D Bulk Mail Van

Although VBPY and VLPY were more commonly used for parcel traffic, Bulk mail van 1D was still being used occasionally on the Overland into 1980's,  

The Y class pilot shunts 1D at Spencer Street.

This van was built at Islington workshops in 1931 to replace the mail van that was destroyed in a derailment at Callington SA in 1929. Of all steel construction, the body was of light gauge mild steel, rivetted to a centre truss type underframe, 60'11/4" long by 10' wide with a curved semi elliptical roof. The van rode on two four wheeled cast steel equalized bogies at 40' centres. The van had a capacity of 25 tons.

The van was kitbashed a few years back from an American van that had similar sides that I found in scrap box. The roof was removed from the van and replaced with the Ian Lindsay Models AW semi elliptical roof. New openings for the doors were cut into the side of the van. It was painted Tuscan with Steam Era Models decals used to label the van. 

1D behind S307 and X50 on the Up Overland at Ballarat.

S307-X50 shunted 1D onto Y152 in the No.2 Road, the Y will transfer the van to the rear of the train.

Y152 shunts 1D across Lydiard Street level crossing>

On the layout I occasionally use D1 on the Overland, substituting it for usual VBPY or VLPY van. With the resin roof its a little bit heavier than the other cars in Overland consist, which when hauled by Lima S class can cause the train struggle from the Ballarat stop. Therefore its usually only used on the Overland when its hauled by Austrains X's or Trainorama 930 class.