280hp Walker railmotor

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280hp Walker railmotor

Power type	Diesel
Designer	Walker Bros.
Builder	Walker Bros. (Power Unit), Martin & King (Body), Victorian Railways (Assemble).
Build date	1950-51
Total production	13
Length	37 meters (121 ft)
Locomotive weight	44 t
Top speed	95 km/h (59 mph)
Power output	280 hp

The 280hp Walker railmotor were a diesel railcar operated by the Victorian Railways in Australia.

After the Second World War, the Victorian Railways undertook a major rebuilding program known as "Operation Phoenix". One of the first tasks was the upgrading of passenger services on country branch lines, through the replacement of 23 wooden bodied railmotors built in the 1920s, and the withdrawal of steam locomotive hauled mixed trains.

An initial order of six 153hp railcars, twelve 102hp railcars and twelve 280hp railcars from Walker Brothers in Wigan, England was placed, the first of the 280hp Walkers entered service on Tuesday, 6 June 1950. Thirteen 280hp units were built in total.^[1]

The power units and controls were shipped out from England and the car bodies built locally by Martin & King in Malvern, with the finished units assembled at Newport Workshops. Each railmotor had a total seating capacity of 94. The last 280hp Walker railmotors ran on 17 September 1980 running the 08.00 am service from Melbourne to Woodend and return. The intended life of the Walker railmotors was only 10 years with most running for up to 30 years.

[edit] Status

Railmotor	Entered service	Withdrawn	Scrapped	Current Status	Notes
80RM	Tuesday, 6 June 1950
81RM	Monday, 21 August 1950
82RM	Tuesday, 12 December 1950		N/A	Now at Daylesford Spa Country Railway	Stored pending restoration.
83RM	Friday, 2 February 1951
84RM	Wednesday, 21 March 1951
85RM	Wednesday, 23 May 1951			Mornington Railway	Stored pending restoration
86RM	Tuesday, 17 July 1951
87RM	Friday, 3 August 1951
88RM	Friday, 7 September 1951
89RM	Thursday, 25 October 1951		1980	Scrapped
90RM	Thursday, 13 December 1951
91RM	Sunday, 30th December 1951		N/A	Now at Daylesford Spa Country Railway	Operational
92RM	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Spare Power unit only

[edit] References

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