Rapido Trains UK has revealed that it has added further liveries to its upcoming range of Great Western Railway five-plank opens and ‘Mink A’ vans which now include the Diagram Y4 banana van.

History

In May 1918 an order was given to convert 300 general-purpose Dia. V16 ‘Mink A’ vans into insulated vans in order to cover a shortage of like vehicles, this process marked the creation of the ‘Y4’. The changes took place inside the van and saw the bodies insulated and meat hooks fitted to the roofs. Once altered, the vans were provided with a new diagram number ‘X6’ and were also re-coded as ‘Mica’.

The programme of conversions was considered to be temporary and saw work stop in 1921. 1922 saw the vans ordered to see further conversion in place of returning them back to their general purpose status and were fitted with steam heating and new end ventilators which brought about the new Diagram Y4 banana van. Further ‘V16s’ which were not converted to Mica ‘X6s’ underwent alterations to become ‘Y4s’ which were used well into British Rail days.

Model Details

Rapido Train’s UK brand new ‘Y4’ model will include an all-new body and will share its chassis with the ‘V16’ however it will feature steam heating pipes. A Mica ‘X6’ will also be added to the range.

A further addition to the ‘V14/V16’ range will be a Diagram V17 van. These ‘Mink A’ vans were sent over to France during the First World War and underwent some minor alterations (not featured on the Rapido model) and were also given a new diagram number.

Also joining the range of vans will be a Rhymney Railway Type 4 which are Great Western Railway built 50 ‘V16s’ for the Rhymney Railway in 1921. These vans were classed ‘Type 4’ by the Rhymney Railway ahead of being integrated into the Great Western Railways fleet after the 1923 Grouping.

More details can found over on the Rapido Trains website