======================================================================
= Victorian Railways =
======================================================================
Introduction
======================================================================
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the
state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of
Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were
private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the
Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations. Most
of the lines operated by the Victorian Railways were of . However, the
railways also operated up to five narrow gauge lines between 1898 and
1962, and a line between Albury and Melbourne from 1961.
Formation
===========
A Department of Railways was created in 1856 with the first
appointment of staff. British engineer, George Christian Darbyshire
was made first Engineer-in-Chief in 1857, and steered all railway
construction work until his replacement by Thomas Higinbotham in 1860.
In late 1876, New York consulting engineer Walton Evans arranged the
supply of two 4-4-0 locomotives manufactured by the Rogers Locomotive
Works of New Jersey, US to the Victorian Railways.
Because of political turmoil in the Victorian Government, Higginbotham
was one of 137 officials removed from office on Black Wednesday on 8
January 1878 when the Government was denied supply. He, like a number
of other senior officers, was not reappointed. Robert Watson then took
over as Engineer-in-Chief. But in 1880, a new Ministry expressed a
wish to redress the injustice by re-instating Higginbotham. However,
at the sudden death of Higginbotham in 1880, William Elsdon took over
for two years before his retirement in 1882, and Watson then returned
to his former position as Engineer-in-Chief, which he held up to the
time of his death.
On 1 November 1883, assent was given to the Victorian Railways
Commissioners Act 1883, 47 Vic., No.767, to construct, maintain and
manage the state's railways. The staff of the Department of Railways
came under the authority of the Railway Commissioners, which became
commonly known as Victorian Railways. The elaborate headquarters at 67
Spencer Street were opened in 1893.
Growth
========
Victorian Railways grew to service all parts of the state, even
extending some lines into New South Wales under the 1922 Border
Railways Act. In the late 19th century, the railways became something
of a political football with politicians demanding new lines to be
built in places where traffic levels never justified it. In 1864,
there was just 254 miles (409 km) of railway. The system expanded
rapidly to reach 2,900 route miles (4,670 km) by 1891 and to its
greatest extent of 4,755 route miles (7652 km) in 1939. The result was
that by the beginning of the 20th century, no Victorian (apart from
those in the mountain regions) was more than 25 miles (42 km) from a
railway line. The period from the end of the 1930s saw a slow decline
in route mileage as unprofitable branches were closed.
Conversion of the Melbourne suburban system to electric operation
commenced in 1919 and was completed by 1930, creating what was claimed
at the time to be the world's largest electric suburban rail system.
1937 saw the introduction of the streamlined 'Spirit of Progress'
passenger train, with air conditioning and all steel carriage
construction. Diesel power was introduced in 1951 with ten F-class
diesel-electric shunting locomotives, followed by B-class mainline
diesel-electric locomotives in 1952/53. A standard gauge line
connecting to the New South Wales system was constructed in 1961
allowing through trains to operate between Melbourne and Sydney,
Australia's two largest cities, for the first time. The last steam
locomotive was withdrawn in 1972.
Demise
========
In May 1973, the Railways (Amendment) Act 1972 passed the management
of the Railways from the Victorian Railways Commissioners to a
Victorian Railways Board. In 1974, the Victorian Railways was
rebranded as VicRail, but the royal blue and gold livery used on
rolling stock was retained until 1981.
In 1983, VicRail was divided into two—the State Transport Authority
taking responsibility for the provision of country rail and road,
passenger and freight services, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority
taking over suburban passenger operations.
The State Transport Authority traded under the V/Line name, while the
Metropolitan Transit Authority used that name until the Public
Transport Corporation ("The Met") was formed in 1989. Between 1996 and
1999, V/Line and The Met were privatised. V/Line Passenger was
franchised to National Express, returning to government ownership in
2002. The V/Line Freight division was sold to Freight Victoria and is
now owned by Pacific National. The infrastructure is now managed by
VicTrack with the interstate rail freight infrastructure leased to the
Australian Rail Track Corporation. Metro Trains Melbourne now operates
the suburban railway network.
Management
======================================================================
When first formed in 1857, the management of the Railways Department
was initially vested in the President of the Board of Land and Works,
this situation remaining until 1884. With the passing of the Victorian
Railways Commissioners Act 1883, a board of four commissioners was put
in charge, responsible to the Minister of Railways (the Minister of
Transport from 1935 onwards).
The Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways were:
*Richard Speight: 1883 to 1892
*Richard Hodge Francis: 1892 to 1894
*James Syder: 1894 to 1896
*John Mathieson: 1896 to 1901
*William Francis Joseph Fitzpatrick: 1901 to 1903
*Thomas James Tait: 1903 to 1910
*William Francis Joseph Fitzpatrick: 1910 to 1915
*Charles Ernest Norman: 1915 to 1920
*Harold Winthrop Clapp: 1920 to 1939
*Norman Charles Harris: 1940 to 1950
*Robert George Wishart: 1950 to 1955
*Edgar Henry Brownbill: 1956 to 1967
*George Frederick Brown: 1967 to 1973
After the Bland Report of 1972, in May 1973 the Railways (Amendment)
Act 1972 passed the management of the Railways from the Victorian
Railways Commissioners to a Victorian Railways Board. The board could
have up to seven members, with six being initially appointed. This
remained until 1983 when the board was discontinued under the
Transport Act 1983.
Fleet
======================================================================
The Victorian Railways operated a wide variety of locomotives and
rolling stock to provide passenger and goods services. This included
equipment acquired from the private companies that built the first
railways in Victoria. The majority was the fleet was broad gauge, with
a specialised fleet used on the narrow gauge lines. In later years,
gauge conversion was used to place stock from the main VR fleet onto
standard gauge.
In 1936, the company owned 590 locomotives, 38 railcars, 819 coaches,
716 brake vans and 20,945 goods wagons.
The first locomotives used in the state were small steam locomotives,
the majority being imported from the United Kingdom, with later years
seeing larger units being built locally. Electric locomotives were
acquired with the electrification of the suburban railways, with more
powerful units acquired when the mainline to Traralgon was
electrified. Dieselisation occurred from 1951, but the B class of 1952
revolutionised main line operations. Apart from the F class shunters,
Clyde Engineering had a monopoly on Victorian diesel-electric
locomotives, as the Australian licensee of General Motors EMD engines
and traction motors, fitting them into locally designed bodies.
Early passenger services were operated with 4 and 6 wheeled "dogbox"
passenger carriages, but larger bogie rollingstock started to appear
from the turn of the century. On the Melbourne suburban network
electric multiple units were introduced speeding up services.
Experiments were also made with various diesel and petrol railcars for
use on smaller branch lines. By the late 1970s, country passenger
services were run down, and older wooden rolling stock was now
approaching their use by date. As a result, the 'New Deal' saw modern
steel carriages introduced from 1981.
Early wagons were built on four wheeled under frames, but from 1871
bogie vehicles begun to appear. The last four wheeled open wagons were
built in 1958, but were not scrapped in large numbers until the 1980s
when new bogie wagons replaced them. By 1987, the bogie wagon fleet
numbered 5000.
When the Victorian Railways (now known as VicRail) was divided into
two in 1983, the Metropolitan Transit Authority received the suburban
electric multiple unit fleet, while the State Transport Authority took
responsibility for remainder for the provision of country passenger
and freight services.
Railcars
==========
!Class !Image !Type !Gauge !Top speed (km/h) !Built !Number !In
service !Notes
Rowan 150px rowspan="2"|Steam rowspan="12"|Broad 1883-1888
2 1883-1904
Kerr Stuart 150px 1912 1 1913-1924
McKeen 150px rowspan="4"|Petrol 1911 2 1912-1919
Converted to passenger carriage
AEC 150px 1922-1925 19 1922-1956
Leyland 150px 1925-1926 4 1925-1954
Brill 150px 1928 1 1928-1947
Petrol Electric Railmotor (PERM) / Diesel Electric Railmotor (DERM)
150px Petrol later Diesel 100 1928-1931 10 1928-1991
Converted from Petrol to Diesel Electric Railmotors
Kerang Tramway Railmotor ? 1943 1 1952-1958 First
entered service on the Kerang-Koondrook Tramway
102hp Walker 150px rowspan="4"|Diesel 70 1948-1955 12
railmotors 1 power unit 1948-1978
153hp Walker 150px 80 1948-1954 15 railmotors 1 power unit
1948-1981
280hp Walker 150px 95 1950-1954 12 railmotors 1 power unit
1950-1980
Diesel Rail Car (DRC) 150px 115 1971-1973 4 1971-1994
Locomotives (Diesel/Electric)
===============================
!Class !Image !Type !Gauge !Top speed (km/h) !Built !Number !In
service !Notes
|B |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad |133 |1952-1953 |26 |1952-1982
|C |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad, standard |133 |1977-1978 |10
|1977-1995
|F |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad |32 |1951-1953 |16 |1951-1987
|H |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad |100 |1968-1969 |5 |1968-1999
|S |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad, standard |133 |1957-1961 |18
|1957-1961
|T |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad, standard |100 |1955-1968 |94
|1955-2000
|X |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad, standard |133 |1966, 1970,
1975-1976 |24 |1966-1999
|Y |150px |Diesel-electric |Broad |65 |1963-1968 |75 |1963-present
|M |Diesel-hydraulic |Broad |20 |1959 |2 |1959-?
|V |150px |Diesel-hydraulic |Broad |16 |1959 |1 |1959-?
|W |150px |Diesel-hydraulic |Broad |32 |1959-1961 |27 |1959-1982
|E |150px |Electric |Broad |65 |1923, 1928-1929 |12 |1923-1984
|L |150px |Electric |Broad |121 |1953-1954 |25 |1953-1987
Locomotives (Steam)
=====================
!Class !Image !Type !Gauge !Top speed (km/h) !Built !Number !In
service !Notes
No.1 (1857) later rowspan="17"|Broad 1857 1
1858-1904 Later rebuilt as 2-4-0
No.100 (1871) 1872 1 1872-1916 Allocated as Class E
in 1886, became unclassed again in 1889. Commissioners locomotive
No.103 & 105 (1873) 1873 2 1874-1924
Old A (1884) 1884 10 1884-1924 First entered service
as Unclassed
New A (1889) 1889-1891 15 1889-1925
AA (1900) 150px 1900-1903 20 1900-1932
A2 (1907) 150px 115 1907-1922 185 1907-1963 Ran the
Geelong Flier, reducing times from Geelong to Melbourne to 63, and
then 55 minutes
B (1861) 150px 1861-1880 34 1862-1917 First entered
service as Unclassed
C (1878) 1871-1883 26 1878-1916 6 first entered
service with Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company
(1871-1878). All first entered service as Unclassed
C (1918) 150px 96 1918-1926 26 1918-1962 Ran during
the war on the North Eastern, Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong lines
D (1876) 1876 2 1877-1907 First entered service as
Unclassed. Class also known as "Rodgers". Named Neil and Neil's Sister
D (1887) 150px 1887-1888 20 1887-1928
DD (1902) 150px 1902-1916 261 1902-1974 Class split
in 1922: * D1 class comprising all the original saturated steam
locomotives * D2 class comprising all the superheated steam
locomotives In 1929, D3 class comprising larger boilers
(1908) 150px 1908-1913 58 1908-1962 Reclassified as
D4 class in 1929
E (1888) 150px later 1888-1894 76 1989-1966 0-6-2T
were known as EE until 1929
F (1874) 150px later 1874-1880 21 1874-1929 First
entered service as Unclassed. Seven converted to 2-4-2T for motor
service from 1910
G (1877) 1877 2 1877-1904 First entered service as
Unclassed
G (1925) 150px Narrow 1925 2 1926-1964
H (1877) rowspan="10"|Broad 1877-1878 8 1877-1916
First entered service as Unclassed
H (1941) 150px 1941 1 1941-1958 Nicknamed Heavy
Harry; largest locomotive ever built in Australia
J (1859) later 1859 5 1860-1912 First entered
service as Unclassed. Later rebuilt as 2-4-0
J (1954) 150px 1954 60 1954-1972 J550 last steam
locomotive in normal revenue service on Victorian Railways
K (1874) 1874 6 1874-1905 First entered service as
Unclassed
K (1922) 150px 1922-1946 53 1922-1982 K162 last steam
locomotive in service on Victorian Railways
L (1859) 1854-1871 10 1861-1906 First entered
service as Unclassed
M (1879) 150px later 1879-1886 22 1880-1922 First
entered service as Unclassed. 4-4-2T were known as ME class
N (1878) 1854-1871 9 1878-1906 First entered service
as Unclassed with various private companies (1854-1878)
N (1925) 150px 1925-1951 83 1925-1966 Designed for
conversion to standard gauge
NA (1925) 150px Narrow 1898-1915 17 1898-1962
O (1861) 150px rowspan="19"|Broad 1861-1881 44
1862-1922 First entered service as Unclassed
P (1859) 1859 5 1860-1921 First entered service as
Unclassed
Q (1873) 1873-1874 10 1873-1908 First entered
service as Unclassed
Old R (1879) 1879-1892 59 1879-1944 First entered
service as Unclassed
'Belgian' R (1883) 1883 5 1883-1920 First entered
service as Unclassed
New R (1889) 1889-1891 25 1889-1966 Those with new
boilers were known as RY
R (1951) 150px 1951-1952 70 1951-1974 All were broad
gauge under the Victorian Railways. One has been converted to standard
gauge in preservation
S (1882) 1882-1883 10 1882-1926 First entered
service as Unclassed
S (1928) 150px 1928 4 1928-1954
T (1874) 150px 1874-1885 23 1847-1953 Four from
Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company. First entered service as
Unclassed
U (1874) 1874 9 1874-1908 First entered service as
Unclassed
V (1857) 0-6-0 1857 4 1858-1904 First entered service
as Unclassed
V (1899) 1899-1902 16 1900-1930
W (1880) 1880-1883 12 1880-1926 First entered
service as Unclassed
X (1886) 1886-1887 15 1886-1920
X (1929) 150px 1929-1947 29 1929-1960
Y (1885) 150px 40 1885-1889 49 1885-1963 First entered
service as Unclassed
rowspan="2"|Z (1893) 1893 2 1893-1911 |
150px 1893 1 1893-1903 Rebuilt as No. 3 Steam Crane
(known as Polly)
Carriage stock
================
!Class !Image !Type !Gauge !Top speed (km/h) !Built !Number !In
service !Notes
AEC trailers rowspan="5"|Railmotor Trailer rowspan="12"|Broad
1922-1928 24 1922-1957
Brill trailer 1928 1 1928-1983
DERM Trailer 168px 1930 5 1930-1982
Walker Trailer 1948-1954 15 1948-1983
Misc trailers 1928-1981 8 1928-1984
Fixed-wheel cars rowspan="10"|Wooden Passenger Carriage
1855-1951 ~1654 1855-
Early Bogie cars 1874-1945 ? 1974- Converted into Swing
Door suburban electrics
V cars 1897-1906 67 1897-1983 Vestibule cars
C & L cars 1899-1921 C: 71 L: 82 1899- Corridor
cars with lavatory. C reclass L in 1910
E cars 168px 1906-1955 175 1906-1994 Express cars
P cars 168px 1910-1917 310 Passageway cars. Converted into
Tait suburban electrics
PL cars 168px 1918-1921 141 1917-1988 Passageway cars
with lavatory
Short W & U cars 168px rowspan="2"|Broad, standard
1911-1925 136 1911-1984 Wayside cars
Long W cars 168px 1926-1927 25 1926-1986 Wayside cars
G cars Broad 1961 2 1961-1983
S cars 168px rowspan="3"|Steel Passenger Carriage
rowspan="3"|Broad, standard 115 1937-1956 39 1937-2010
Z cars 168px 1957-1966 27 1957-present
N cars 168px 1981-1984 57 1981-present
Electric Multiple Units
=========================
!Class !Image !Type !Gauge !Top speed (km/h) !Built !Number !In
service !Notes
Swing Door 150px rowspan="6"|Electric rowspan="6"|Broad 80
1917-1924 288 1917-1974 Converted from steam-hauled carriages
built 1887-1893. Commonly known as "Dogboxes"
Tait 150px 110 1916-1952 618 1916-1985 Converted from
steam-hauled carriages built 1910-1917. Commonly known as "Red
Rattlers"
|Harris 150px 130 1956-1971 436 1956-1988 Some converted
to Refurbished Harris some to H set carriages. Commonly known as "Blue
Trains"
Hitachi 150px 116 1972-1981 355 1972-2014 Commonly known
as "Silver Trains"
Comeng 150px 115 1981-1988 570 1981-present
|Refurbished Harris 150px 130 1982-1983 16 1982-1992
Converted to H set carriages. Commonly known as "Grey Ghosts"
Operational branches
======================================================================
The Victorian Railways was divided up into a number of branches, each
with a set of responsibilities. These branches were reorganised a
number of times, in 1962 they were:
* Secretaries: headed by the Secretary for Railways, dealt with
policy, administration, transport regulation and legal matters.
* Rolling Stock: headed by the Chief Mechanical Engineer, was
responsible for design, construction, operation, and maintenance of
all locomotives and rolling stock.
* Way and Works: headed by the Chief Civil Engineer, it constructed
and maintained all fixed infrastructure such as track, bridges,
stations, signalling and safeworking.
* Traffic: headed by the Chief Traffic Manager, it operated all goods
and passenger services both on rail and road.
* Electrical Engineering: headed by the Chief Electrical Engineer, it
managed the suburban railway electrification system, as well as power
supply to stations.
* Accountancy: headed by the Controller of Accounts, it recorded all
payments, prepared budgets, conducted audits, and paid salaries and
wages to employees
* Commercial: headed by the Chief Commercial Manager, it set goods
rates and passenger fares, solicited for new traffic to rail, and took
action against by-laws offenders.
* Stores: headed by the Controller of Stores, it received all incoming
stores and materials, and controlled the railway printing works.
* Refreshment Services: headed by the Superintendent of Refreshment
Services, it controlled food and bookstore services at station,
managed advertising at stations, as well as the railway bakery,
butchery, poultry farm and laundry.
Visual identification
======================================================================
For most of the 20th century, the colours of royal blue and gold were
the distinctive feature of the Victorian Railways. It was first
introduced on the 'Spirit of Progress' express train in 1937 along
with the winged "VR" logo, and was refined to the final form with the
arrival of the B class diesel electric locomotives in 1952. The
revised logo was inspired by that of the Erie Railroad in the United
States.
While the 'Spirit of Progress' carriages wore the royal blue and gold
striping, the remainder of the passenger fleet wore a more plain red
livery. Additional carriages did not appear in the blue and gold until
the 1954 Royal Tour by HM Queen Elizabeth II. Freight stock was
painted in a slightly different red / brown with only identifying
lettering painted in white on the side.
With the coming of the standard gauge line into Victoria in 1961, the
Victorian Railways held a competition to find a "symbol, sign or
slogan" to be carried on new freight vehicles for the line. The winner
was an 18-year-old art student from Bentleigh, with the logo being a
stylised VR with arrowheads on either end. By the 1970s most bogie
vehicles wore the logo, until May 1983 pending the launch of V/Line.
In 1974, the Victorian Railways was rebranded as VicRail, with a new
logo unveiled on 12 April 1976, but the royal blue and gold image was
retained until 1981, when the orange and silver "teacup" scheme was
launched on locomotives, Comeng trains, and passenger carriages. This
was the last livery, with V/Line launched in August 1983 with a
"stylised capital lettered logo with the V and the L split by a deep
slashing stroke".
Named trains
======================================================================
The Victorian Railways operated a number of named passenger trains,
including the:
*'Fruit Flyer'
*'Geelong Flier'
*'Great Northern Limited'
*'The Overland'
*'The Boat Train'
*'Spirit of Progress'
*'The Gippslander'
*'Intercapital Daylight'
*'Mildura Sunlight'
*'Southern Aurora'
*'The Northerner'
*'The Vinelander'
*'The West Coaster'
The railways also operated a number of specialist trains that were
used to bring services to rural and isolated populations. These
included:
*'Better Farming Train'
*'Reso Train'
*'Train of Knowledge'
Other functions
======================================================================
From 1888, the Victorian Railways began to take on a role in tourism,
operating the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau until it was taken
over by the state government in 1959. In connection with their role of
promoting tourism, the railways ran three guesthouses/ski lodges which
were taken over from previous operators: the Mount Buffalo Chalet from
(1925-1985), the Feathertop Bungalow (1927-1939) and Hotham Heights
(1934-1951).
In 1911, the Victorian Railways Commissioners assumed responsibility
for the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi from the Mines Department. VR
also operated Newport Power Stations A and B.
Other operations included railway refreshment services, road motor
services for passengers, and motor transport services for goods. The
railways also operated two tram routes in Melbourne, the Electric
Street Railways; the St Kilda to Brighton Beach Street Railway (
gauge) from 1906 until 1959 and the Sandringham to Black Rock tramway
() from 1919 to 1956.
Publications
======================================================================
From 1930 until 1973, 'Victorian Railways News Letter' was the
Victorian Railways' inhouse journal. It was renamed 'Victorian Rail
Ways' in June 1973 and 'VicRail News' in March 1981.
References
======================================================================
*[http://access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/component/daPublicBaseContainer?component=daViewAgency&breadcrumbPath=Home/Access%20the%20Collection/Browse%20The%20Collection/Agency%20Details&entityId=2876
Public Record Office Victoria - Victorian Railways]
External links
======================================================================
*
|years=19 March 1856 - 1974}}
|years=1974 - 30 June 1983|rows=2}}
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Railways