B 159

ID/Name: B159
Type:  Goods Wagon
Description: General Purpose Box Van
Built: 1959
Status: Departmental service

HISTORY

B vans were built between 1958 and 1961 to provide additional carrying capacity when many of the older open wagons and louver vans were being scrapped in the late 1950’s.  The B vans were constructed at Bendigo North Workshops with new steel bodies on the old underframes of scrapped vehicles.

The original plan was for 500 vans.  This was later reduced to 400, but construction stopped after 350 were built. 

By the early 1980's, most B vans were being scrapped with some in use as service vans for the Way and Works Branch.

Up until the deregulation of transport in 1974, they carried one of the most important supplies to country Victoria, beer.