White crosses on railway wagons

[GJEdmunds]

Why did railway wagons carrying coal etc have white diagonal crosses painted on their sides

 

[Ash Bridge]

Why did railway wagons carrying coal etc have white diagonal crosses painted on their sides

If a diagonal line (rather than a cross) was painted on one end of the wagon side, I think it was possibly there to denote the position of the vehicles end door if so fitted.

 

[Trog]

Why did railway wagons carrying coal etc have white diagonal crosses painted on their sides

If you mean a white diagonal line it was to show which end had the end discharge door. So staff could see at a glance that all the wagons in a train were the right way round before it started being shunted towards a tippler.

 

[edwin_m]

There was also a white V in the centre if there was a bottom door.

The only white crosses I recall were painted on, with circles round them, to indicate a condemned wagon.

 

[GJEdmunds]

yes thanks for that - that all makes sense now

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Or in certain cases - ex BR wagons sold off to the then NCB for internal use only in washery plants and coal stocking yards (to stop them creeping out onto the national network)

Quite common in places such as Onllwyn / Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen etc - as it stopped (in theory) main line wagons being used for "internal" reasons.....