New standard 'Australia wide' lettering system
These lists focuses on the Victorian code letters (those with the first letter "V")
Those with a diffrent first letter, may not correspond with the following lists
First Letter
Used to describe the owner
A - Australian National (SA) /
ASR / Australian Rail Track Corporation
C - Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia
G - Great Northern Railway
P - Private or Third Party Operators
R - National Rail Corporation / Pacific National
Second Letter
Indicated the type of vehicle
D - Departmental (replaced by "Z") / Non-revenue in NSW / Crew Cars
E - Container (electric wiring)
F - Flat Wagon (non-container)
H - Hopper (gravity discharge)
M - Motor Vehicle Transport
P - Hopper (pneumatic discharge)
Q - Container Flat / Well Wagon
R - Refrigerated car / Container (specially equipped)
Z - Miscellaneous / Departmental in Vic
Third Letter
Used to segregate the different types with the same second letter. Some were grouped by age, some by traffic type. Some letters were reused.
Victorian cars listed below, with the first letter "V"
(I have not found an official list for these codes, the meaning of individual letters, or why certain letters were used. These are the likely definitions)
B - Boxvan
C - Coil Steel
S - Removable Tarpaulin Hoop Supports
D - Departmental
E - Container (electric wiring)
D - Depressed Container Deck
F - Flat Wagon
H - Stator Wagon / Log Traffic
T - Timber / Pipe Transport
W - Timber / Diesel Block Transport
H - Hopper (gravity discharge)
A - Soda Ash / Grain
(pneumatic lids)
C - Cement / Weighbridge Test
L - Limestone / Grain
(100 t - pneumatic roof)
M - Ballast
(pneumatic discharge)
N - Ballast / Grain
(100 t - pneumatic roof)
R - Rock (Rutile?) / Rice
K - Bulk Steel Transport
K - Steel / Oil Safety Wagon
L - Louvre Van
M - Motor Vehicle Transport
O - Open Wagon
B - Large (no / non-standard tarpaulin support)
C - Large (tarpaulin support)
D - Flat Wagon (no sides)
E - Slab Steel (no sides)
F - Fertiliser (superphosphate) / Sleeper Discharge
V - Coil Steel (vertical)
P - Hopper (pneumatic discharge)
A - Cement Hopper
(different air pressure discharge)
B - Cement Hopper
(different air pressure discharge)
C - Cement Hopper
(different air pressure discharge)
L - Loco Sand Transport? / Lime Traffic
Q - Container Flat/Well Wagon
A - Single Flexi-van / 3-pack Articulated
E - Natural Gas / Jumbo Container / Electric Wiring
M - Container Flat (marine container lock)?
O - Ex VOFX & VOHX Open Wagon
W - Centre Well Articulated
S - Livestock
T - Tank Wagon
QZ - White Products (Block Train)
V - Van
A - Ex CA Freight Breakvan
B - Ex ZLP Freight / Passenger Van
C - Ex CP Passenger Guards Van
D - Ex ZF Freight Guards Van
E - Ex ZMF Modular Cabin Van
W - Well Wagon
Z - Departmental
A - Fire Attack / W&W Van
C - Sleeper Discharge Equipment
L - Bogie Transporter / Diesel Engine
M - MET Bogie Transporter / Ballast Hopper
O - Dirty Ballast / Sleeper Discharge
R - Rubbish / Rail Transport
V - Weedex Train (tank & van)
W - Wheel Transporter / Open Wagon?
Fourth Letter
Indicated speed and bogie exchange capability plus bogie type if required.
Note: In Victoria "Y" was mistakenly adopted for speeds up to 80 km/h, non interchange bogies, this was later corrected to letter "F".
Also in Victoria, stock in the "P" passenger group were coded with the last two letters "PY"
A - Speeds less than 70 km/h
non interchange bogies
F - Speeds up to 80 km/h
non interchange bogies
H - High axle load vehicles
(generally speed limited)
L - Speeds up to 80 km/h
limited bogie exchange
P - Passenger train speeds (95 to 115 km/h)
(No longer used - replaced by Y and Z)
S - Speeds up to 145 km/h
T - Speeds up to 160 km/h
W - Speeds of 95 km/h
low profile bogies with roller bearings
X - Speed up to 80 km/h
bogie exchange
Y - Speeds up to 115 km/h
Z - Speeds up to 130 km/h