Brief History Of The Class.
Between 1954 and 1956 fifty louvre vans were constructed to a design which featured similarities to the earlier V vans. They entered service coded as V or VP, but all were re-coded to VP in the late 1950's when the vans coded V were fitted with 'BX' bogies.
These vans were mainly used on passenger trains, being used for baggage, parcels and mail. Approximately 20 vans were permanently on standard gauge for the Melbourne - Sydney route. The remainder could be found across the broad gauge system.
In 1979, these vans were recoded to VLPY. By the mid 1980's they were no longer needed for passenger traffic. They were fitted with roller bearing freight bogies and classified VLBY. In 1988, the last letter "Y" was found to be incorrect and the remaining vans were re-coded VLBF.
By 1991 most of these vans were in storage. By the mid 90's they had been sold or scrapped.
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References:
Vincent, Peter, "VP - Passenger Mail/Baggage Van", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
Vincent, Peter, "VLPY / VLPF - Bogie Mail/Baggage Van", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
Vincent, Peter, "VF / VLBY / VLBF - Bogie Louvre", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
