Victorian Railways Long W type carriage

Long sitting cars
Elliptical roofed 61BW as preserved by Steamrail Victoria
Manufacturer	Victorian Railways
Built at	Newport Workshops
Constructed	1926-1927
Entered service	1926-1986
Number built	9x AW, 5x ABW, 11x BW
Number preserved	60, 64 & 65AW 61 & 63ABW 60-61, 63-64, 66-68 & 70BW
Number scrapped	12
Fleet numbers	60-68AW, 60-63ABW, 65ABW & 60-70BW; later 71-79BW, 80-82BW, 1-9VFW & 31-34MT
Capacity	60 1st class passengers (AW) 26 1st class & 34 2nd class passengers (ABW) 68 2nd class passengers (BW)
Operator(s)	various heritage operators
Specifications
Car body construction	Timber
Car length	64 ft 0 3⁄4 in (19.53 m) over body; 67 ft 2 in (20.47 m) over pulling lines
Width	10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Height	13 ft 0 7⁄8 in (3.98 m)
Maximum speed	70 mph (113 km/h)
Weight	32 LT 10 cwt 0 qtr (33.02 t) (AW) 33 LT 5 cwt 0 qtr (33.78 t) (ABW) 32 LT 7 cwt 0 qtr (32.87 t) (BW)
Axle load	8 LT 2 cwt 2 qtr (8.26 t) (AW) 8 LT 6 cwt 1 qtr (8.45 t) (ABW) 8 LT 1 cwt 3 qtr (8.22 t) (BW)
Bogies	W type at 49 ft 3 1⁄4 in (15.02 m) centres
Braking system(s)	Westinghouse air brakes
Coupling system	Autocoupler
Track gauge	5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) & 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

{{Histmerge|W type carriage}}

60, 64 & 65AW
61 & 63ABW

60 1st class passengers (AW)
26 1st class & 34 2nd class passengers (ABW)

32 LT 10 cwt 0 qtr (33.02 t) (AW)
33 LT 5 cwt 0 qtr (33.78 t) (ABW)

8 LT 2 cwt 2 qtr (8.26 t) (AW)

8 LT 6 cwt 1 qtr (8.45 t) (ABW)

The W type carriages were wooden passenger carriages used on the railways of Victoria, Australia.

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.

The final batch of AW cars was constructed in 1926 and 1927, again fitted with curved roofs, and numbered 60AW to 68AW. Cars 69AW and 70AW were ordered but not built. These new cars were capable of seating 70 people across 7 compartments, again one reserved for ladies and two for smoking.

In December 1937, the newest carriages, 60AW through 68AW, were converted to add 2nd-class capacity to the system.

Note that 60AW-63AW and 65AW were built in 1926, while 64AW and 66AW-68AW were built in 1927.

They were converted from AW to BW in December 1937, then returned to AW in 1955/56, and to VFW in 1972. The VFW's that were reconverted back to BW's were converted in 1979, while VFW's 3, 4 & 6 were converted to MT's in 1983. 7VFW was sold in 1983 as well.

The VFW cars were painted in VR Blue and Gold, and were on 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. The cars were used for special excursion trips, generally scouting or defence 'specials' that required one train.