Description:Two Bass Malt Vans being shunted by a David Brown tractor mounted on bufferboards. In the background Steam Loco. No.4 is shunting a demountable tank wagon.
These 2 all steel riveted bulk malt vans were built by Hurst Nelson for Bass in 1956. Nos 1 and 5 in the photo were part of a batch of 6. They had 2 compartments. They were loaded through roof hatches, hence the walkway on top of the vans. They were discharged from the hopper using the handwheel to open a slide valve. Malt would fall into a pit between the rails which would have contained an auger screw or a cyclone to move the malt into the brewery. The square plate bolted to the side is an access opening for maintenance. The access plate for the other compartment is on the opposite side. They were for internal use only.
Research John Hancock