The L Class were ordered as part of Operation Phoenix, Victorian Railways' £80 million upgrade and renewal programme for their worn-out fleet and infrastructure. They were built for hauling passenger and freight trains along the Gippsland line, including heavy briquette trains. 

The 25 members of the L Class fleet were built by English Electric and were delivered between April 1953 and August 1954, however because the electrification of the Gippsland line wasn't completed until 1956 twelve members of the class were placed directly into storage. 

Ultimately they were an orphan of the VR, and later V/Line, locomotive fleets. The electrification of Victoria's railway network was never extended to other lines, and indeed the Gippsland line was never completely electrified. Both these conditions required Gippsland line trains to change locomotives throughout the journey, which added time and operational cost to the running of trains. As the 1980s drew to a close V/Line withdrew the fleet from service and set about de-wiring the Gippsland line in stages. 

Several members of the class have been preserved, with one in operational condition.