DRC railcar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DRC railcar
DRC 43 at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
DRC 43 at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
Manufacturer Tulloch
Built at Tulloch Sydney
Constructed 1971
Entered service 1971-1995
Number built 4
Number in service 2, preserved in operational condition
Number scrapped 0
Formation Single cars, can run with cars from the same order
Fleet numbers DRC40-43
Capacity 56 seats
Specifications
Car length 23.470 m (77 ft)
Width 2.880m (9 ft. 5 3/8 in.)
Height 4.158m (13 ft. 8 3/4 in.)
Intercar connections End doors and open gangways
Maximum speed 115km/h (75 m.p.h.)
Weight 65 tonnes
Engine Two Cummins NT-855-R 6 cylinder 225 kW / 300 b.h.p turbo-charged diesels
Transmission Voith T113 2 stage automatic hydraulic transmission, Dana-Spicer axle drive to one axle per bogie
DRC41 and DRC42 locked up at Newport Workshops
DRC41 and DRC42 locked up at Newport Workshops

The DRC (Diesel Rail Car) was a class of railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways on the country rail network Victoria, Australia. The train was built by Tulloch in New South Wales and featured stainless steel construction, air-conditioning, and a diesel hydraulic transmission.

Contents

[edit] History

The first railcars of this type were built for the New South Wales Government Railways in the late 1960s. The Victorian Railways decided to order two railcars of their own to replace the 280hp Walker railmotors then in use.[1] The first railcar entered service in May 1971 as DRC40, followed by DRC41 on November 1971.[2]

The train suffered numerous failures in service,[3] and by 1974 the NSW railways decided to withdraw their fleet.[1] The VR purchased two of the NSW cars and modified them for Victorian use: DRC42 (formerly PCH 1224) and DRC43 (formerly PCH 1227). They entered VR service in August and December 1975 respectively.[3]

By 1978 the railcars still had issues with reliability, with a modification program being carried out at the Bendigo Workshops in 1983-84.[4] Four MTH carriages were converted from Harris suburban carriages in 1984, for use as trailers with the DRC railcars.[5]

In 1980s the DRC railcars were the fastest train in Australia by average speed, running 107 kilometres from Ararat to Hamilton on Mondays and Saturdays in 72 minutes, for an average speed of 89.17 km/h.[6] By the 1990s the unreliability issues had been solved, but the fleet was withdrawn in June 1995 with the introduction of the new Sprinter railcars.[1]

[edit] Today

DRC40 is preserved and operational at the Daylesford Spa Country Railway[1] while DRC43 is preserved and operational at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre.[7][8][9] DRC 41 and 42 are stored at Newport Workshops in Melbourne.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Daylesford Spa Country Railway: DRC40
  2. ^ Peter J Vincent: DRC - Tulloch Diesel Rail Car
  3. ^ a b VictorianRailways.net - DRC railmotors
  4. ^ VictorianRailways.net - DRC diagram
  5. ^ V/LineCars.com - MTH Carriages
  6. ^ Railpage Australia: What lines did the DRCs run on?
  7. ^ Seymour Railway Heritage Centre - Railfans - Locomotives Register
  8. ^ Martin Bennett: SRHC depot - General
  9. ^ Evan Cottle: DRC43 at SRHC
  10. ^ Railpage Australia: DRC's

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Victorian Rail Rollingstock
Steam
A2 Class • C Class • Dd Class • G Class • H Class • J Class • K Class • N Class • NA Class • R Class • S Class • X Class
Diesel-Electric
A Class • B Class • C Class • F Class • G Class • H Class • N Class • P Class • S Class • T Class • V class • X Class • XR Class • XRB Class • Y Class
Diesel-Hydraulic
CS class • M class • V class • W class
Electric
E Class • L Class
Carriages
Railmotors
McKeen • Kerr Stuart • A.E.C. • Leyland • DERM • 102hp Walker • 153hp Walker • 280hp Walker • DRC railcar • Sprinter DMU • VLocity DMU
Suburban electric
Vans
Other
V/Line • Victorian Railways • Railways in Melbourne • Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways • Regional Fast Rail project • Connex Melbourne