Conversion of FD class louvred vans to FDP class poison vans started in 1973. This was another of those cases where classification in a different group would have been a little more logical. Class FDP were would perhaps have been better somewhere in the D group as they were not really louvred vans in the sense of the rest of the wagons in this group. However, the last group (converted in 1980) did not have the fully boarded sides of the earlier wagons and were barely distinguishable from some contemporary FD's.
Unusually, they were never painted in the Westrail yellow livery. This was probably to make them stand out (the DE class explosives vans were also never painted yellow).
All of the FDs were lettered
POISONS ONLY
RETURN EMPTY
TO KEWDALE
on the sliding door.
Conversion of the class to FDP and disposals are as follows:
