VR VLX Louvre Van

VLX Louvre Van

VLX 212 as delivered Photo courtesy Mark Bau

The VLX is a single compartment steel louvred van with a double sliding door mounted near the centre of the van. They were the main VR bogie exchange van to run into NSW and other mainland states. After having it’s broad gauge bogies exchanged for standard gauge ones at Albury, the colourful VR vans could turn up in any distant part of the NSW system.

Builders:

- 660 vans were built by various VR workshops between 1962-66. They were numbered VLX 1-660.

Length: 12.24m Tare: 22t Capacity: 42t Gross: 68t

Bogies: Any bogie exchange type

Coding:

- As introduced, they were coded VLX.

- Recoded VLCX in 1980.

- Some were recoded RLCX for NRC traffic duties from 1994.

- The ex-NRC vans were returned to V/Line and reverted to the VLCX code in late 1996.

Colour Scheme:

- As introduced, painted VR Red with large VR logo, silver roof and black bogies.

- Two other VR logo’s have been applied, a medium and a small one. Some roofs were also painted VR Red.

- When the VR became V/Line, a V/line logo was applied to the vans.

- With the formation of Freight Australia in 1999, the vans were painted in FA Brunswick green with FA logo. Some vans have a yellow line in various positions.

- With the takeover of FA by Pacific National in 2004, some vans have been painted in PN Rich Blue and Sunflower yellow.

Operation:

The VLX/VLCX vans was used in NSW from the time they were built until 1996, when they were returned to V/Line after their NRC use. These wagons were used in interstate general goods traffic as well as local goods trains in NSW. They could turn up anywhere in the state

Modelling:

- An Epoxy kit has been available from a few sources, but they are no longer available.

- Trainorama first released a RTR model in 19xx, and is no longer available.

- Trainorama released an improved RTR model of the VLX/VLCX in early 2006.

- On Track Models produced an RTR HO model in 2013.

- Auscision Models produced a RTR HO model in 2014.