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The Victorian Railways Y class was a small Bo-Bo branchline and yard pilot unit built for the Victorian Railways from 1963 to 1968. The VR tendered for a light axle load engine that must make use of the recycled bogies from former VR swing door suburban electric multiple units. Clyde Engineering, like all the VR's diesel electrics before it (except for the English built F class 0-6-0 shunters) built the Y class at its Granville plant.
The Y class is capable of 80 km/h (former commissioner's loco Y 175 had once been re-geared for 96 km/h running) and has an axle load of only 16 ¼ tons, the Y could travel on any of the VR's lines. Their power output is 480kW.
The first scrapping began to occur in the late 1980s, the surviving units with V/Line eventually being distributed to private and heritage operators such as Freight Australia (now Pacific National), El Zorro, EDI-Rail, Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, 707 Opps, Dayelsford Spa Country Railway among others.
These models are Austrains' third VR locomotive, featuring highly detailed and scale parts, improved paintwork and excellent mechanisms.
The locomotives are available in four main livery schemes with a couple of varieties of each scheme, representative of the individual locomotive, available for $255 direct from Austrains.
They feature DCC readiness, scale uncoupling rods, air hoses and handrails, sanding gear and etched number boards. The models also feature directional lighting along with working bi-colour marker lights. Examples of the small differences between each model include the polished brass number boards on Y 175 (below) along with Clyde builder's plate, Radio Equipped stickers on VR and V/Line Y classes, varying handrail colours across the range along with the placement of mirrors on the windows of later examples of the class.
The models feature a vastly improved coupler pocket over their T class predecessors, also by Austrains.
They feature a 5 pole skew wound motor driving all wheels and contain all wheel pickup. The models are also supplied with Kadee compatible couplers, however these models have been fitted with the Kadee No. 58 scale coupler.
These locomotives are another excellent edition to the variety of VR model railway supplies, and considering the extent of the Y class on the VR network, no modeller should be without at least one Y class unit. Due to poor reception, it is unlikely the Y class will ever be re-run at this stage, so those that would like one should get in or be disappointed.
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