New South Wales Railmotors

NSW CPH class Rail Motor

The CPH (or 42 foot) rail motors were introduced by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1923 to provide feeder service on country branch lines. Often referred to as "Tin Hares", having evolved at the same time as the mechanical lures used in greyhound racing in Australia, the first vehicle was placed in service on 17 December 1923 and based at Culcairn, in southern New South Wales.

They were lightweight vehicles and considerable care was taken in the original selection of materials used in their construction. One of the most innovative features was the underframe, taking the form of a modified Warren truss (containing additional vertical struts). No bolts or rivets were used in its construction and it was fabricated entirely by electric arc welding. It is believed to be the first application of such technique on a railway vehicle in Australia.

NSW 500 Class Rail Motor

The 400/500 class diesel powered rail motors were built by New South Wales Government Railways primarily for use on regional lines throughout NSW. The 400 Class power cars were built in 1938 at the Eveleigh Carriage Workshops, while the 500 Class trailer cars were built by Ritchie Brothers at Auburn. The trains were phased out following a rationalisation of country branch line rail services in November 1983.

The 400 Class power cars followed the same general lines as the Silver City Comet powers vans, although they were slightly shorter in length at 15.55 metres (51 ft 0 in). They were fitted with two underfloor 150 horsepower (110 kW) Leyland Diesel in-line six-cylinder, petrol engines coupled to Leyland Lysholm-Smith hydraulic transmissions.

Rail Motors By State