Victorian Railways Long W type carriage

Following World War I patronage on the Victorian Railways increased significantly, and there were insufficient high capacity carriages for the busiest routes. To overcome the problem, the W design was adjusted, with a longer and wider body, to produce the Long W series. The vehicles entered service from 1926.

The 1926 cars were 64 feet 0 ³⁄₄ inch (19.53 m) long over couplers) and 10 ft (3.05 m) wide. They retained the curved (arched) style of roof, as previously employed on the last fifteen short W cars.

The single-class passenger vehicles had one compartment reserved for ladies and two compartments reserved for smoking. They were also fitted with single-gender lavatories at each end, and vestibules (with lock-able doors) for walking through to other cars in a given train. There was a water fountain located about halfway down the corridor in each car.

Two new dining cars were built in 1927, named respectively Avoca and Hopkins. These had a similar underframe to the standard E type carriage, but the body design was a much closer match to the latter half of the Long W type carriages, using steel plates rivetted to the frame, and a curved roof was fitted. The cars were so heavy, at over 70 tons, that they had to be placed on Tait Motor-car bogies to support the tremendous weight. Aside from the three Pullman cars, these were the heaviest items (by axle load) of rollingstock to run in Victoria, possibly until modern times. Couplings were an oddity; the two were fitted with standard screw couplings when new, but by late 1935 they were both converted to autocouplers. A few months later they went to transition couplings, then back to proper autocouplers in 1936. Inside, the cars were partitioned at about the half-way mark, with 48 seats arranged in a 2+2 with 12 tables saloon configuration. Beyond this was a counter/buffet area facing the dining area; a corridor then ran along one side of the kitchen area, with the rest of the car devoted to a kitchen and food preparation area. This was a distinct change from the layout of the E type dining cars, which had a central kitchen area with the first class dining facilities at one end, and second class at the other.

Avoca and Hopkins were used on the Melbourne-Adelaide train in lieu of the earlier models.

Avoca was converted to airconditioning in early 1936, as the second carriage on the VR network to have this modification following 36AE. In 1937 it was used as the standby for the Spirit of Progress, in case the Dining Car was not available at the time. The cars quickly became known as Iron Tanks by most rail workers, or nicknamed "Hell" by crew members who had to work in the kitchen section with its huge wooden fuel stove, which was not airconditioned. Crew members could regularly be seen gasping for fresh air at open windows. The car was painted into blue/gold in December 1953 for the royal train. The old briquette stove was replaced in April 1969 with a Porta-gas model. Roller bearings were added in the late 1960s, and the bogies were completely replaced in 1973 with a then-modern fabricated design, reclaimed from Spirit of Progress carriages. These were suitably modified to support the tremendous weight of Avoca which tended to sway about on rough track. In May 1984, as part of the New Deal rollingstock renumbering, Avoca was given a new identity of RS235, the first time it had been considered as part of the S fleet. Around this time the car was repainted into a "heritage" livery, reminiscent of the dark maroon with yellow lining applied to the first E cars when they were built. Today, Avoca is owned by Victrack and under the care of the Seymour Rail Heritage Centre.

Hopkins had a similar history to Avoca except that it was not airconditioned, up to February 1950. It was then sold to the Commonwealth railways, reclassed as DB75, fitted with airconditioning and converted to standard gauge, entering service in November of that year. On 19 February 1952 it had been repainted into the Commonwealth Railways colour scheme and by December 1954 new bogies of the BK type were fitted. It was used mainly on the Trans-Australian Express, and later on the Ghan. It was written off on 29 March 1968, possibly as surplus to requirements.

Three sleeping cars were constructed by the Victorian Railways in 1928 to supplement those used on the Mildura and other overnight services. They used a similar internal arrangement to the last two E type sleepers, Buchan and Wando, but were wider with steel panels used in lieu of timber slats for the sides, and a curved roof matching the Long W carriages. Ten single-sided compartments were fitted, each capable of seating four second-class sitting passengers or two sleeping passengers along one wall. The cars were initially painted in standard VR dark red, and rostered for use on the Melbourne to Mildura overnight trains.

While the cars were generally similar to the earlier joint-stock sleeping cars, they were exclusively built for use on the Victorian Railways system.[25] Like Buchan and Wando the lounge area was replaced with a tenth sleeping compartment, which was slightly larger than the others. To avoid confusion, in 1939 they were renumbered Sleeping Cars No.1, 2 and 3 in build order (with Buchan and Wando becoming 4 and 5 respectively) in lieu of names. Around the same time they were fitted with air conditioning systems powered by axle-mounted generators, and repainted into blue and gold.

Unlike the earlier cars, Werribee, Indi and Ovens were fitted with second-class bench seats in lieu of first class, so they had capacity for 40 sitting passengers in day form.

Kits are produced by Steam Era Models for the short, clerestory-roofed AW and BW carriages; these can be kitbashed into the longer type carriages, except for the additional width required for accuracy. Resin-cast curved roofs are available for purchase separately in both short and long versions, from either Blue and Gold models,[26] or End of the Line Hobbies in Adelaide. The latter company also offers kit construction services, so it is possible to have a carriage built and posted.[27]

Samhongsa produced a series of the long W type carriages in brass a few decades back, individually packed. The range included red boarded-sides 60AW, 61AW, 62AW; 60BW, 62BW, 65BW; 60ABW, 62ABW, 65ABW and, in blue, 1VFW, 2VFW and 3VFW. In plain sides, the range included 64AW, 66AW, 67AW; 64BW, 66BW, 67BW and, in blue, 5VFW, 6VFW and 7VFW.

Trainbuilder has produced models of Werribee, Indi and Ovens in VR Blue/Gold, for $525 each.

• Peter J. Vincent: AW - First Class Sitting cars
• Peter J. Vincent: ABW - First/Second Class cars
• Peter J. Vincent: BW & BWL - Second Class Sitting cars
• Peter J. Vincent: CW - Passenger Guards Vans
• Peter J. Vincent: VFW - Second Class Sitting cars, Standard Gauge
• Peter J. Vincent: MT - Rail Motor Trailers
• Steamrail-owned W cars
• Railpage thread