ON TRACK MODELS HO VLX-04 40’2″ VICTORIAN LOUVRE VANS 3 PACK
Three HO Scale VLX Models
Style: 3 VLX Vans with Large VR logos.
Wagon numbers: VLX 202, VLX 207, & VLX 230
Era covered: 1970’s – Early 1980’s
These were Louvre Vans built for the Victorian Railways by a combination of Bendigo North, Newport & Ballarat North Workshops between 1962 & December 1967.
Vans 1 – 87 and 99 – 135 were introduced as VLF’s, before being recoded VLX between November 1963 & June 1965.
Vans 88 – 98 were also built to this pattern but were introduced as VLX’s. These vans were fitted with timber floors.
Vans 136 – 660 were built to a slightly different design and featured steel floors. These were introduced as VLX.
As introduced these wagons had red roofs from new, however these were repainted silver in the late 1960’s
During the 1979 reclassification, these wagons were recoded VLCX.
In 1994 some wagons were transferred to the newly formed National Rail Corporation and were recoded to RLCX before being returned to V/Line and renumbered to their old numbers.
And during 1994 some 20 random numbered VLCX vans were recoded to VLVX for use in Freight Centre Traffic.
These wagons have appeared in VR Wagon Red as originally produced with no logo, then a small, med, and large VR logo.
Later they received the V/Line logo carrying this through to the 80’s & 90’s until some were painted Freight Australia Green, then later Pacific National Blue.
A couple of vans made it into West Coast Railway Blue.
Door styles over the years changed from the original plain panel doors, to single louvre, then twin louvre, and finally VHX style doors. Combinations of the first 3 doors are common.
These vans include Genuine Kadee (R) Couplers, and AMRA profile wheels.
Features include opening sliding doors, simulated timber floors on the VLF style wagons, and a steel chequer plate floor on the VLX variant.
They also come with internal Cargo barriers, and a combination of either plain pattern, twin louvre doors, or VHX style doors.
These wagons feature the end louvre on the roof panel.