File CCSID and Logicals

We have an application where all the files are CCSID 65535, meaning no
conversion.  We have the files in 2 environments, test and live.

I need to be able to open up some logicals from VA-RPG, so changed the CCSID
of one of the physical files in our live environment to 37, then opened up
the logical and got ASCII data.  Logical files don't seem to have a CCSID.
All well and good.

I then go to open up this same file in the test environment, and get EBSIDIC
data.  I checked the CCSID of the physical file and it was 37, but still I
didn't get translation.  I wound up having to recompile the logical file,
and then I got ASCII data in VA-RPG, well and good.

My question is: Why did I have to recompile the logical file on one of
these, but not the other?  I am going to be using a lot of files in VA-RPG
and since all our files are 65535 I'm going to have to change the CCSID, and
I need to understand what is it that makes me have to recompile a logical to
get the logical to be the same CCSID.

Thanks in advance,

Jim Langston