GwL

The GwL class vans of the Royal Bavarian State Railways were goods vans built for branch lines in the Kingdom of Bavaria in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Procurement
The branch lines in Bavaria were generally known as Lokalbahnen, literally "local railways", and were of particularly light construction entailing the use of lightweight rolling stock. Between 1884 and 1906, 258 vans of the class GwL were built for this purpose in a number of batches each with a different designation.

Description
The GwL class were covered vans which had the appearance of Lokalbahn coaching stock, including similar lettering. The vans were had open platforms at both ends. Access to the loading area was either via a pair of hinged doors or a single door in the centre of the side walls. On either side of the doors was a window. The wheelbase of the earliest vans was 3.63 m, but was later increased to 3.8 and eventually 4.5 m. The overall length also increased from 8.224 m to 8.624 m.

Literature

 * Konrad, Emil (1984). Die Reisezugwagen der deutschen Länderbahnen, Band 2: Bayern, Württemberg, Baden. Stuttgart: Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung W.Keller & Co. ISBN 9783440053270