The Victorian Railways ( VR ) purchased two bogie flat wagons along with other bogie stock in 1925. The flat wagons were coded S and numbered 1 and 2.
With the need for more flat wagons in World War II to mobilise army equipment, about half the _E__ wagons were stripped of sides, ends and doors.
They were recoded to S and all retained their E wagon number, execpt one wagon. E 1 was renumbered to S 203 as there was already an "S 1".
Ninety nine E wagons were cutdown between 1940 and 1942. The writers' curiosity is raised for the issue of whether the sides and ends were stored or used for scrap metal. Logic would say "scrap" but many wagons were rebuilt back to E later, with the same pressed sides, suggesting the sides and ends were stored. One story has the sides and ends being used to cover mounds of "ash" and debris at Newport Workshops.
From 1946, underframes were fitted with tanks and sold to/used by petroleum companies. These wagons were recoded to Oil Tank.
From 1947 through to about 1949 most of the wagons were rebuilt back to E wagons.
In 1959, S 158 was modified for the transport of small containers and recoded to _QC_ 5.
In 1962/63, S 26 and S 60 were modified for cable drum transport. They were recoded to _SF_ / SEF_, S numbers retained.
In 1979, S 1 became a service vehicle _HR_ 91.
For the 1979 recoding the S wagons were designated VFDA. The only VFDA was number 115. It was recoded in July 1979. In January 1981, VFDA 115 was converted to the 2nd HR 74.
The S wagon numbers were:
1, 2, 4, 7 - 10, 16, 18, 20, 23
24, 26, 28, 30, 35, 39, 42, 46 - 48
50, 52, 55, 57, 59, 60, 63 - 66,
70 - 72, 74 - 77, 80, 81, 83, 84, 88
97, 101, 102, 105 - 108, 110, 112, 114, 115
118, 120 - 122, 124, 128 - 132, 134, 137 - 139
141 - 143, 151, 152, 154, 158, 161 - 164, 166
167, 169, 176, 178 - 180, 184 - 187, 190, 193
195 - 203