nzr_d_wagon

Class D (class G before 1900) NZR type vans

This class consisted of 75 wagons built in 1894-1895 to a design which originated in New Zealand. They arrived in two batches. Bristol Carriage and wagon Co built numbers 558-582 in 1894 and these were followed by 1178-1201 and 1329-1354 from Gloucester RCWCo in 1895. In 1896 six of these vans (574, 577, 581, 1178, 1188, 1348) were altered to E class cold storage vans. Numbers 560, 568 and 570 had all disappeared by 1900 and must either have been sold or destroyed in accidents.

In 1901 numbers 572, 1181, 1184, 1186, 1199, 1340, 1341 and 1351 were noted as to be used on express trains only whilst in 1903 numbers 1180, 1183, 1345, 1353 were noted as being for use on mail trains.

A very battered old van (1343) at Woodman's point

The record cards note that between 1909 and 1913 some of these vans were rebuilt (in what way is unknown). The vans involved were:

1909	1910	1912	1913
565, 1196	562	559	1200

In 1914 number 575 became a DW class workmen's van but returned to class D in 1937 when 1335 was written off. In the same year 1341 was transferred to the WAGR saw-mill stock. In 1939 558, which was on the Port Hedland railway, was converted into an H class lowsided wagon. D564 was the van used on the Hopetoun line and was written off when that line closed in 1943. There was then a steady decline in numbers as vans were written off:

1939	1940	1943	1948	1949	1950	1951
579	1331	564	1196	565	567, 1194	1330

However this decline was to some extent when a number of A class horseboxes on the NZR type underframe were converted to D class vans. These were 5116, 5119, 5120, 5121, 5126, 5128, 5129, 5130, 5132 in 1943 and 5115, 5117, 5136 in 1951. They differed slightly from the standard vans in having a higher roof.

In 1953 there was a more drastic change when 563, 573, 575, 1187, 1195, 1201, 1332, 1339, 1342, 1345, 1350, 1352, 5120 and 5132 all passed into workmen's stock as class DW vans.

The photo shows 5120 as a DW.

Other vans also went into workmen's stock over the years:

1954	1957	1960	1961
572, 5116	1197	1193	1190

However another group of vans were re-bodied in the same year and given a new lease of life. These were 559, 566, 1181, 1184, 1185, 1189, 1191, 1198, 1334, 1336, 1340, 1345 and 1351 and 5119. It is not clear to me whether this involved larger style bodies or just new bodies of the same old type. The following year write-offs started again:

1954	562, 582, 1182, 1329, 1333, 1346, 1349, 1353, 1354	1962	576, 1337
1955	561, 569, 1199, 1200, 1338, 5128	1966	5115
1956	5129, 5136	1968	1344
1957	578, 1180, 1186, 1192, 1347, 5121	1969	559, 1185, 1198, 1336
1958	571, 5119	1970	1351
1960	1179	1972	1181, 1184, 1189
1961	580	1977	1340

The other fate for these vans was use as DE class explosives vans. Reclassifications to DE were as follows:

1954	1183	1961	580
1957	1343, 5130	1964	1191
1959	5117, 5126	1971	566, 1334