Some background

Locomotives all look the same, so it’s not like you can tell a train driver “you’re driving the red one today” – you need a way to tell them apart. Enter a favourite topic of trainspotters – numbering systems.

Each locomotive gets a number – and most of the time locomotives of the same type get numbered in the same series of numbers, and either the first few digits or some letters in front indicate the ‘class’ of locomotives.

And from there the numbers get to track maintenance for a given unit, and allocations of locomotives to a given service. Initially these processes were were all paper based, and undertaken by an army of clerks back at head office.

PROV image VPRS 12903/P0001, 287/09

But in the 1970s there was something new sweeping the world of business – computers.

Photo by Oliver.obi, via Wikimedia Commons

And over time, railways around the world also decided to adapt their existing processes to the new world – but not without trouble.

Number shuffling at Australian National

In 1980s the Australian National Railways Commission – operator of freight and passenger trains from Adelaide towards Western Australia, Alice Springs, Broken Hill and Victoria – introduced the ‘Traffic Information Management System’ (TIMS) to make their railway more efficient.

Photo by John Masson, via Wikimedia Commons

Their 1984/1985 annual report stating

Implementation of AN’s computerised wagon monitoring system will dramatically increase utilisation of wagons and locomotives. A sub-system to maintain a comprehensive on-line rollingstock inventory was implemented in October 1984. Partial implementation of the remainder of the system occurred in July 1985, with full implementation due in December 1985.

As part of this, ‘check digits‘ were added to the existing fleet number of each locomotive, wagon and carriage, so that if a number was accidentally mistyped into the new system, the computer would know it was wrong, and prompt the user to correct it.

Australian National annual report 1985/1986

But there was also a problem – locomotives inherited from the South Australia Railways had been numbered as numeric ‘classes’ – where the class leader had the same number as the class name, for example ‘830’ class locomotive ‘830’ and ‘930’ class locomotive ‘930’ – and the new computer system was not able to handle the duplication.

So the solution for Australian National – renumber the class leaders! The next spare numbers were at the end of the existing number groups, so locomotive ‘830’ was renumbered to ‘875’, locomotive ‘930’ became ‘967’, and so on..

And a real doozy in New Zealand

The New Zealand Railways were a relatively early adopter of computers, with their ‘Traffic Monitoring System’ introduced in the 1970s.

Photo by GPS 56 from New Zealand, via Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia has this to say about it.

On 12 February 1979, NZR introduced a computerised “Traffic Monitoring System” (TMS) nationwide. Implementation was completed in December 1980.

A pilot scheme of TMS began in 1973 on the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line between Woodville and Gisborne. TMS resulted in an 8 per cent improvement in wagon utilisation. In 1977, NZR decided to implement the system out across the entire network. Using dual IBM System/370 systems, one in active standby mode, the TMS system became a centralised system for tracking all wagon and locomotive movements.

As a result of the introduction of TMS, NZR identified that it could reduce its total wagon requirements by 10 per cent of its 1980 fleet, resulting in the withdrawal of many older wagon types. NZR later sold its expertise and some of the TMS software to Victorian Railways in Victoria, Australia and the State Rail Authority (SRA) in New South Wales, Australia.

But the historical New Zealand Railways locomotives classification scheme that relied on superscript characters (eg: D^A and E^W) didn’t work on the new computer system, so the classes were changed to machine readable uppercase characters (eg: DA and EW).

But that wasn’t the only change – the decision was also made the renumber the entire locomotive fleet, across new number groups, with new numbers, in a system completely unintelligible at first glance – four digit non-sequential numbers. An example is the DC class locomotives of 1979 – 85 were built as D^C 1551 through 1599, but now operate as DC 4006 – 4951. So what gives?

The first secret behind the system is the meaning of each digit – the final one is a check number, giving DC class locomotives 400 through 495 – which sounds somewhat sensible, other than the fact only 85 DC class locomotives were ever built, so there’s 10 extra numbers in the series.

The answer to that mystery – I found it on a British railway forum, of all places.

The New Zealand check-digit system doesn’t work like the UIC/EVN system – it’s more complex, not least because it has to cope with vehicle classes which are letters, and variable-length numbers. The way it was explained to me (nearly 20 years ago, so it’s a bit hazy now) is that the check digit calculation can come up with a number between 0 and 10 – not 0 and 9 like the EVN. When it’s a 10, there’s no way to handle it in the computer system, so that number is just rejected and they skip to the next one. So, yes, there are gaps in the fleet number sequence, and that’s just how the system works. The New Zealanders are used to it, and don’t expect to have a continuous list of numbers.

So that’s two layers on indirection in the New Zealand rolling stock numbering system – my brain hurts.

Further tools

• Railways of Australia check letter calculator at Comrails
• TMS check digit calculator at NZ Rail Photos

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The story starts

V/Line now has 115 and counting VLocity trains in service.

And with locomotive hauled trains on the way out, their diesel-electric locomotives ended up stored at Geelong.

And so in August 2023 V/Line invited expressions of interest to repurpose them on freight services.

V/Line is seeking proposals from organisations capable of repurposing its passenger locomotives for broad gauge freight in accordance with V/Line approved application(s).

V/Line is progressively retiring its fleet of ‘classic’ passenger locomotives as new V/Locity trains are introduced, creating an opportunity to reinvigorate competition in, and grow Broad Gauge (BG) rail freight in Victoria.

V/Line is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from ONRSR (Office of National Rail Safety Regulator) accredited private sector organisations or consortia, to invest in locomotive upgrades to V/Line’s specification and maintenance requirements and operate them on the BG freight network.

The EOI proposals will encompass V/Lines classic passenger locomotive fleet, as they are progressively decommissioned, as they become available to be repurposed locomotive fleet for the BG Network.

A handful of of locomotives to start with, and more to come.

New VLocity trains are being introduced across the network, therefore V/Line is progressively retiring its fleet of ‘classic’ passenger locomotives. This fleet provides an opportunity to encourage competition and grow BG rail freight in Victoria.

To repurpose these locomotives, V/Line is running this public Invitation process for the N and P Class locomotives.

Following this, V/Line then expects to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to selected parties from the EOI Process.

The expectation is that the N and P Class locomotives will remain in V/Line ownership but will be made available for the freight network under a long-term lease arrangement.

While subject to change, the fleet surplus to requirements for this EOI Invitation is projected to be:
• 19 x N Class
• 3 x P Class

Of these, seven locomotives are available for repurposing now: four N Class and three P Class.

The next tranche of N Class locomotives will be released once replacement V/Locity trains are in service.

The total number of N Class made available through the program, and the timescales, are yet to be confirmed and will be subject to change.

With a hope to encourage more freight on rail in Victoria.

The objectives of the locomotive repurposing program are to:
• Increase the capacity and performance of the broad gauge freight system
• Prioritise proposals that support broad gauge freight growth, meet upgrade specifications, and offer co-investment on the freight system such as in wagons and terminals
• Support broader government policy on rail freight, health and road safety, and legislative requirements obligations under legislation such as the 2017 Climate Change Act and the 2010 Transport Integration Act.
• Maximise the return to the State through public tender processes that invite proposals from parties able to contribute to growing rail freight’s mode share

V/Line is looking for robust and innovative proposals that support these program objectives and demonstrate a collaborative approach to work with V/Line to improve BG rail freight in Victoria.
Key to this is to demonstrate value for money to the State. V/Line expects the EOIs to demonstrate this value, including by:
• direct investment in the locomotives (overhauls, upgrades, maintenance)
• investment in the BG freight network, such as in new/upgraded wagons and new/expanded freight rail terminals
• indicative lease payments to V/Line for locomotives
• indirect benefits including “externalities” such as reduced road damage and congestion, improved road safety and reduced carbon emissions.

Respondents are encouraged to prioritise investments in longer term assets, rather than just the lease payments for the locomotives.

And work around the ‘break of gauge‘ Victorian rail freight is limited by.

V/Line is currently investing $181 million on upgrades to the rail freight network. Complementary investment in the locomotive and wagon fleet is also being actively encouraged to maximise the benefits of these upgrades.

Surplus V/Line passenger locomotives are currently being repurposed and will be offered to rail operators for use on the BG freight network. The aim is to increase capacity and competition.

The Victorian BG freight system operates using a rolling stock fleet that is aging and, in some cases, not necessarily aligned to current and expected future requirements. The average age of the privately-owned BG freight locomotives in Victoria is 41 years, and most wagons in use are 30-50 years old.

SG rolling stock can operate on other networks interstate, therefore locomotives and rolling stock are more readily available and the market is more competitive.

In contrast, due to the relatively higher cost of meeting the gauge and axle load requirements, investment in growing the BG locomotive fleet has been historically restricted.

V/Line hopes that its commitment to, and investment in, the rail freight sector will generate commitment from freight operators towards growing their Victorian BG rail freight operations.

And it begins

In March 2024 four N class locomotives departed South Dynon for a new life on freight with the successful bidder – Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

N467 transferring classmates N463, N466, N455 and N464 along the goods lines under Footscray.

To Tottenham Yard, where the locomotives were handed over to Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

The V/Line and PTV branding was quickly stripped from the locomotives.

And on the evening of 16 March 2024 they led their first freight train, with N463 leading B80, S311 and N455 out of Melbourne on a grain train towards northern Victoria.

Allowing aging diesel locomotives from the 1950s to head into the workshops for a well overdue overhaul.

Footnote on the P class locomotives

Back in 2017 V/Line’s also retired a number of smaller P class locomotives.

Five were sold outright to Southern Shorthaul Railroad in April 2019, and pressed into service delivering newly completed High Capacity Metro Trains.

Transporting X’Trapolis trains to Ballarat for overhaul.

And Comeng trains to the scrapyard.

They have also been used on infrastructure inspection trains.

To transport rails, ballast and sleepers to work sites.

And to fill in for the bigger B and S class diesels on grain trains.

Initially they ran around in a stripped V/Line livery, but were eventually repainted in SSR yellow and black in 2022.

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