Brief History Of The Class.
The first Victorian Railways guards vans were coded "D". Construction of these vans was nearly continuous between 1858 and 1891 and the last "D" vans were built in early 1907. By this time, the number group was 1 - 265, with many of the earlier vans having been scrapped and replaced by new vans with the same number.
In 1910, many of the wagon codes were altered and the "D" vans were re-coded to "Z". Guards vans constructed or converted to this same basic design after 1911 were also coded "Z". By the time construction stopped in the 1950's, there were nearly 750 of these vans in service.
When diesels were introduced in the 1950's, they were fitted with auto couplers but many passenger cars were still fitted with screw couplings. A number of "Z" vans were fitted with dual couplers and lettered with a large "P" in the corner. These vans ballasted with three tons of rail to improve ride quality. The rails were laid along the floor with a false floor covering them. From 1956, these vans were re-coded to "ZP" and were used on passenger trains. They were authorised for a maximum speed of 60mph. In the 1970's the remaining "ZP" vans had the ballast removed and were re-coded to "ZD".
In the 1950's, the removal of buffers allowed more slack between vehicles. On long freight trains, this caused rough riding in the guards van. By 1957, the guards and their unions were complaining about the hazard of slack action at the rear of trains. In an effort to find a solution, the Victorian Railways converted 742Z to a bogie guards van in 1958. It re-entered service as 742ZZ and was used in a series of experiments. It would appear that they were not successful because it was in storage at Newport workshops by mid 1959.
Another option was tried, and this was judged to be a success. A specially lengthened auto coupler shank was fitted to about 300 "Z" vans between 1959 and 1965. These vans were re-coded to "ZL", the "L" denoting the long shank coupler. To achieve a speedy turnover most of the underframes were rotated. When a van came into the workshops for service, its body was lifted off and placed onto a modified underframe. The remaining underframe was then modified and placed under the next van body.
The few remaining unmodified "Z" vans were located at major loco depots and used in breakdown trains. Many "ZL" and "ZD" vans survived until the complete withdrawal of all guards vans from freight trains in the mid 1980's.
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References:
"But it's just a Guards Van!", The Turntable, CHTR, Autumn 2001.
Vincent, Peter, "D / Z - Fixed wheel Guards Van", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
Vincent, Peter, "ZL - Guards Van", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
