NZR A 88 Buckhurst petrol carriage
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NZR A 88 was a railway passenger carriage converted into the Buckhurst petrol carriage railcar in 1924. It was the only railcar operated by NZR not designated as a member of the NZR RM class; while a railcar, it retained the designation of A 88. This designation was wholly unrelated to the steam locomotive A class of 1873 or A class of 1906.
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In the 1910s, NZR began experimenting with railcar technology to cater for passengers on routes that could not economically support locomotive-hauled dedicated passenger trains and thus had to settle for undesirably slow mixed trains (freight trains with passenger carriages attached). World War I and its subsequent economic impacts brought research to a halt after three unsuccessful experiments. In 1924, work resumed at Christchurch's Addington Workshops after a local engineer, E. B. Buckhurst, was given approval to convert a regular passenger carriage into a railcar. A 88 was the carriage chosen for the task; it had been imported from the United States in 1878 and prior to its renovation, it provided seated accommodation for second class passengers.[1]
Technical details
A 88 was fitted with a unique gearbox designed by Buckhurst. Power was provided by a Hudson six cylinder petrol engine typically used by cars that was slung laterally beneath the 13-metre (42 ft 8 in) long, 13.5-tonne (13.3-long-ton; 14.9-short-ton) carriage. Compartments for the driver were installed at each end of the carriage, giving it a passing resemblance to trams of the era. A total of 48 passengers could be carried by an A 88 in its railcar guise.[1]
