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In 1964/1965, 300 VO Class coal wagons were built
for the Queensland Railways by Nippon Seize Kaisa of Japan for
use on the Moura Coal Traffic system. This coal was part of an
initiative by Thiess Peabody Mitsui (TPM) to export
high-quality coking coal to Japan, and these wagons were built
to transport the coal for export.
The wagons were built in two
batches:
1st Batch—100 Wagons built in 1964 numbered
32902-33001
2nd Batch—200 Wagons built in 1965 numbered
33301-33500.
The first and second batch differed only by the
discharge door mechanism; the first batch had manual handles
and mechanisms for each door; the second batch had a
centralized mechanism controlled by a handle on the A-end of
the wagon. In the mid-1970s, the wagons were modified by
adding coal shedding shields and repositioning the side ladder
to one side of the B-end only. The wagons ran in coal traffic
without major modifications until the mid-1990s, however from
the 1980s onwards, more modern coal wagons displaced them from
their original routes into lesser roles, including being used
to convey road base and other materials for the expanding QR
system. Most were withdrawn from service in the mid-1990s,
with some put to use hauling limestone, road base, as
weighbridge test wagons or heavily modified for molasses
(sugar syrup) traffic.
62 Wagons were given a new lease of life
after being sold to the National Rail Corporation and recoded
to RHAF/RHBF. They were purchased to service the Dunmore (NSW
South Coast) to Enfield/Cooks River stone/aggregate contract
which NR had been awarded. The wagons were chosen for this
traffic as they were available for service relatively quickly
and their lower gross mass allowed them to be used within the
Sydney metropolitan area corridor (quarried aggregates for
construction are much more dense than black coal, so a fully
loaded RHGF required less train-length than partially loaded
100t hoppers). The VO wagons were recoded to RHAF/RHBF but
retained their original numbers and converted to Standard
gauge in Acacia Ridge before being transported south on
National Rail steel trains. They were overhauled and repainted
in National Rail’s orange and grey livery.
Initially the RHAF/RHBF
wagons were repainted and only slightly modified/updated,
however shortly afterwards, NR modified the door opening
mechanisms, discharge doors and steps, as well as changing the
bogies to 70t Barber S-2 type, with this resulting in the
fleet being recoded to RHGF.
The RHGFs continue in service for
some time following the creation of Pacific National, with
those remaining being overhauled by Varley Engineering, which
saw most of the original door mechanisms made redundant and
the wagons painted an overall PN Blue colour. The wagons were
also pooled with former Freightcorp wagons, notably the NPIH/NPZH
type hoppers, and continue to run in block trains until the
mid-2010s, with the fleet being withdrawn and stored following
the introduction of new two-pack RHKY wagons. After several
years in storage, the remaining RHGF wagons were scrapped.
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