iak wrote:For sure engineering stock would be pretty bashed up but considering what they did and so on, corrosion would have been about and pretty badly at times I'll wager
I agree entirely. I was just making the point that the
pattern of internal corrosion, as shown in Andrew's picture, seems to be limited exclusively to wagons used for coal traffic, the accelerated corrosion on the lower areas of sides and end being due to the nature of the load.
Incidentally, it is also fairly time specific. Originally these wagons would have been descaled and repainted at five year intervals [at least that was what BR intended]. Replating would have taken place sometime in the early 1960s, since the expected body panel life was no more than 15 years. By then the repainting interval was 7 years [from 1962], although all routine repainting was abandoned later in the 1960s, apart from repairs. The vehicle has clearly been in service for several years after the replating, suggesting a photograph date in the late 1960s or possibly the early 1970s. Photographs from the 1950s, when repainting was officially still being carried out, usually show rather more paint and less visible rust, at least externally [the inside is rarely visible].
Noel