Variations on the VR QR Wagon
This long-lived and very useful class of wagons were 38'5¼" long and had three drop doors each side which, when lowered, opened the entire side of the wagon. The doors, sides and floor were all constructed from wood. They carried many different loads over the years and were also used in Way and Works trains carrying sleepers, ballast, spoil etc. A small number were still in service in the late 1980s and possibly into the early 1990s.
They were constructed as follows:
• 1-201 built 1889-1892, fitted with swing link diamond frame bogies, replaced in later years with arch bar and cast steel bogies.
• 202-376 built 1912-1914, fitted with VR plate frame bogies.
All of these were constructed with truss rods and buffers (removed in 1956-1957, which increased the capacity of the wagon from 26t to 31t). Interestingly, they were also fitted with shunter’s steps (single post), one of the very few vehicles that were so fitted in the early days of the VR.
A longer version, 42'10" long with four drop doors each side,
