The Victorian Railways used a variety of both 4-wheel and bogie open wagons for the transport of a wide range of loads.

History The first open wagons were 4-wheel wagons of all-wooden construction, had no brakes and could carry up to . Westinghouse brakes were added from 1891, with most vehicles modified by 1905. The addition of brakes, and the use of steel frames, meant that, by 1928, vehicles with capacity had been developed.

The first bogie open wagons were built in 1880 and had a capacity of . Bogie vehicles were in a minority until their widespread introduction in the mid-1950s with the construction associated with Operation Phoenix.

Four-Wheel Wagons I Series wagons The first I wagon was built in 1859. It was of all-wooden construction and could carry a load of . In 1902, the first I wagons were built and got the nickname 'Tommy Bent' Wagon. From 1907 to 1926, the standard I wagon was built which could also carry . These wagons had a longer wheelbase than the earlier 15-ton wagons.

I - Four-wheel Open Wagon

IA - Four-wheel Open Wagon IA wagons were almost identical to the steel I wagons. The only difference was they were recoded to allow for dual rating of . That allowed loads of up to being charged at the 11-ton rate and loads from 11 to 15 tons at the 15-ton rate. The recoding started in early 1929 and continued while IB wagons were being scrapped.

IB - 11-ton Open Wagon In 1929, all I's with a load of less than were re-coded IB, to separate the lower-capacity wagons from the newer higher-capacity wagons.

IC - Fixed-wheel Tippler Wagons From 1954, approximately 350 I/IA wagons were converted for tippler traffic, to carry coal between Yallourn and Newport Power Station. Later tippler traffic was between the Maddingley Mine at Bacchus Marsh and the APM paper mill at Fairfield. The wagons were modified by removing the doors and replacing them with a steel plate welded into place.

ID - (ex D&MR Co) Open Wagon Included in the Deniliquin & Moama Railway Company stock acquired by the VR in 1923 were fixed wheel open wagons similar in design to 'standard' 10 ton capacity I wagons, which the VR had been building through the 1880s. These wagons were classed ID by the VR and numbered 31, and 33 to 50. Similarly 46 to 50 ID were built at Newport Workshops in 1922 for the D&MR; they were standard pattern I wagons as built at that period and were used to replace accident damaged I wagons in the VR fleet, some surviving until the 1970s.

IG / IX Fixed-wheel Open Wagon Drop-sided wagon

IO - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon In 1948, a non bulk-proofed version of the standard GY wagon was placed into service; these vehicles were coded IY. Since there were already wagons coded IY (rivetted) in service, these vehicles were recoded IO; during August/September of 1948, wagons 15870 to 15878, 15893, and 15895 IY were so treated. Wagons 15896 to 15957 IO were built new and placed into service between July and November of 1948. Due to reporting problems, since IO could be mistaken for 10 (ten), these wagons were again recoded - this time to HY. Wagons issued to service after 26 November 1948 were all coded HY from new, while recoding to HY of previous IY/IO wagons of this type took place during the last months of 1948.

IS & IT - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon

They were converted from other classes for timber traffic.

IY - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon They were the same as the standard I wagon, but had a stronger underframe, allowing them to carry a load of up to . 350 of these wagons were made between 1926 and 1927.

IZ - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon IZ wagons were introduced to service in 1928, and continued to be built until 1936. It is likely that the design was inspired by the bogie E wagons of 1925, though door widths and side heights are slightly different. Originally constructed with a rivetted body, outside sill underframe and pressed body panels, later wagons had inside sills, welded type with sheet panels.

As introduced, their capacity was 25 tons, however the second batch entered service as dual capacity "16/25" ton wagons. From 1932 the capacity was lifted to 27 ton, and remained so until the 1960s, despite increases of one ton for most other classes when the buffers were removed.

600 IZ was issued to traffic on 28/3/1931, two months after the last rivetted wagon, and was at the time billed as the "First All-Welded Four Wheel Open Wagon" in the world. This vehicle appears not to have been placed into general traffic; in 1933 it was mentioned in correspondence as running between Newport Workshops and Bendigo in workshops traffic.

Further construction of IZ wagons continued to 1935, when wagons 911 to 999 IZ were placed in traffic, most being listed as "bulk grain". Within three months, the first _GZ_wagons were issued to service, numbers 1000 and 1001. These "bulk wheat" IZ wagons were recoded to GZ, the GZ wagons eventually occupying numbers 911 to 1030, and 1101 to 2000. This left the IZ number block as 1 to 910, and 1031 to 1100.

By about 1954 there were sufficient GY wagons in service to replace both GZ wagons and the G grain trucks ex I wagons. GZ wagons were progressively recoded to IZ from about 1956, although some GZ's remained in service until 1965. With the inclusion of GZ conversions the IZ number block became 1 to 2000.

In the late 1950s, some attempt was made to rebuild the early riveted bodies. The welded HY body design was used and the code for these wagons became HZ.

With derailment problems in 1963/1964, the IZ wagons were modified and derated to 22 tons capacity, and coded RY.

G Series Wagons In 1935, the VR started transporting bulk grain. To cater for that traffic, 200 standard I wagons were modified with grain-proof seals and were coded G.

In about 1956, due to the number of GY wagons, G wagons were no longer required for bulk grain and were reclassified to I or IA.

G - Bulk Grain Open Wagon

G - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon

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 1940s and early 1950s. The wagons could be seen in long rakes of up to 73. When not required for grain transport, the GY could be used for general goods service.

In the early 80s the Australian Railways Union placed a ban on the withdrawal and scrapping of the V/Line open wagon fleet due to concerns about the grain capacity of the system, and for most of 1986 about 3,000 wagons were stabled in sidings all around the state to keep them out of the way while new GJF bogie grain hoppers were built. Each new hopper replaced seven open wagons, by combining the increased capacity, decreased weight, and faster loading, unloading and run times made possible with the modern design. Nearly 350 wagons, comprised mostly of GY, L sheep and M cattle wagons, had been held at the former military siding Dysart, south of Seymour railway station.

By April 1987 disposal of 3,500 fixed-wheel wagons had progressed substantially, many of those being GY class though exact proportions are not known. Simsmetal had scrapped over a thousand wagons around the state, with progress being made on another 800 or so and a final estimate of 2,200 wagons to be scrapped by that contractor alone. A further 400 wagons were in the process of being scrapped at Bendigo Workshops, 183 at Woodend, 150 at Benalla (including some bogie box and louvre vans), 100 at Wallan, and around 450-500 wagons at Tottenham Yard. Of the total fleet of around 6,000 GY wagons, around 1,300 were converted to non-grain traffic and recoded as "G", for use in general goods service for shipments like fertiliser, timber and briquettes, and another 800 or so were converted to GH hopper wagons as a stopgap to handle grain traffic on light lines, like Tocumwal, that could not handle the axle loads of heavier bogie grain hoppers. The 1986-1987 grain season was the first time that export grain traffic from Victoria did not include the use of GY wagons.

It was also expected that the GH fleet would soon be rendered obsolete in 1988 due to bridge upgrades and line closures, plus the anticipated delivery of a further 100 VHGY bogie hopper wagons.

GZ - Bulk Grain Wagon These were a grain-proofed version of the IZ wagon.

HY - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon HY wagons were introduced in 1948 as a general service wagon, identical in design to the GY, except that they did not have the grain proof seals around the doors and so were not suitable for the carriage of bulk grain. Originally introduced as IY/IO wagons, these classifications caused some confusion so the wagon class was changed to HY. The number group started at 15870, which was a continuation of the I wagon number block. Traffic problems became apparent when they were mistaken for GY wagons, and loaded with bulk grain. To avoid mistaken identity, the GY, GZ, and G bulk grain wagons received diagonal yellow stripes painted on one corner of each side (oxide red stripes for wagons later painted yellow). Wagon construction continued until 1958, in the 15870 to 17030 number block; these were converted to bulk traffic GY wagons from 1961, retaining their HY number. Older IZ type wagons were rebuilt with these style bodies from 1959, and recoded to HY from 1961. Rebuilding continued until 1965, with the wagons being issued to service as HY; these HY wagons were in the low number group (less than 15870). From 1966 to 1968, the VR modified most of this group to GY standard, (the code and number both changing) becoming 911 to 1160 GY. Other wagons were placed into the RY group.

HZ - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon The first 1 HZ was convertedfrom horsebox 25 F during December 1954, to provide a weed spraying van for the Weedex train. It was fitted with pumping gear and spray nozzles to spray along each side of the track, and was coupled to tank wagons filled with herbicide. It was recoded to 1 WZ in 1959 in order to clear the HZ code for a new type open wagon. From 1959 to 1961, seventy IZ wagons were rebuilt with welded bodies using components from the HY (non grain-proof GY) design. These modified open wagons were recoded to HZ. Between 1961 and 1966, these wagons were progressively recoded to HY. The numbers for the HZ group were between 6 and 804. As HY wagons, they were converted to GY wagons in the 1966/67 program. These wagons were incorporated into the GY number block 911 to 1160 along with other IZ conversions.

Other Four-wheel Open Wagons

APM - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon

KF / KW - Fixed-wheel Motor Car Body Transport

RY - Fixed-wheel Open Wagon During 1963 and 1964, the VR encountered an unusually high number of derailments, with as many as derailment per day was being recorded (though many of thsee events were very minor). One of the derailment causes was found to be the "W" guards of IZ, GZ, and HZ type (27 ton capacity) wagons, which were found to be cracking where they were rivetted to the underframe. To rectify the problem, the "W" guards were replaced and the wagons derated to 22 ton capacity. These wagon classes were recoded to RY, with the original numbers kept.

The combined IZ, GZ, and HZ number group was 1 to 2000. With conversions to other wagons from the mid 1950s and scrappings due to derailments, there were many gaps in the number group; the lowest numbered RY was 2.

The conversion of all the wagons took about four years; while this was progressing, the VR began converting the outside sill versions of IZ, HZ, HY, and RY wagons to GY standard. Apart from the rebuilt wagons coded HY, the IZ, HZ, and RY conversions involved replacing the old rivetted superstructure with a welded one.