Walker railmotor

Long and short-van passenger units

The 102hp and 153hp driving units shared between them a group of 27 passenger trailing units, each mounted on only one bogie, and pivoting over the associated motor unit. This left one motor unit of each type spare. The trailing units were not identified normally when in service, but some correspondence notes individual identities No.101 to No.112 and No.220 to No.234. This was marked on a small plate mounted on the door from the driver's compartment to the passenger saloon, on the side facing the driver.^{[2]: 284 [a]}

It is not clear whether the 102-associated and 153-associated trailing units could be interchanged across classes, though no difference between the two groups is immediately apparent from the general outline drawings. The passenger units were all identical with room for 18 1st class and 22 2nd class seated passengers plus 2 LT (2,032 kg) luggage, except for 100, 104 and 220, which had 18+27 seats and room for only 1.25 LT (1,270 kg) of luggage; their tare weight was a ton less than the rest of the fleet.^{[2]: 284 } The small-van passenger units could be identified externally by having six, rather than five, passenger windows between the van door and the passenger door.^{[1]: 62–63 }

Comparing handwritten amendments to the various diagrams for these railmotors, it seems likely that 1RM and 2RM were delivered with the small-van trailers, and that the latter trailer was transferred to 5RM at a later date e.g. during regular maintenance activities.^{[1]: 62–63 }

Recorded sightings include:^{[7]: 2 }

These sightings may give clues as to the specific allocation of van units No.101 and No.102, but it is not definitive.

Similarly, 20RM was probably originally allocated a small trailer, which later ended up being transferred to 21RM.^{[1]: 64–65 }

Newsrail April 1982 records the small-van units as "11, 12 and 20", and attached to 3RM as of 8 June 1976, and 31RM as of 1 January 1977.^{[2]: 292 [10]: 79 }

4RM General Motors unit

Between 1958 and 1960 4RM was re-engined, replacing its Gardner 102 hp (76 kW) engine with a General Motors 4082 engine (probably a 4/71) coupled to an Allison TCS2D534 torque converter. There were no external changes, but the internal arrangements were vastly altered. With the changes it was allowed a higher speed than other 102s, 50 mph (80 km/h) instead of 45 mph (72 km/h),^{[2]: 293 } and generally used on runs between Melbourne and either Seymour (Monday to Saturday 7:10pm down and 9:30 up) or Geelong (Friday evening Up theatre service).^{[11]: 14 [7]: 4, 7 }

North-eastern region

The first run served was the Wallan-Heathcote line from 15 March 1948. From 7 July 1949 it was extended to Melbourne, and by July 1950 the roster had changed to a 153hp unit, starting daily (Sundays excluded) from Heathcote with a return trip to and from Melbourne. Sometime after 13 April 1953 the service reverted to a 102hp motor, which ran through to the last service on 20 June 1965.^{[7]: 4 } The second 102hp railmotor roster was between Ararat and Hamilton, starting from 1 July 1948.^[c] The service connected at Ararat with a newspaper train from Melbourne and The Overland from Adelaide, and on weekends connections were made at Hamilton for trains to Melbourne. The service from Ararat was replaced with a steam train due to a fuel shortage between 28 November 1951 and 13 April 1953, though during April 1952, a 102hp Walker was based at Hamilton providing return trips to Ararat. Between 16 August 1954 and sometime before June 1957, a 153hp unit was rostered instead. As of October 1958, the 102hp motor was scheduled from Ararat at 9:20 am, Hamilton 11:25 am to 5 pm (1:45 pm Saturdays), returning to Ararat 7:10 pm (3:50 pm Saturdays), with no Sunday service. A later roster change saw a 153hp railmotor based at Ararat also working trips to Ballarat and Stawell on Sundays. The Walkers on the Portland line were replaced by Tulloch DRC railcars in the early 1970s, based at Portland. Those services connected at Portland with trains to Melbourne, and ran from Portland to Ararat via Hamilton; but Hamilton/Ararat service was retained, upgraded from a 102hp to 153hp unit. That service remained through to November 1974, but had been removed from the working time table a year later.^{[7]: 4 }

Seymour to Girgarre was a Walker roster by November 1948. By Easter of 1950 a Walker was running to Girgarre, with a Leyland working to Rushworth. By July 1950 the daily service, excluding Sundays, was from Rushworth to Murchison East, return to Girgarre in the morning, and reverse in the afternoons. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday the morning service was extended to Seymour, and the same for the Saturday afternoon service. The railmotor was upgraded to 153hp with trailer for some trips in the early 1950s due to migrant camp traffic, but had reverted to 102hp by 29 June 1952. The service was trimmed to only link Rushworth, not Girgarre, by November 1954, and that timetable showed a passenger mail motor (essentially a seven-seater car, fitted with railway wheels) rather than a Walker. The service was cancelled after 13 January 1956.^{[7]: 4 }

The lines between Shepparton-Katamatie and Numurkah-Picola were run by alternating 102hp Walkers and AEC railmotors from 13 September 1949. Katamatite had one or two daily return services Monday to Saturday, and Picola only one daily service. During Easter 1950 the Picola line was made an AEC, and Katamatite a Walker. In July 1950 the Picola service was a three-day pattern based at Numurkah, with Monday to Wednesday and Thursday to Saturday consisting of four Picola and one Cobram return trips; three one-way trips were made the first day, five the second day (including Cobram), and two on the third. The 102hp was replaced by Leyland 52RM on 21 October 1951, reportedly due to the inferior ride quality of the 102hp. When 52RM cracked an axle it was replaced by classmate 53RM, which remained on the service until the last day of service on 30 July 1954. The Katamatite service was briefly cut back to Dookie between 1 November 1952 and 17 November 1952, and wholly withdrawn from 29 April 1953. ^{[7]: 5 }

From 26 September 1949 the AEC of Shepparton-Cobram was replaced with a 102hp Walker. Within a few months the schedule was a daily return trip Monday to Friday, and two trips on Saturdays. During Easter 1954 a 153hp Walker with trailer was substituted on the Numurkah line, running in the region for six days. By July 1958 the 102hp Walker ran six Numurkah trips per week (four AM, two PM), as well as a Wednesday Shepparton return, and three weekly Strathmerton afternoon trips (one Monday, two Friday); this schedule was designed to connect with trains to and from Melbourne. The pattern remained in place through November 1973; the last railmotor service was on 8 November 1975, after which the Melbourne trains were extended to Cobram.^{[7]: 5 }

102hp motors were used between Wodonga and Tallangatta from 10 October 1949, with three return trips daily except Sundays, connecting with trains to and from Melbourne. The service was briefly extended to Darbyshire for track maintenance crews in October 1960, though was made available to the public. The last service was 30 September 1961,^{[7]: 5 } following completion of the Hume Dam expansion.^[12]

In July 1950 the Benalla-Yarrawonga service was worked by a PERM, which was replaced with a 102hp Walker from 6 January 1952. It was replaced with a 153hp Walker and trailer from 29 November 1952; the trailer was temporary, but the 153hp Walker remained until it was replaced by a 102hp unit by the 3 October 1960 working time table. The service at the time was two daily return trips, excluding Sundays, from Yarrawonga, plus a third on Thursday afternoons. From 2 September 1963 to May 1967 the Walker was replaced with a DERM. The 102hp Walker briefly returned until the start of 1968, when a 153hp Walker plus trailer was provided for passenger services; the 102hp was then used by trackworkers between Benalla and the Euroa-Creighton mainline section. From May 1968 the 153hp motor without trailer was used, and this stayed in place until 1976 when the refurbished 56RM (a DERM) was rostered; that remained until the last passenger service on 9 December 1978.^{[7]: 6 }

The July 1950 working time table included times for a 102hp Walker on the Wangaratta-Beechworth and Everton-Bright lines, but these continued to be served by mixed trains.^{[7]: 8 }

Northern & Midland region

Ouyen to Pinnaroo was given a Walker service by November 1948; it is not known whether it was a 102hp or 153hp roster, but the former is more likely. The service made three return trips per week, connecting with overnight trains between Mildura and Melbourne. When the Mildura Sunlight was introduced in 1957, the Walker roster was changed to Tuesday and Thursday return trips, Friday eastbound and Saturday westbound. After the Sunlight was replaced with The Vinelander in 1967 the former arrangement was reinstated, with return trips from Ouyen on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The service was deleted from 2 November 1968.^{[7]: 4 }

Around the middle of 1949 the Bendigo-Cohuna line was expected to receive a 153hp Walker. By 10 November 1951 the line was served by a 102hp unit, though this was not specified in the working time table and may have been due to shortages caused by axle problems with the 280hp units, whose rosters were instead being covered by 153hp units. Through to the end of passenger services on 11 June 1979 the Cohuna service was almost entirely 153hp units, with the occasional DERM.^{[7]: 6 }

As of January 1950 the Castlemaine-Maryborough line was served by locomotive-hauled passenger, mixed, and cargoods trains. A 153hp Walker had been allocated by 10 November 1951 with two return trips daily (except Sundays), with a trailer borrowed from the Ballarat service during holiday periods. As of September 1959 the service was being worked with a 102hp motor, which remained until the last of those was withdrawn and a 153hp Walker had to be substitued. The last run was 9 July 1977, by 24RM.^{[7]: 6 }

The line north from Swan Hill to Piangil and Yungera, near the border with New South Wales, was served by an AEC railmotor as of April 1952, but by 17 August 1953 this had been replaced with a 102hp motor. There was a single trip from Piangil to Swan Hill and return, daily except Sundays. From 2 December 1953 to 3 September 1954 it was extended to start and end at Yungera, but later that became a connection to a postal motor to and from Kooloonong. School trips between Swan Hill and Woorinen were added from 7 February 1961, with four rail motor stopping places established including one opposite the Swan Hill high school, at the Pye Street level crossing. All railmotor services were withdrawn on 24 December 1976.^{[7]: 6 }

When the Victorian Railways took over the Kerang-Koondrook tramway on 1 February 1952 they inherited the line's makeshift Ford railmotor, which became 45RM. It was replaced by a 102hp Walker from 4 February 1958 and sold privately a few months later. The 102's were permitted 20 mph (32 km/h) on the line, where all other trains were restricted to 15 mph (24 km/h). The service was a daily trip (except Sundays) from Koondrook to Kerang in the mornings and back in the afternoons, timed for students most of the year and retimed for better connections to Melbourne trains during the holidays. A trailer was added from 5 February 1962. This was the only instance of a 102hp Walker being rostered with a trailer, which was deemed necessary because the average service in 1961 caried 60 passengers; this would have been even higher during school term.^{[7]: 6–7 }

Instructions were published for scheduling of a 102hp Walker between Echuca and Balranald in November 1951, but the line at the time was only served by freight trains. The first Walker service had been introduced sometime between April 1952 and 17 August 1953, but this was probably a 153hp roster. The Walker, which also operated the Kyabram school train roster (noted below), made two return trips per week when the regular passenger train was not available. 102hp Walkers were used by February 1962 and through to 29 May 1967, though by November 1969 these had been substituted for a DERM because, being fitted with automatic couplers and more powerful engines, they could haul a small number of freight wagons. This was scheduled for Tuesdays only, collecting the wagons at Moulamein, just north of Echuca.^{[7]: 6 }

Western & South Western region

A 102hp Walker was allocated to shuttle trips between Ballarat and Beaufort from 24 January 1950 to 6 February 1951, after which it was replaced by a petrol-electric railmotor.^{[7]: 5 }

Between January 1950 and February 1950, the Horsham-Goroke line was upgraded from AEC to 102hp Walker, with a single return trip from Goroke daily except Sundays. Area residents advocated naming the train the "Tiger", "Bluebird" or "Blue Baby". The Saturday service had been abolished by October 1958, and the last run was on 16 April 1965.^{[7]: 5 }

By Easter 1950 (but after January 1950), the Ballarat-Maryborough-Ararat service had been converted from AEC to 102hp Walker; the service change officially started a month later on 1 May 1950. By November 1951 the Walker ran from Ararat to Maryborough, reversed then to Ballarat in the mornings, with the reverse trip in the afternoons, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. At the same time a 153hp motor was operating betweebn Castlemaine, Maryborough and Ballarat, supplementing a Ballarat to Woomelang service worked by a 280hp Walker. The 102hp roster portion between Maryborough and Ballarat was deleted from 2 December 1953. The service between Ararat and Maryborough remained until 4 May 1957. However, during school holidays when Linton school trains were not running, the 102hp Walker from that service would be used in lieu of a locomotive-hauled mixed train from Ballarat at 7:10 am to Maryborough, the return trip leaving Maryborough at 4:10 pm.^{[7]: 5 }

An early use of the newly refubished DERMs, between Dimboola and Serviceton, was swapped for a 102hp railmotor from 6 March 1953, with a single trip from Serviceton to Dimboola and return daily except Sundays. A trailer was added to the roster before 13 August 1956; it was then downgraded to 102hp sans trailer from 13 March 1969, and restored to 153hp+MT from 1 July 1974, by which time the service had been extended to Horsham, connecting with the daily trains from and to Melbourne. The branch lines from Dimboola to Rainbow and Yaapeet were generally only served by freight trains, but a 102hp Walker was used as a postal motor between 4 May 1953 and 30 January 1954.^{[7]: 6 }

The Ballarat-Linton branch line was served by an AEC railmotor through to its temporary closure on 13 March 1953, due to bushfire damage, but when it reopened on 5 October 1953 a 102hp Walker had been provided. The service was daily from Linton to Ballarat and return on weekdays, except during school holidays (at least from the end of 1957, and possibly earlier) when the Motor was used on the Ballarat-Maryborough line, in lieu of a mixed train there. On 19 the 102hp Walker was replaced by a 153hp+MT set. Services continued until 1975 or 1976.^{[7]: 6 }

A 102hp Walker made a single daily return trip from Casterton to Hamilton and back, weekdays only, between 15 March 1954 and 31 July 1956.^{[7]: 6 }

Eastern & South-eastern region

A (probably) 153hp Walker in the Eastern region operated trains between Traralgon and Maffra in early 1950, and during Easter the service was upgraded to a locomotive-hauled train. The released railmotor, by now a 102hp unit, was then used on the Morwell-Mirboo North line from 22 December 1950 (excepting Easter 1952 when an AEC was returned). The service was a single daily return trip from Morwell to Mirboo North and back, daily except Saturday, until the last run on 7 September 1968.^{[7]: 5–6 }

A 102hp Walker was also briefly used on the Nyora-Wonthaggi line, from 29 June 1951 to 28 August 1951, after which it was replaced by a 280hp unit. From sometime between November 1954 and 6 September 1956 a 102hp was permanently based at Nyora, making four return trips to Wonthaggi per week. In October 1969 the motor base was changed to Wonthaggi, connecting at Nyora with through trains, with two return trips per day (one on Sundays). In the final months of the line's operation the 102hp Walkers had been withdrawn, so a 153hp Walker was substituted.^{[7]: 6 }

Metropolitan region

The 7:10 am daily (except Sundays) down train from Melbourne to Seymour was rostered as a 102hp Walker from May 1968 to May 1976, returning as the 9:30 am from Seymour. This train had been locomotive hauled in the 1950s and worked by a 153hp motor from 1958 to 1967. Notably, this train was often worked by 4RM with its higher power engine, which meant that motor was usually kept in Melbourne to provide additional capacity or replace a failed railmotor on some other trip. By May 1979 the Seymour train had been changed to a 280hp Walker, though it often operated as a DERM, DRC, and more recently with Sprinters.^{[7]: 7 }

The Frankston-Mornington route was rostered to work with a 153hp railmotor,^{[7]: 7 } and the Stony Point line was allocated a 280hp Walker.

School trains

The Kyabram school train was notable for having the longest-length train in the Walker roster. It operated with a 153hp Walker railmotor, but allowed for use of up to three trailers for a total of 71 LT (72 t). As of the mid 1960s the train left Kyabram at 7:37 am each school day, made about thirty intermediate stops at assorted towns and level crossings enroute to Echuca, collecting as many as 200 passengers.^[d] Many students rode bikes from home to their stop and left the bike clear of the track until they returned that afternoon. Individual carriages were allocated by gender and, if possible, by school to help manage the students' antics. Yates (2004) recalls two incidents; one where students locked the train guard in a parcels hamper; and another where "footprints mysteriously began to appear on the carriage ceilings." The whole train set had to be returned to Bendigo Workshops for repair every school holiday.^{[13]: 124–125 } As an example, the set that returned to service from the workshops for February 1974 was 27RM with trailers 62MT, 53MT and 50MT.^{[14]: 96 } 27RM had been the regular motor for the service at the end of the prior year, but within a few days it was replaced by 20RM.^{[14]: 96 } The train ran every weekeday from Kyabram, through Echuca to Echuca Wharf in the mornings, stabled at Echuca during the day then made the opposite trip in the afternoon. Based on the times provided in the May 1963 working time table, the in-service trips averaged only 19.4 to 22 mph (31 to 35 km/h) (for Down and Up trips respectively) because of all the intermediate stops, but the empty transfers were scheduled at an average speed of 40 mph (64 km/h).^{[15]: 70–71 } As of 1963 the train stabled overnight at Kyabram on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and at Echuca the rest of the time.^{[15]: 70–71 } By 1974 the normal practice was for the railmotor and trailers to stable overnight at Kyabram, with the crew from Echuca riding as passengers on the early morning trip from Echuca to Toolamba, and may have used part of another railmotor trip, a maintenance trolley or a taxi to return from Kyabram at the end of the day. Otherwise, the timetable was "almost identical" to the 1950 version, except that the pre-Walker service had used a Leyland railmotor in lieu; and the 1974 schedule left Kyabram at 7:47am.^{[14]: 96 }

While the Kyabram school train had ceased by 1976,^{[2]: 290 } the Ballarat-Maryborough roster included provision for attaching two trailers at Clunes on the Down (northbound) trip in the morning; these would continue through to Maryborough and return for detaching in the afternoon. The trailers were specifically allocated to Maryborough High School.^{[2]: 290 } The 1976 track diagram for Clunes^[16] shows a short, 220 ft (67 m) stub siding trailing into the platform track, which could have been used to stable the two trailers overnight and save the cost in fuel and time of taking them the extra distance to and from Ballarat every day. This siding had previously been the cattle loading point.^[17]

Track-laying trains

By April 1964 a 102hp or 153hp Walker was attached to the afternoon 280hp Walker that ran from Melbourne to Geelong, detaching at Little River then returning as an extra trip. This run was provided to serve track-laying gangs who were working along the corridor. This was similar to the earlier Tallangatta service extension to Darbyshire, and the later service between Gheringhap-Inverleigh which used a 153hp Walker and trailer.^{[7]: 8 }

102hp

An unknown 102hp Walker derailed after striking an animal between Numurkah and Waaia, on 29 April 1950^{[7]: 5 }

2RM failed on the Ouyen-Pinnaroo run on 23 November 1958 and had to be replaced by a classmate forwarded from Maryborough.^{[7]: 8 } A few years later, circa June 1961, the same unit was damaged on a Tallangatta trip.^{[7]: 8 }

3RM was misrouted at Kerang on 4 May 1961 and collided with a rake of grain wagons in the station yard.^{[7]: 8 } On 9 December 1976 while running the Mornington service, it was hit by car at Nepean Highway level crossing.^{[7]: 7 }

6RM 26 November 1957 derailed at the Dimboola Road level crossing while on the Horsham-Goroke line.^{[7]: 5 } This was similar to a derailment of 9RM on 2 July 1952, at Donald Road (near Amphitheatre) on the Ararat-Maryborough leg of the then-Ararat-Maryborough-Ballarat roster. It was working the 2:15 pm Down trip.^{[7]: 5 }

Lastly, 13RM struck a cow and was derailed while running the 5 pm Hamilton to Ararat trip on 12 June 1957.^{[7]: 4 }

153hp

280hp

Trailers