Wooden LNER container wagon unearthed in Belgium

Archaeologists working in a field in Antwerp , Belgium, made an interesting discovery this week, when parts of a wooden-bodied wagon with ‘LNER' written across the sides, were unearthed while excavating.

The vehicle is believed to be a furniture removal container, that used to transport people's belongings when they moved house. These containers could be taken on a flatbed on a lorry or a four-wheeled wagon in a train.

Wooden containers were transported this way by rail for several years before containerisation in the 1970s and similar containers were used in the British Rail ‘Door to Door' service in the 1960s.

The wagon discovered in Belgium is 400 miles from the current LNERs headquarters in York, and the train operating company has been in touch with the team that dug up the wagon, to try and find out how this relic from LNERs previous incarnation has ended up buried underground on the other side of the channel.

The wooden containers were made of cheap wood and were not designed to last longer than 5 years or more when a new one would be made to replace them.

The fact that part of this one has survived for nearly 100 years is very good going, though having been buried for such a long time, the wood had become extremely fragile and it largely disintegrated as the archaeologists tried their best to remove it.

“We're fascinated by the history of our brand – just last year we celebrated 100 years since the LNER came into being in 1923. In our 101st year it's incredible to discover a little bit of LNER history has been buried in a field in Belgium for so many decades.”

LNER Communications Director Stuart Thomas