lighter than jacks

Interestingly another one of these has turned up on ebay, its pretty ratty condition wise but does show its not a one off, the seller has no idea what it was for either, but i am still looking

based on practice elsewhere I'd guess at a fireproof holder for oil cans. The taper on the lid would fit the conical top of an old galvanised can. Looks big enough to hold two or three. Lamp oil maybe?

randyrippley said:

based on practice elsewhere I'd guess at a fireproof holder for oil cans. The taper on the lid would fit the conical top of an old galvanised can. Looks big enough to hold two or three. Lamp oil maybe?

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Thank you for that idea, sounds very plausable, would account for the shape and the oily deposit found inside as well as the heavy construction of the case along with the handles fixings not being made, it looks like, to carry anything really heavy.

found these photos on Google, kind of cans I'm thinking of
these all seem to be items for sale online

Thanks for the pics, that is what i have been looking for on ebay to get some dimensions, but the 2 on there at the moment do not state their sizes and are a bit battered, i missed out buying a really nice pair of them a few weeks ago, did not bid high enough, wont make that mistake again. so i keep looking for a nice example and i now may have a place to put one if i win one, only way to check it out is by actually placing one inside to see

re the pics above, i found one on ebay today like the first one of the two, and its dimensions are just about right for two to fit inside, i have it coming and when i have it i can take a pic with the can in and hopefully we will have the answer.

the kerosene can arrived today and here is a pic of it in the case, there is not enough room for 2 of them but upon thinking about it, i think it would be nigh on impossible to fill an oil lamp directly from the can so perhaps the rest of the space was for a smaller can and a filling spout to enable the kerosene to be poured from the main can to a smaller one to top up lamps, the lid shuts ok and suits the profile of the can which is identical to the first pic in post 10.