Victorian Railways box vans

The Victorian Railways used a variety of boxcars or covered goods wagons for the transport of all manner of goods. This page covers the history and development of the various classes, and how they changed through their lives.

Manufacturer Victorian Railways
Built at Newport Workshops
Replaced Each other
Operator Victorian Railways
Line(s) served All
Specifications
Track gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
for large bogie vans

H (1857) wooden box van

Introduced as early as 1857, when the Victorian Railways took over the defunct Geelong and Melbourne railway company, the most common type of boxvan used by the Victorian Railways was known as the H van. From then to 1897 roughly 1,000 wagons were constructed. When an H van was not available or if the load was too tall to fit inside the wagon, the alternative was to obtain an open wagon and fit a tarpaulin over the top.

Officially the class ranged from 1 through 966, but during the early years the Victorian Railways would regularly scrap a wagon and build a new one with the same number.

The initial design was for a 17 ft 8 in (5.38 m), four-wheel underframe with a body of about 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), rising to 7 ft (2.13 m) at the highest part of the roof. The capacity of the vans was up to 896 cubic feet (25.37 m3) or 7 long tons (7.1 t; 7.8 short tons), whichever was reached first. Later designs were slightly different; most wagons had the same weight capacity, although length and height of wagons often changed; at least one wagon wasn't even fitted with a roof.

From 1900 the vans started to be withdrawn from general service, instead shifting to maintenance or recovery work. A number were outfitted with tool kits and equipment, then used at locomotive depots. Otherwise, the H type vans were largely withdrawn as a class by 1909. The earlier vans had been replaced one-for-one with steel I-type open wagons; other wagons had been dedicated to maintenance or repair work. This was roughly when the "H" code stopped meaning box vans, instead becoming synonymous with departmental vehicles.

In about 1915 a handful of wagons were fitted with platforms on the roofs, and used to form an overhead wiring train for contractors working on the Melbourne electrification project. After the project was completed the overhead train was retained for overhead maintenance work.

A small number of vans had been fitted with replacement underframes by the 1970s.

S (1880) bogie boxvan

In 1880, twenty boxvans were built by Harkness & Co. for the Victorian Railways. The class given was S and numbers 1 through 20.

The vans were for general traffic; 11 ft (3.35 m) tall, about 7 1⁄2 ft (2.29 m) across (wide) and just under 32 ft (9.75 m) over buffers for an internal capacity of 1,375.35 cubic feet (38.946 m3). Each van had a single pair of doors in the centre.

By 1886, S 16 was in use for milk transport. In 1889 a further two wagons, 18 and 20, were modified with the addition of shelving and steel bins, to allow for transport of 16 long tons (16.3 t; 17.9 short tons) of raspberries. No.11 is also marked as having increased capacity, but not listed under the raspberries section. In any case, it is thought that the raspberry wagons had returned to normal traffic - but maintained their increased capacity - by 1900.

About half the class were written off the main register in 1891. These vans were recycled as "Casualty trucks", a predecessor to the later H van uses. In particular, vans 6, 11 and 13 are marked as being in use at Spencer St (now Southern Cross), Flinders St / Princes Bridge, and Ballarat. However even with this new use the vans did not last much longer, being replaced with conversions from the OO class of open wagons in 1912. All vans were scrapped by 1913.

B (1957) steel boxvan

As the H type wagons were withdrawn, more goods was transported by the alternative method of open wagons fitted with tarpaulins. However, by the mid 1950s this method had become unduly expensive, as tarpaulins were prone to regular damage from weather and improper staff handling practices, as well as simply wearing out. It was decided to recycle old steel underframes, using components from and a similar design to the then-new bogie boxvans, to create a new fleet of four-wheeled, all-steel boxvans.

The first van entered service on the 10th of December, 1957; the underframe had been recycled from open wagon I 15168, constructed in 1924. This van was slightly different from later releases, having flat sheet ends instead of the later pressed steel ridges, which were added for strength.

The original order was made out for 500 wagons of the type; however between branch line closures due to traffic transferring to road (as result of ex-WWII vehicles becoming available to the general public) and the cost-cutting at the end of Operation Phoenix, the order was progressively cut back; first to 400 wagons, then to 350 wagons. However extra components were still available at the time of the final cutback, so the class eventually reached 380 members; the last delivered in 1961. The change of plan is clear when looking at the registers; most of the wagons from 1 to 350 either recycled old I type underframes, or were complete new-builds. By contrast, the majority of the 351-380 range had re-used underframes only a few years old, from the KF flat wagon class.

The wagons had a capacity of 14 long tons (14.2 t; 15.7 short tons), or 1,500 cubic feet (42 m3).

By the early 1980s, most were being scrapped with some in use as service vans for the Way and Works Branch. In later years bodies started to be placed at Train Examiner depots as work sheds.

BH (S.A.R. M type) Boxvan (1925)

In 1925 the Victorian Railways was paying close attention to W.A. Webb's transformation of the South Australian Railways, with the introduction of new locomotives and rolling stock and general upgrades across the board. One of the developments was the introduction of new, all-steel, larger bogie wagons for goods trains. These were of various types - boxvans, open wagons and so on. The VR took advantage of the opportunity to save on costs through economies of scale, and made a point of purchasing wagons identical to the SAR types. As a trial, around 1929 the VR hired a number of SAR wagons; for the boxvans these were M 7005 and 7372. Based on an internal document dating from 1929, it is thought that the wagons were temporarily recoded to BH, which gives an indication as to code that the VR might have used, if the type had been approved. By the early 1930s the two wagons had been returned to the SAR.

MS vans (1963)

Despite the addition of the B vans to the goods fleet, bringing the total to around 24,000 vehicles, it seems the decision to cut back on the delivery of B vans may have been short-sighted.

In 1963 it was decided to take a leaf from the book of the engineers from the 1930s, when a number of M cattle wagons were converted to MU-type louvre vans. This time around, about 70 cattle wagons were converted, picked completely randomly. Numbers were retained with the code altered to MS, and the gaps between planks were covered with internal tarpaulins. The wagons were then used for bagged superphosphate (fertiliser) traffic, loaded and unloaded by hand.

By 1970 the MS trucks had either been scrapped or returned to normal cattle traffic.

BFW (1977) large bogie boxvan for car parts

In the mid 1970s there was a policy in place on the VR to eliminate as much as possible of the straggling four-wheel rolling stock then in use.

One of the major traffics employing four-wheel wagons at the time was the shuttle service between Geelong and Campbellfield (Somerton), for the transfer of palletised car parts between the Ford plant in Geelong, and the car assembly plant just north of Upfield railway station. At the time, the four-wheeled wagons ran in block of up to 30 wagons at a time. Trains would run from Geelong to Newport then via Brooklyn to Sunshine, up to Broadmeadows via the Albion-Jacana freight line, and then shunt and reverse at what was then Somerton, now renamed Roxburgh Park station. Occasionally the train would not be able to get a direct schedule between Newport and Broadmeadows; on these occasions the train ran to either Melbourne Yard (or failing that, even Caulfield) to reverse before heading back.

The replacement for the four-wheeled wagons, released in 1977, was the BFW boxvan. This new class of 40 wagons was massive by Victorian standards, with a length over coupler faces of more than 23 1⁄2 metres (77 ft) and an internal capacity of 165 cubic metres (5,800 cu ft). Eventually 40 members of the class were delivered; the train changed from 30-odd four-wheeled wagons to only ten boxvans, although the overall length was about the same.

The vans were fitted with the same bogies as the FCW class of flat wagon (previously FCF); wagons within the W bogie class could be bogie-exchanged, but only within that group which indicated a low-level design to accommodate the taller loads. The lower underframe also necessitated gooseneck-type couplers, designed to lift the coupler head high enough to match the couplers on other rolling stock. The horizontal center line of the coupler shank, or shaft, and of the draw gear are lower than that of the coupler head.

In 1979 the class was recoded VBCW.

The train stopped running in the late 1980s, as traffic shifted to road transport. Experiments were conducted in using the vans for general freight traffic, but even then there were too many vans available for not enough freight. By the mid 1990s the vans were in storage and by 1996 most had been cut for scrap with underframe sections salvaged to repair other stock.

1979 recode

Explosives transportation (P Vans)

Starting from 1862, the Victorian Railways obtained a fleet of four-wheeled vans designed for the transportation of explosive powders and compounds, as these were needed for construction and mining among other activities. With a wooden body and underframe and a capacity of five long tons (5.1 t; 5.6 short tons) each, the first five vans were constructed by Wright & Sons in England and delivered to Melbourne. Classed PV and numbered 1 to 5,[1] these were the only vehicles in the VR fleet available for explosives transportation until 1872-73, when more wagons were constructed by Rawlings[2] in 1873. They were given numbers 6 to 11.

A further expansion[3] to the fleet came in 1882 when the Victorian Railways built van PV 12 at their own Williamstown Workshops. This design proved successful, as in 1884 another twelve wagons were constructed by Pickles & Co., with an identical design to PV 12 and built at the same location. These were the last vans to be built without Westinghouse brakes, and the entire fleet was modified in 1910-1912 to match the new safety standards, along with other modifications. While the original vans were classed PV, the fleet is referred to simply as the P class from 1886 onwards.

In 1910, van P 10 had its underframe replaced with iron most likely as a trial. Then, from 1911 to 1921, vans 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, 21 and 23 were scrapped, with parts recycled to construct new wagons with the same numbers and purpose at the Newport Workshops. The new wagons had Westinghouse brakes from the start, and it is probable that these vans resembled 12 through 23 although records do exist of another design.[4]

From 1900 and for about half a century after, explosives were also transported from Deer Park to Laverton; at Laverton the contents of the explosives vans were transferred by a 2 ft (610 mm)-gauge tramway over to Trugannina Reserve for storage, then transportation to ships via smaller vessels. This complex procedure was necessary as explosive compounds were not allowed to come within a mile of Melbourne's main port.

The first proper scrappings (without recycling) occurred in 1928, with another seven scrapped up to 1944. In 1948, wagons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 20 were stored at Tottenham Yard, with the entire remaining fleet save P 5 scrapped/recycled in 1953-54. P 5 was instead converted to van H 17 in 1950 (for departmental use) and by 1960 it had been sold to Yarragon.

From 1954, a new fleet[5] of P explosives wagons was constructed. These were very different from their predecessors in appearance, and were the first vans to break the trend of a five-long-ton (5.1 t; 5.6-short-ton) limit, with capacity for 10 long tons (10.2 t; 11.2 short tons) or 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) of explosive material. Like some of their predecessors, at least some wagons were constructed with recycled underframes and body frames, all metal, but with new plywood sides. The vans had automatic couplers and Westinghouse brakes from new, as was the standard at the time. Vans 1 through 25 were built in 1954-55, and the fleet was almost doubled in 1958-59 with the final van, P 45 (although it is thought that vans P 46 to P 51 were also constructed at this time, reliable records have not been found). The entire fleet was painted a bright red (different from the then-new Passenger Red) with a large yellow area declaring the explosive contents on all sides, and this made the wagons stand out in a train of brown wagons.

Some wagons had their centre side-sills strengthened in the mid-1960s. In 1979-81 the surviving wagons had their load limits were altered from 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) to 7,500 kg (16,500 lb) in line with the [[Metrication metrification]] of the Victorian Railways, and around the same time signs were added relating to the allowed contents of the vans and safe handling of same. The fleet lasted intact through to the late mid-late 1970s, with scrappings, withdrawals and sales mostly occurring in the early 1980s although no records exist for about half the fleet.

Today, vans P 8, 22 and 43 exist at the Victorian Goldfields Railway although only no.22 is operational. Also, the bodies of vans 5, 13 and 30 are used by the Puffing Billy Preservation Society for storage at Emerald, while up to five other vans may exist on private property at Ballarat, Bendigo, Leongatha, Yarraville and Williamstown.

Hearse vans (C/J vans)

In 1893 the Victorian Railways decided that new wagons were required for the transportation of corpses, as the existing arrangements were unsatisfactory.

To fill the need as quickly as possible, two mail vans (E 1 & E 2) and a carriage truck (G 24) were converted to hearse vans C 1, 2 and 3, each 15 feet (4.57 m) long with 20 separate 1'7"-wide compartments over two levels. The trio, when not running to Springvale or Fawkner cemeteries, were kept in the Mortuary Dock off Batman Avenue at Flinders Street Station; this siding was accessible from what is now known as Platform 13. Between 1902 and 1903 another six vans, numbered 4 to 9 were constructed. The new vans were also four-wheelers, about 18 feet (5.49 m) long with room for fourteen corpses on two levels. The design was somewhat unusual in that the outer twelve slots had a single door, but the centre slot on each level had two half-width doors. The compartments ranged in size, with the four outermost slots 2'3½" wide, the two centre slots 3'1" wide and the other eight slots only 2'3" wide. Also in 1903, vans C 2 and C 3 was scrapped, although a new C 3 was converted from Mail Van E 3 in 1906. Vans C 1 and C 3 (the second) were scrapped in 1909.

In the 1910 recoding the remaining vans, C 4 through C 9, were renumbered to J 1 through J 6 in the same order. However, by 1912 their underframes were wearing out and capacity requirements were changing, so the six vans were lifted from their underframes, and the bodies were cut and merged to give four new six-wheeled wagons of about 26 feet long, each capable of conveying up to 20 corpses at a time. Vans J 4 & 5 created J 7, J 2 became J 8, J 1 & 3 gave J 9 and J 6 became J 10. It is likely that either the new J 8 and J 10 were extended with newly built components, or that they used leftover parts from the other conversions. It is interesting to note that overall, the fleet capacity was reduced by a total of four compartments.

When electrification onto the cemetery lines rolled around in the early 1920s, the four vans were provided with through cables to allow them to be included between a Swing Door M and D set. A daily electric visitors and mortuary train ran to Fawkner until 1939, and a conditional mortuary train to Springvale Cemetery until 1943. Until the end, the vans were averaging around 2,000 miles (3,200 km) per year, which equates to 100 trips per year on the 20–30-mile (32–48 km) round journey.

The vans hung around for about six years following the cancellation of corpse trains, until they were finally withdrawn in 1949; at this time the electric through-cabling gear was removed, and the vans were scrapped or sold in 1953.

In 1990, the Fawkner Cemetery restored a J van using a body found at Romsey and an underframe purchased from the railways. The van was restored to cosmetic accuracy and numbered 7, although the body number was never known. The van now sits adjacent to Platform 2 at Fawkner station.

Narrow gauge

Just like the broad gauge railways, the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines required covered vans. However, the vast majority were louvre or refrigerated vans, and as a result only one van was built resembling a typical boxvan.

NPH Class

In June 1910, it was decided that a van for the transportation of explosives would be useful; probably for the Moe-Walhalla line as Walhalla was a gold-mining town. NPH 1 was built on the standard design of underframe as most other narrow gauge stock, but because it was not anticipated that explosives traffic would require use of the entire wagon, it was partitioned to give 4 long tons (4.1 t; 4.5 short tons) capacity for explosives, while the remaining 6 tons was for general goods. Unlike the NU and NT classes, this meant that the van had four doors total.

However, by 1911 the wagon had been converted to entirely general goods use, with the partition removed and a recoding to NH 1, the "H" in the class being a reference to the broad gauge H box-vans then in use.

It gained autocouplers in 1928, and was scrapped twenty-six years later. By 1988, the vehicle had been found and was placed into the Museum at Menzies Creek.

Liveries

In general, box vans have been painted in Victorian Railways Wagon Red livery. From the 1960s onwards this was amended with varying sizes of VR symbol on each side depending on the timeframe, generall larger logos earlier on.

Model railways

As this article covers such an extensive range of wagons, it follows that a large range of model railway items are available.

HO Scale

Auscision Models released a run of BP/BB bogie boxvans in late 2011, retailing at $239.95AUD per pack of four wagons, or $119.95AUD for a pair of wagons. Also included were BMX, VBPY, VBAX, VBAY and D vans.[6] Also, early 2014 is likely to see the release of the BLX-type bogie boxvan, again in sets of four with similar pricing. This time, included classes are BLX, BLF, VBBX, VBBY and VBBF.[7]

Austrains has produced models of the B van in the past, and a re-run is expected to be delivered in late 2014.[8] These will probably retail at around $40.00AUD per wagon, but in multiple-wagon packs. Also currently available are mixed packs of HD and P vans, with four wagons per pack retailing at $160.00AUD.[9] These models are not perfect, but any imperfections are hardly noticeable and easily fixed.

OnTrack Models will be releasing the BB, BLX, BLF, VBBX, VBBY, VBBF wagons in 2014, in packs of three retailing at $180.00AUD or single packs at $65.00AUD.[10]

Steam Era Models produces high-quality polyurethane kits of the B and H Boxvans and P explosives van, which retail for around $16.00AUD each.[11]

Train simulators

The Trainz program by Auran has a range of user-created content, including the B four-wheeler vans as well as the VBCW vans

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pjv101.net/fts/u01/as913.gif
  2. ↑ http://www.pjv101.net/fts/u01/as915.gif
  3. ↑ http://www.pjv101.net/fts/u01/as914.gif
  4. ↑ http://www.pjv101.net/fts/u01/as847.gif
  5. ↑ http://www.pjv101.net/fts/u01/au697.gif
  6. ↑ http://auscisionmodels.com.au/BP%20Bogie%20Van.htm
  7. ↑ http://auscisionmodels.com.au/BLX%20Louvered%20Van.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.austrains.com.au/newsletters/newsletter_62_november_2013_ver1.pdf - bottom of page 2
  9. ↑ http://www.austrains.com.au/vr-hd_p_t-vans.html
  10. ↑ http://ontrackmodels.com.au/download/orderform/VIC40BoxCar
  11. ↑ http://www.steameramodels.com/kits.htm

Further reading

General goods, fixed-wheeled stock

General goods, bogie stock

Explosives stock

Narrow gauge stock