Victorian Railways open wagons

IA - Four wheel Open Wagon

IA wagons are identical to the steel 15-long-ton (15.2 t; 16.8-short-ton) I wagons. The only difference is they were recoded to allow for dual rating of 11 and 15 tons. this allowed loads of up to 11 long tons (11.2 t; 12.3 short tons) being charges at the 11 ton rate and loads 11 to 15 ton at the 15 ton rate. This recoding started in the early 1929 and continued while IB wagons were being scrapped.^[4]

IB - 11 ton Open Wagon

In 1929 all I's with a load of less than 15 long tons (15.2 t; 16.8 short tons) were coded to IB to separate the lower capacity wagons from the newer higher capacity wagons.^[5]

IC - Fixed Wheel Tippler Wagons

Approximately 350 I/IA wagons were converted for tippler traffic from 1954 to carry coal between Yallourn and Newport Power Station. Later traffic and then the only tippler traffic was between Bacchus Marsh and Fairfield. These wagons were modified by removal of the doors and replacing with a steel plate welded in place.

IG / IX Fixed Wheel Open Wagon

Drop sided wagon^[6]

IY - Fixed Wheel Open Wagon

These wagons the same as the standard I wagon with a stronger underframe making them strong enough to carry a load of up to 22 long tons (22.4 t; 24.6 short tons). 350 of these wagons were made between 1926 and 1927.^[7]

IZ - Fixed Wheel Open Wagon

In 1929 the first 27-long-ton (27.4 t; 30.2-short-ton) wagon was produced.^[8]

GY - Fixed Wheel Open Wagon

In 1939 the VR produced the first of about 5000 wagons for carting bulk grain. Construction was carried out regularly from 1939 to 1958 with the majority being built in the late 40's and early 1950s. These wagons could be seen in long rakes of up to 73 wagons hauling the grain harvest. When not required for grain transport the GY could be used for general goods service.^[10]

GZ - Bulk Grain Wagon

These wagons were a grain proofed version of the IZ wagon.^[11]

HY - Fixed Wheel Open Wagon

This wagons were a general goods version of the GY wagon. As they were not designed for bulk grain so did not have the grain proof seals around the doors.^[12]

E - Bogie Open Wagon

In 1925 the South Australian Railways placed a large order for rolling stock with the American Car & Foundry, USA. The Victorian Railways elected to tack on to that order two louvre vans, two flat cars and two open wagons, becoming 1 and 2 V, S and E respectively; the equivalents of the South Australian Railways M, Fb and O types, along with a class of 12 J-type hopper wagons.

The vehicles were assembled at Newport Workshops with supplied components including pressed steel ends, sides and doors, for a capacity of 44 tons.^[13][14] As the tests in both states proved successful, the Victorian Railways constructed a further 200 E type open wagons between 1027 and 1928.

From 1941, 100 randomly selected E type wagons had their sides, doors and ends removed for conversion to S type flat wagons. The vehicles retained their numbers except wagon E1, which became S203 because the original S1 was still in service. Of those converted, following World War II 20 wagons were further converted to tank wagons. Another 14 were restored to open wagon format before later being converted to tank wagons, while 38 were converted directly from open to tank with no intermediate flat wagon stage.

In the late 1950's the riveted bodies of the E wagons were wearing out, so welded components similar to those used in the ELX program were used as required.

Some wagons were specifically allocated to State Electricity Commission traffic, running wooden power poles from the Brooklyn depot to various country depots as required. These units had their doors removed and bolsters fitted to the floors to make removal of the poles easier.

EF/EX - Bogie Open Wagon

13 wagons were reclassed EF and fitted with roller bearing bogies and grade control equipment for use on the standard gauge line. These vehicles retained their E wagon numbers, but when made bogie-exchangeable they were recoded to EX and renumbered in the new series 1-13.

VOAA/VOAF - Bogie Open Wagon

15 wagons made it to the 1979 recoding, becoming VOAA or VOAF depending on the bogies fitted.

ELX, VOBX, VOCX Wagons

In photographs, the ELX is most easily distinguished from the similar E wagon by the fact that the ELX has four panels between its side doors, while the E wagon only has two.

ESX, VODX - Slab Steel

Twenty six of these wagons were built between 1964 and 1965, they were numbered 1 to 26. Primarily designed for transporting sheet steel, they also saw use as general wagons due to the design being very similar to the ELX Wagon. In the late 1960s they were used for transporting pipes for pipeline projects in Victoria.

QR, VOWA & VZWA - Drop Door Open Wagon

The design of the QR was effectively a compromise between the existing designs for medium-size flat wagons (Q) and medium-size open wagons (R).^[15] The ends were fixed, but the three drop doors on each side could be removed if required.

The first vehicle entered service in March 1889, and was deemed successful. From July 1890 through May 1892, 150 wagons were constructed by Wright & Edwards at their Braybrook workshops on behalf of the Victorian Railways, followed by QR152-201 in 1892 constructed by the Railways, rather than being contracted out. These initial wagons were built with swing-motion, diamond-frame bogies; the underframe used both steel and wooden components, and was reinforced with truss rods. The final result provided a wagon with capacity of 26 LT 0 cwt 0 qtr (26.42 t).^[16]

The design was slightly altered in 1912 and 175 wagons entered service in five batches up to February 1924, when QR376 entered service.^[17] These vehicles were initially distinctive in their use of plate-frame bogies (otherwise used on heavier flat wagons, like the QB series), and were rated at 30 LT 0 cwt 0 qtr (30.48 t) load.

The 1919 General Appendix indicates that only QR trucks with strengthened draw gear (no's 202-351) were permitted on Express trains, and even then that they must be attached immediately behind the engine. Their use on any type of passenger trains required the explicit permission of the General Superintendent, and the Train Examiner was required to check the vehicle before its inclusion in such consist.^[18]

A further 30 wagons, QR 377 to 406, were built in 1927 to an extended design with four doors per side in lieu of three.^[19] The final member, QR407, was constructed in 1930 using leftover parts and matching the Type 2 design.^[20]

In the 1930s the automatic coupler project saw the underframes replaced. The new design was all-steel, reinforced with centre sills in lieu of the truss rods and heavier bracing on the ends, and the brake equipment on the first 201 wagons was upgraded from the previous combined brake cylinder and auxiliary reservoir to a larger brake cylinder and a separate auxiliary reservoir. When the buffers and truss rods were removed in the 1950s, the wagon capacity was boosted a further ton.^[21]

The 1936 General Appendix specifies that QR wagons 394 and 396 "have been specially prepared for the conveyance of theatrical scenery, &c., by Passenger trains. When no so utilised they are to be located at Port Melbourne for terminal traffic. A circular will be issues on each occasion that these trucks are used for the conveyance of special traffic."^[22]

In 1979 the class was recoded from QR to VOWA, translating to Victorian Open, Wood and Low Speed respectively. Some wagons were allocated to metropolitan-area work from 1983, and these had 2000 added to their identities, i.e. VOWA356 became VOWA2356. The wagons were generally removed from mainline service and transferred across to maintenance trains in the mid 1980s, and recoded to VZWA with the "Z" indicating that change, and vehicles previously renumbered retained that change. Works wagons were also generally had a 30 cm-wide vertical green stripe applied to the right-most door, to help yard workers identify them.^[23][24]

VOFX - Bogie Fertiliser Transport

Some recoded to BODX (Weekly notice 29/2014 pg15)