102hp Walker railmotor
102hp Walker railmotor soon after delivery | |||||||||||||
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The 102hp Walker railmotor was a type of 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, UK, was placed, and was extended to include a further 102hp railmotor, being delivered into revenue service on Wednesday, 26 January 1955.
Thirteen 102hp 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.
Status
Railmotor | Entered service | Withdrawn | Scrapped | Current Status |
1RM | Thursday, 4 March 1948 | Sunday, 19 November 1972 | Scrapped. | |
2RM | Sunday, 14 March 1948 | |||
3RM | Friday, 6 August 1948 | |||
4RM | Tuesday, 15 February 1949 | |||
5RM | Wednesday, 1 June 1949 | Sunday, 24 February 1974 | Scrapped | |
6RM | Thursday, 23 June 1949 | |||
7RM | Friday, 22 July 1949 | Monday, 3 April 1978 | N/A | Stored at Daylesford Spa Country Railway |
8RM | Monday, 26 September 1949 | |||
9RM | Monday, 10 October 1949 | Tuesday, 1 June 1976 | Scrapped | |
10RM | Friday, 4 November 1949 | |||
11RM | Tuesday, 20 December 1949 | |||
12RM | Friday, 10 February 1950 | 1980 | Scrapped | |
13RM | Wednesday, 26 January 1955 |
Model railways
HO scale
Weico has produced whitemetal kits for the 102hp and 153hp Walker Railmotors and trailers.
Trainbuilder announced a series of brass 102hp Walker railmotors, to retail at $1175 each (plus $25 postage within Australia). Numbers include 1RM with silver roof, 4RM and 7RM with yellow roof, and 6RM, 10RM and 11RM with blue roof. [2]
References
- ↑ "Railmotors: 102 hp Walker". VICSIG. www.vicsig.net. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
- ↑ "Trainbuilder". trainbuilder.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.