The V type carriages, introduced from 1897, were the first group of Victorian Railways passenger rolling stock to have their own distinct class.
Cars 23 and 32 AV had an altered construction, with doors 2 and 5 on each side removed, and the space replaced with wider windows.
[1][2][3] Some of the carriages were used as "joint stock", for running between Melbourne and Adelaide on the Intercolonial Express, and entered that service directly from the production line.
The last use of the class was during the final run of R766 as a coal burner from Melbourne to Ballarat on 19 December 1999, with 18BV included in the consist.
Steamrail Ballarat intended to restore a number of the cars to active heritage status and, to that end, 7BV was fitted with a kiosk in one of the compartments.
Usually, when the Victorian Railways developed a new type of passenger car, they also produced a matching guards van.
That was in lieu of the more usual raised observation compartments, so CV 1 and 2 were unique for their era in having flat roofs.
The main difference was the roof style, which was clerestory but with curved ends, as would be applied to the later E type carriages.
The names appear on the carriage drawings, centred above the window line, but no photos exist of the cars to indicate whether they were ever applied.
The four external body doors either side were all sealed but their window spacing was retained, and access to the car was exclusively via the end platforms.
[9][10] Between 1932 and 1935 the car was leased by Jack Young of Ballarat, who used it as a mobile radio station broadcasting to towns in the region for three to six days.
The conductor's compartment was rebuilt as a kitchen area, and the short saloon was fitted with two bunk beds and wardrobes.
In 2018, a proposal to refurbish the carriage was floated by the Mornington Railway Preservation Society, requesting $109,000 for the restoration of Melville "as a mobile showpiece and educational experience".
[13] In August 2022, an extensive external rebuild was started by Mornington Railway volunteers, and Melville entered service with the Mornington Railway in May 2023, painted in authentic VR blue and gold livery, with a reproduction “Train of Knowledge” sign on the end platform.
The vehicle was placed on a new underframe, based on the outside-channel construction of a Tait motor carriage, but the car's length was retained.
Early runs of the set were joined by van 32ZF, later replaced by 2CV, fitted with a generator to provide power for lighting and exhibits.
On 18 February 1966, the Gippsland Industries Train departed Spencer Street station for a tour of the eastern region of Victoria.
Exhaust fans were fitted, the roof relined with pegboard, and the floors sanded and painted a "neutral" colour.
[18] When the carriages were completed, the cars were railed to the Gippsland region for fitting-out by various exhibitors, then collected and returned to Spencer Street for the formal launch of the train.
[25][26][27][28] The train then ran via Cootamundra and Parkes to Tamworth and South Brisbane, returning to Sydney via the coastal areas of N.S.W., then to Canberra and back to Wodonga.
On return to Victoria, van 32ZF was going to be restored to its original configuration, with the generator removed and the colour changed back to Wagon Red.
[29] However, other records indicate the van retained its generator and was utilised for the Showmobile / Display Train (below), until September 1969,[30] when it was superseded in that role by 2CV and returned to normal service.
By 1968 a further two carriages - ex 9BV and 21BV - were stripped internally and renumbered 5 and 6, then joined the existing four Display cars as a six-carriage consist.
All six cars were then externally reworked, with the outsides sheathed in aluminium cladding, essentially creating a set of billboards on wheels.
[31] The new Showmobile Train left Spencer Street on 22 April 1968, with internal displays including "children's wear, cameras, film, aluminium roofing and flywire doors, motorbikes, oil stoves, power tools, motor car tyres and other motor accessories, plumbing equipment, spanners, linoleum, radios, tape recorders, electric clocks, venetian blinds, and furniture", among others.
[32] The train first ran to Mornington, then to Box Hill, Upper Ferntree Gully, Spring Vale and Dandenong, before proceeding to regional cities and towns via Werribee, Geelong, Colac, Camperdown, Terang and Warrnambool.
The Vintage Train ran from 1967 to 1983, after which the remaining carriages were formally entered into the state heritage register.
The vast majority of carriages listed on this page were destroyed and burnt as a quick and easy form of disposal.