1934 - 55-Foot Rail Motor No.38 "Creamy Kate"

The contribution of the two experimental rail motors No.1 and No.2 had been small, but their more numerous descendants, the 42-foot Rail Motors, attracted patronage to the branches in such numbers that steam-hauled trains were often substituted to meet the increased passenger demand. To meet this increased demand a larger and more powerful Rail Motor was required. The problem lay in finding a suitable internal combustion engine to power the larger vehicle. A single engine with sufficient power would have lowered the power-to-weight ratio and negated all of the operational advantages of a Rail Motor type vehicle. This meant that steam trains and Rail Motors would have to be alternated to meet service demands.

The solution to this problem was found with the development of a higher capacity Leyland petrol engine coupled to a Leyland Lysholm-Smith hydraulic torque converter transmission. This engine and transmission package enabled the NSW Railways to design and build a larger 55-foot Rail Motor with two engines. Construction of a companion trailer was also carried out using the underframe of an accident damaged passenger carriage.

In 1933, the Northern Counties Committee (Ireland) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway began operating a twin-engine bogie rail car. NCC’s Rail Motor No.1 was 56 feet long and seated 61 passengers. This vehicle used Leyland engines and Lysholm-Smith transmissions driving the inner axle of each bogie. It is probable that the success of this vehicle influenced the mechanical equipment used on No.38.

The Rail and Road Motor Engineer, Mr N E Stafford supervised the building of thee new vehicles in the Eveleigh Carriage Works during 1934. The new Rail Motor, No.38, dubbed “Creamy Kate” (because of its all-over cream with blue lining colour scheme) and its companion trailer No.81 emerged from the workshops. The two power units were mounted underneath the floor and externally, the body bore a strong resemblance to the 42-foot Rail Motors and many similar features appeared in its layout.

The vehicle was powered by two 150 hp 6-cylinder Leyland petrol engines and each engine drove only one bogie. The power was transmitted through Lysholm-Smith torque converters to final drives on the inner axle of each bogie by cardan shafts. Reversing was carried out in the final drives. Slightly different gear ratios were used in each final drive to prevent synchronous vibration of the two engines particularly when operating in direct drive.

Twin radiators, positioned on the roof, one for each engine, used natural air movement as the cooling medium. Sandboxes were fitted to the outermost corners of each bogie to assist traction on up-hill grades.

Driving controls were electro-pneumatic type with separate control handles for each torque converter. Switches for starting and stopping the engine, a control for selecting direction of travel together with a switch for selecting magneto or coil ignition were mounted on the main console. The engines were usually started on the coil system and switched to magneto when running. An instrument panel indicated to the driver the condition of each engine and gave due warning if any malfunction should occur. A dual throttle system allowed both engines to be controlled simultaneously by either hand or foot. A straight air brake valve was within comfortable reach of the driving seat and a hand brake was installed in each cab.

“Creamy Kate” was also unique in its petrol-powered days because it could be clutch started when flat batteries would not crank the engines. Clutch starting was done by a flick of the converter controls and a helping push from a passing steam engine, which meant that the Rail Motor could be ready for service on even the frostiest mornings.

Rubber engine mountings were used to reduce vibration inside the car and the floor was padded with felt to reduce the noise level in the saloons. The external wooden body frame was sheathed in sheet metal below the windows and on the end panels. The cedar woodwork was varnished to give a deep shine for which NSW rolling stock was famous. Electric fans were installed to suit the hot weather conditions and suitable electric lighting was mounted from the ceiling. A small headlight together with electric marker lamps, screw drawgear, small buffer plates, cowcatchers and air horns were provided at each end of the vehicle.

Rail Motor No.38 weighed in at 27 tons 14 cwt 0 qtrs and was limited to 70 mph. No.38 and its companion trailer No.81 were trialled on the 29th May 1934 between Sydney and Gosford. The timetable is shown below.

The contribution of the two experimental rail motors No.1 and No.2 had been small, but their more numerous descendants, the 42-foot Rail Motors, attracted patronage to the branches in such numbers that steam-hauled trains were often substituted to meet the increased passenger demand. To meet this increased demand a larger and more powerful Rail Motor was required. The problem lay in finding a suitable internal combustion engine to power the larger vehicle. A single engine with sufficient power would have lowered the power-to-weight ratio and negated all of the operational advantages of a Rail Motor type vehicle. This meant that steam trains and Rail Motors would have to be alternated to meet service demands.

The solution to this problem was found with the development of a higher capacity Leyland petrol engine coupled to a Leyland Lysholm-Smith hydraulic torque converter transmission. This engine and transmission package enabled the NSW Railways to design and build a larger 55-foot Rail Motor with two engines. Construction of a companion trailer was also carried out using the underframe of an accident damaged passenger carriage.

In 1933, the Northern Counties Committee (Ireland) of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway began operating a twin-engine bogie rail car. NCC’s Rail Motor No.1 was 56 feet long and seated 61 passengers. This vehicle used Leyland engines and Lysholm-Smith transmissions driving the inner axle of each bogie. It is probable that the success of this vehicle influenced the mechanical equipment used on No.38.

The Rail and Road Motor Engineer, Mr N E Stafford supervised the building of thee new vehicles in the Eveleigh Carriage Works during 1934. The new Rail Motor, No.38, dubbed “Creamy Kate” (because of its all-over cream with blue lining colour scheme) and its companion trailer No.81 emerged from the workshops. The two power units were mounted underneath the floor and externally, the body bore a strong resemblance to the 42-foot Rail Motors and many similar features appeared in its layout.

The vehicle was powered by two 150 hp 6-cylinder Leyland petrol engines and each engine drove only one bogie. The power was transmitted through Lysholm-Smith torque converters to final drives on the inner axle of each bogie by cardan shafts. Reversing was carried out in the final drives. Slightly different gear ratios were used in each final drive to prevent synchronous vibration of the two engines particularly when operating in direct drive.

Twin radiators, positioned on the roof, one for each engine, used natural air movement as the cooling medium. Sandboxes were fitted to the outermost corners of each bogie to assist traction on up-hill grades.

Driving controls were electro-pneumatic type with separate control handles for each torque converter. Switches for starting and stopping the engine, a control for selecting direction of travel together with a switch for selecting magneto or coil ignition were mounted on the main console. The engines were usually started on the coil system and switched to magneto when running. An instrument panel indicated to the driver the condition of each engine and gave due warning if any malfunction should occur. A dual throttle system allowed both engines to be controlled simultaneously by either hand or foot. A straight air brake valve was within comfortable reach of the driving seat and a hand brake was installed in each cab.

“Creamy Kate” was also unique in its petrol-powered days because it could be clutch started when flat batteries would not crank the engines. Clutch starting was done by a flick of the converter controls and a helping push from a passing steam engine, which meant that the Rail Motor could be ready for service on even the frostiest mornings.

Rubber engine mountings were used to reduce vibration inside the car and the floor was padded with felt to reduce the noise level in the saloons. The external wooden body frame was sheathed in sheet metal below the windows and on the end panels. The cedar woodwork was varnished to give a deep shine for which NSW rolling stock was famous. Electric fans were installed to suit the hot weather conditions and suitable electric lighting was mounted from the ceiling. A small headlight together with electric marker lamps, screw drawgear, small buffer plates, cowcatchers and air horns were provided at each end of the vehicle.

Rail Motor No.38 weighed in at 27 tons 14 cwt 0 qtrs and was limited to 70 mph. No.38 and its companion trailer No.81 were trialled on the 29th May 1934 between Sydney and Gosford. The timetable is shown below.

The vehicle was powered by a 42 hp 4-cylinder Waukesha petrol engine. This engine weighed approximately ½ ton and the vehicle was geared for road speed of 30 mph. The original Waukesha engine was replaced with a 4-cylinder 40 hp Thornycroft petrol unit in 1923. The engine was fitted to the leading or driving end of the vehicle and the original truck radiator and cowling were retained. A small cowcatcher and an acetylene headlight were mounted on the headstock. The Rail Motor was designed to run in one direction only and draw-gear was fitted to the trailing end so that a trailer could be attached for hauling light goods and parcels. A collapsible tricycle (trike) was also carried for the train crew’s use in case of an emergency or breakdown in the section. This was carried on the back of the Rail Motor.

The experimental vehicle attained a speed of 25 mph on its trial run to Waterfall on the 19th September 1919. After successful trials the vehicle was adorned with the name RAIL MOTOR No.1 and entered revenue service on the then isolated Lismore to Grafton section on the 1st October 1919.

In November 1925, after six years of reliable service, Rail Motor No.1 was withdrawn from passenger traffic and it took on a new role as the Signal Engineer’s inspection car. It subsequently lost its title of Rail Motor No.1 as this was re-allocated to one the newly designed 42-foot Rail Motors in November 1926.

No.1 was finally withdrawn from railway service in 1930. The body was sold and it began a new life as a house in the Coffs Harbour region, while the chassis was scrapped.

These trailers were designed to be of light-weight construction to minimise the stresses placed upon the CPH Rail Motors with which they were to operate and the layout was very similar to the CPH Rail Motor. The very light underframe was made up of two longitudinal “C” section steel channels suitably braced and the bogies were of fabricated construction with outside axle boxes.

The body was divided into 3 sections, accommodating 40 passengers and 1 crew.

  • The No.1 End or first class section accommodated 14 passengers
  • The centre guard’s compartment accommodated up to 14 passengers on fold down seats.
  • The No.2 End or second class section accommodated 22 passengers 

Down

 

Up

 

Sydney
Hornsby
Hawkesbury River
Woy Woy
Gosford

dep

arr

 9.23 a.m.
10.08 a.m.
10.39 a.m.
10.58 a.m.
11.08 a.m.

Gosford
Woy Woy
Hawkesbury River
Hornsby
Sydney

dep

arr

11.33 a.m.
11.43 a.m.
12.01 p.m.
12.37 p.m.
 1.10 p.m.

Sunday, 10 June 1934, saw these vehicles enter revenue service being based at Dubbo to operate the Coonamble, Molong and Orange connections. The local press reported that the “new high speed rail motor” would cut 50 minutes from the tri-weekly passenger train service, 3 hours 20 minutes from the Mixed train service and provide run six return trips per week. In addition, runs to Molong would be made saving 15 minutes while on Sundays, the journey to Orange would cut 32 minutes from the existing services.

Diesel Engines

The Leyland petrol engines were subsequently replaced with the more modern 153 hp 6-cylinder two-stroke General Motors Detroit Diesel Series 71 model 6057 engines coupled to Twin Disc DFF 10024-TC-1L hydraulic transmissions. These engines were similar to those used in the 42-foot Rail Motors and the later 400 class vehicles. Electro-pneumatic controls were fitted while the vehicle was upgraded to diesel power. The controls were mounted on a desk directly in front of the driver’s full width bench seat.

Vehicle Configerations

No: 38 AS BUILT

Code:

Number: CHP 38

In common with the 42-foot Rail Motor, the body was divided into 3 sections, accommodating up to 48 passengers and 2 crew. The Second Class section was located at the No.1 End, seating 24 passengers, while the First Class area at the No.2 End accommodated 20 passengers. A centre Guard’s compartment was also provided, separating the two passenger sections. This compartment could seat 4 additional Second Class passengers on wooden fold down seats. No.38 had a centre corridor stretching the length of the vehicle and this provided access to adjoining vehicles through end communication doors. In contrast to the 42-foor Rail Motor, the driver’s cabs were separated from the passenger compartments by access vestibules and were positioned in the left-hand corner at each end of the vehicle. A toilet was positioned in the corner opposite the driver’s cab at each end. Turnover type seating was fitted. The First Class seating was in a 2 x 2 arrangement, while the Second Class seating was arranged in a 2 x 3 format. The Guard’s compartment provided space for 2½ tons of luggage. An interesting feature of this compartment was a 2 feet by 1 foot rectangular housing rising from the centre of the floor to the ceiling through which ran the exhaust pipes for both engines together with some of the piping for the water cooling system.

No: 38 Conversion

Code:

Number: BHP 38

The Railways intended to run CHP 38 with Trailer CT 81 and a third vehicle, HT 76, to handle parcels. HT 76 was a trailer rebuilt from Rail Motor No.9 after it had been involved in an accident. This parcels trailer also had end doors and diaphragm buffer plates. However, traffic requirements did not warrant the use of three vehicles and consequently, No. 38 entered the Eveleigh Carriage works in 1938 to have all the Second Class seating removed and the slatted floor of the Guard’s compartment extended into the former Second Class area. The vehicle was re-coded BPH 38 and had a tare weight of 27 tons 10 cwt 0 qtrs with a luggage capacity of 7½ tons. Second Class seating was provided in the companion trailer (No.81). 

No: 38 Conversion

Code:

Number: BHP 38

The Railways intended to run CHP 38 with Trailer CT 81 and a third vehicle, HT 76, to handle parcels. HT 76 was a trailer rebuilt from Rail Motor No.9 after it had been involved in an accident. This parcels trailer also had end doors and diaphragm buffer plates. However, traffic requirements did not warrant the use of three vehicles and consequently, No. 38 entered the Eveleigh Carriage works in 1938 to have all the Second Class seating removed and the slatted floor of the Guard’s compartment extended into the former Second Class area. The vehicle was re-coded BPH 38 and had a tare weight of 27 tons 10 cwt 0 qtrs with a luggage capacity of 7½ tons. Second Class seating was provided in the companion trailer (No.81).