Changing Identities

X40 on a down Dimboola pass at Ballarat North, note the 2 vans at the rear

My loco fleet includes two X class that have numbers or colours that don't fit the era modelled. For a lomg time I have wanted to change these to numbers that fit the 1982-1983 time period.

X44 and X43 prior to renumbering.

X44 is a Northern Models resin body painted blue and gold with yellow handrails. The loco was numbered X44 for a previous layout which was loosely based on Wangaratta on the North East line with the branchline to Bright. X44 spent 1983 on the standard gauge mainly being used on the Intercapital Daylight. It wasn't converted back to broad gauge until January 1984.

I chose to change X44 to another blue and gold X with yellow handrails. Looking at photos in my collection X40 was clean for most of 1983. Renumbering simply involved painting out the number 4 and replacing with a 0.

X40-X39-T392 on a block grain working at Somerton on 2nd January 1987.

X43 is a Austrains X class factory painted in V/Line colours. X43 was in blue and gold for all of the period modelled.  X32 was the first of the 1st series X' s in V/Line colours. It emerged painted orange and grey in November 1983. Unlike X47 the first of the 3rd series X painted in V/Line colours, X32 received black stripes on it's pilots when released to traffic. I chose to renumber X43 to X32, and add slight weathering around the bogies and the exhaust reflecting a locomotive recently released to traffic. I still need to source radio equipped stickers to add to X32.

X32 on Up Shepparton pass at Kilmore East on Boxing Day 1984.

X40, X32 and B81 sit around the turntable at Ballarat East.