Commonwealth Railways NDH class railcar
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| NDH class railcar | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company for Commonwealth Engineering, Granville NSW |
| Entered service | 1954 |
| Number built | 6 |
| Number in service | 0 |
| Number scrapped | 1 |
| Fleet numbers | NDH1-NDH6 |
| Capacity | 34 first class and 16 second class passengers |
| Operators | Commonwealth Railways |
| Lines served | Port Augusta - Maree - Alice Springs and Darwin - Birdum |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 19.050 m (62 ft 6 in) |
| Width | 2.832 m (9 ft 3+1⁄2 in) |
| Height | 3.747 m (12 ft 3+1⁄2 in) |
| Doors | 3 |
| Maximum speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Weight | 36.7 tons. Axle load 9.8 tons. Fuel capacity 503.7 litres (113 gallons) |
| Traction system | Tractive effort starting 10,080 lbs |
| Prime mover(s) | Two diesel GM 6-71. 6 cyl. inline 2 stroke. 107.95 mm (4+1⁄4 in) bore x 127 mm (5 in) stroke. |
| Power output | 140 hp (105kw) at 1900 rpm. Wheel arrangement 1A-A1 |
| Transmission | Allison series 600. David Brown final drive. The final drive included pneumatic dog clutches to activate forward or reverse gear. As the dogs on either dog clutch would fail to engage at times, a rotating brake was provided on the transmission shaft. This brake was a pneumatic arrangement that rotated the transmission shaft back and forth until the dogs slid into place. Electric limit switches detected when the forward or reverse dog clutches were properly engaged. |
| Braking system(s) | Westinghouse air brake |
| Track gauge | Narrow 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Later converted to Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The NDH class railcars are a class of self propelled diesel-hydraulic railcars designed by Commonwealth Engineering and built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in England for the Commonwealth Railways, Australia in 1954. They were known as Gloucester railcars.
Commonwealth Railways placed an order for six NDH railcars with Commonwealth Engineering in 1952. The NDH railcar's design had evolved from the Queensland Railways 1800 class rail motor. Queensland Railways had designed the 1800 class and Commonwealth Engineering had built them at their plant at Granville NSW, starting in 1952. At that time Commonwealth Engineering was overwhelmed with orders for rolling stock from around Australia, so it arranged for the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, to subcontract the construction of the NDHs.[1][2][3]
NDH1 and NDH2 were the first two of six NDH railcars to enter service on the narrow gauge Central Australia Railway. They commenced operation on 16 December 1954 and provided a passenger service between Port Augusta and Marree. When two more of the railcars arrived from England, NDH1 and NDH2 were transferred to the North Australia Railway. NDH1 and NDH2 arrived at Larrimah after being transported by road from Alice Springs, on the 11th of July 1955.[1][2][3][4][5]
Due to the alteration in train services following the opening to Brachina of the new standard gauge Stirling North to Marree railway in 1956, NDH railcars were used for a time on the old narrow gauge Quorn to Hawker section but passenger numbers were low, so the NDH railcars were replaced with a road bus service.
With the completion of the standard gauge Marree line from Stirling North in 1957, Commonwealth Railways found that they no longer needed the narrow gauge NDH railcars. Also in 1962 NDH1 and NDH2 were transported back from Darwin to the Central Australia Railway as Commonwealth Railways had reverted to using mixed trains to provide the passenger service on the North Australia Railway.
After eight years in service, all six NDH railcars had become redundant for narrow gauge use.[6][7]
Central Australia Railway Jan. 1955. A NDH railcar would depart Port Augusta, 12.05am Mon. arriving Marree, 11.10am Mon. and one would also depart Port Augusta, 2.45pm Thur. arriving Marree, 1.50am Fri.
For the return, a NDH railcar would depart Marree, 7.45pm Tue. arriving Port Augusta, 6.58am Wed. and one would also depart Marree, 6.30pm Fri. arriving Port Augusta, 5.43am Sat. A distance of 231 miles (372 km) in approximately 11 hours.[8]
North Australia Railway Apr. 1958. A NDH railcar would depart Darwin, 7.30pm Sun. arriving Larrimah, 6.35am Mon.
For the return, a NDH railcar would depart Larrimah, 8.30pm Mon. arriving Darwin, 8.00am Tue. A distance of 311 miles (501 km) in approximately 11 hours.[9]