| New Zealand FM class guards van | |
|---|---|
 An AG class van now converted for use as an open viewing carriage on a TranzAlpine train | |
| Constructed | 1977-1981 |
| Operators | New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) New Zealand Railways Corporation |
| Specifications | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
The New Zealand FM guards van is a rail vehicle in New Zealand originally used on freight trains but now used primarily on passenger trains, reclassified AG. [1]
In the mid-1970s New Zealand Railways (NZR) had a need for new guards vans for new vans for both freight and moderately fast passenger and express freight services, to replace old and increasingly decrepit vans. Most of the existing vans were built before 1946, including passenger express vans, post-war construction being only two batches of 35 and 30 vans in 1955 and between 1963-1967.
The New Zealand Cabinet approval for made for the van order on 15 May 1973 and NZR General Manager T M Small made a second request to the Cabinet Works Committee for approval on 15 August 1974, but no work was made on design until 1975 due to the fact the NZR design staff were preoccupied with design of wagons and the reconstruction of the Northerner express. [2] The first order for 56 FM vans was approved by the last Cabinet meeting of the Rowling Labour Government on 18 November 1975 for $4.32 million. [3]
The vans were built by Mitsubishi and were the first all-steel vans. The body was composed of three modules that could be detached from the underframe: a central module, classed GM (guard's module), which contained the guard's office, five first-class seats [4] and facilities; and two outer modules, classed LM (luggage module), for freight and luggage. The idea was that should a module become damaged in service it can be removed for repairs and replaced with another, allowing the van to return to service sooner than otherwise would have been the case. It was because of these modules that the vans were given the FM classification, as opposed to the traditional F designation given to all previous NZR guards vans. The FM also pioneered the X28020 bogie, now used under New Zealand's long-distance passenger fleet. The first batch was very well received by guards. Fifty-six were built, and in 1976 an order was placed for an additional 17.
In 1981, another batch of 50 vans was introduced, built by Daewoo in South Korea. Consideration was even given to using stainless steel bodies on the second batch, but the cost was considered impossible after the acceptance of treated anti-corrosion lower-grade steel for the New Zealand EM class electric multiple units.
In April 1983 the newly formed New Zealand Railways Corporation commissioned consultants Booz Allen Hamilton to review operations with a view of making the Corporation's services more efficient, they reported back in May 1984. Their conclusion was that the extra train weight, crewing and loss of revenue space on trains induced by the vans made the continued use of the guard's vans uneconomic and they should be withdrawn from freight trains. [5] Among recommendations was reducing locomotive crews from two to one, and the replacement of guards and vans with Train End Monitors (TEMs).
Similar views on the obsolescence and extra cost of NZR use and order of guards van were made in an Railway Gazette International editorial at the time of the order. The editorial expressed the view it was an outrage these extravagant vans were being ordered so one man could ride around the country at the time secondary passenger services were being eliminated in New Zealand on a scale virtually unparalleled in the western world. [6] This latter recommendation led to the elimination of guards vans from all freight trains by 1987 (the last train with a van ran on 30 May 1987.) [7] Consequently, the second batch of FM vans was redundant after only five years in service.
NZR began overhauling a small number of FM vans for use with 56ft carriages on the Blue Fern, Northerner and Overlander, Bay Express and Lynx Express, many rebuilt with air conditioning. These vans were fitted with either a small platform-mounted generator to supply 240 V power or a larger generator in one of the LM modules to supply the 240 V and also power for the air conditioning. On newer higher-powered vans one of the end platforms was given more substantial railings and gates for passenger use, and to separate the modified vans from the other FMs they were given the classification AG. Further conversions were performed with most getting the larger generator, and they soon became the new standard luggage van. There was some variation between vans, in the type, size and position of the generator.
In 1991, AG 124 was modified with one of the LM modules converted to provide greater outdoor accommodation for passengers, and both ends fitted with better railings. This van was for use on the TranzAlpine, where it proved extremely popular and a few years later AG 239, with a 110 kVA generator for air-conditioned cars, incorporated the same feature. In 1995 AG 239 had the other LM module modified to match, at the expense of any luggage carrying capacity, and a larger 175 kVA generator to reflect the increased work needed for the larger consist.
In 1998, AG 90, out of service since its involvement in the 25 August 1993 level crossing collision between the Southerner and a concrete mixer truck at Rolleston, was repaired and had a new 175 kVA generator installed, for duty on the TranzAlpine. This van is used in the middle of the train, to separate the increasingly lengthy TranzAlpine into two self-contained sections. In 1999, AG 199 was modified in a similar manner for the TranzCoastal, with one LM and the GM hollowed out for outdoor viewing and the other LM retained solely for luggage, with no generator. In 2008, AG 239 was modified to match AG 90 to provide a spare viewing car. No further vans have been modified in this manner.
AG 130 was modified for use with the S class carriages rebuilt from ex-British Rail Mark II carriages for the Capital Connection . Changes included fitting a wheelchair hoist in one of the LM modules and the covering-in of one of the balcony ends to replace luggage capacity lost by fitting the hoist.
Other vans were used with the first SA suburban sets for Auckland, to supply power before the arrival of SD carriages fitted with a generator and a driving cab, in Auckland Transport Blue with a gold stripe. After the arrival of the SD cars they were released back into the general pool, with two exceptions: AG 222 was further overhauled and painted as a spare generator and extra luggage capacity for Metlink's Wairarapa Connection trains; AG 118 moved to Dunedin with 13 ex-Wairarapa 56 ft carriages, leased to the Dunedin Railways minus bogies. It has been fitted with X25330 bogies and is used to supply head-end power to the cars.
Seven vans have been rebuilt at Hillside Workshops for use with new AK Class carriages: [8] AG 55, AG 61, AG 101 and AG 216 as AKV viewing/generator vans AKV 39, AKV 26, AKV 13 and AKV 41, with a 220 kVA generator, a viewing deck and an interconnecting corridor past the generator compartment; AG 78, AG 124 and AG 245 (ex FM 186) as AKL luggage vans AKL 34, AKL 21 and AKL 19, retaining their X28020 bogies (not upgraded to the newer P13 bogies). [9] In 2017, it was announced AGs 147 and 199 were chosen to be converted to AKV open-air viewing/generator vans. As of December 2017, both vans are currently undergoing conversion at Hutt Workshops.
A number of the vans have ended up in service for in KiwiRail's non-revenue fleet, for example, Research Test Car EA 7501, [10] EBC 27 for the ballast cleaning support vehicles, [11] ECL 58 for the concrete sleeper layer train, [12] and ETR 17 as the radio test vehicle. [13]
A considerable number of FM vans were bought by heritage railways. At least three FMs have been returned to mainline use largely original form, with more expected in the near future. In addition, the Gisborne City Vintage Railway has two vans substantially modified to passenger carriages for mainline use. The three modules have been welded together to form a single body with passenger windows. Two similar vans were similarly converted for the Wairoa YMCA for envisaged passenger trains to their Opoutama camp. This project did not come to fruition. One of these vans has ended up with Gisborne City Vintage Railway and the other with Mainline Steam, where it has been fitted with a servery.
Mainline Steam also has a number of other FM vans to be used with its carriage fleet. One of these vans, at Plimmerton, has been modified with one of the LM modules converted to a viewing platform similar to the Tranz Scenic conversions. The GM module has been partitioned to accommodate a generator and a loco crew compartment, and the other LM left for luggage. Unlike the Tranz Scenic conversions, a corridor is provided for so that the van can be marshaled anywhere in the consist and allow passenger access through the train (an idea which has been borrowed for the new vans to go with the AK Class cars). This van is to be paired with Mainline Steam's British Rail Mark II carriage set.
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The NZR RM class Silver Fern was a class of rail motor in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki under contract with Nissho Iwai of Japan. New Zealand Railways (NZR) classified the railcars as RM (Rail Motor), the same as other railcars, using the Silver Ferns (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland (North Island Main Trunk) route, the Silver Star. The Silver Ferns replaced the three successful Blue Streak railcars on the service.
The Silver Star was a luxury passenger train that ran overnight between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) railway of New Zealand, operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR). The train ran from Monday 6 September 1971 until Sunday 8 June 1979. It replaced the Night Limited express passenger trains which provided a faster service than the ordinary express trains, by stopping at only six intermediate stations en route and not hauling a postal (sorting) van as on previous trains.
The Southerner was a passenger express train in New Zealand's South Island between Christchurch and Invercargill along the South Island Main Trunk, that ran from 1970 to 2002. It was one of the premier passenger trains in New Zealand and its existence made Invercargill the southernmost passenger station in the world.
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The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes. The journey is 223 kilometres (139 mi) one-way, taking almost five hours. There are 16 tunnels and four viaducts, with the Staircase Viaduct elevated as much as 75 metres (246 ft).
This is a list of jargon commonly used by railfans and railway employees in New Zealand.
The New Zealand DC class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric mainline locomotive on the New Zealand rail network, operated by KiwiRail on freight trains, and formerly on long-distance passenger trains. The class was rebuilt from the DA class in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mainly in Australia. After the DA class, they were the most numerous class of diesel locomotive on New Zealand's railway network and remained numerically dominant until the mid-2010s when withdrawals began.
The Overlander was a long-distance rail passenger train between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). It was operated by Tranz Scenic. The service was replaced from 25 June 2012, by the Northern Explorer.
The Northerner was an overnight passenger train between Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand. The train replaced the unnamed and ordinary express trains supplementing the luxury Silver Star, which had replaced the Night Limited in 1971. The Northerner operated from 1975 to 2004.
The Bay Express was a passenger train between Wellington and Napier in New Zealand's North Island, operating from Monday, 11 December 1989 until Sunday, 7 October 2001. It was operated by New Zealand Railways Corporation's InterCity Rail division, later known as Tranz Scenic.
The Coastal Pacific is a long-distance passenger train that runs between Picton and Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail. It was called the TranzCoastal from May 2000 until temporarily withdrawn in February 2011. It was the first train to use the new AK class carriages.
The Wairarapa Connection is a New Zealand interurban commuter rail service along the Wairarapa Line between Masterton, the largest town in the Wairarapa, and Wellington. It is operated by Wellington suburban operator Transdev under contract from the Greater Wellington Regional Council. It is a diesel-hauled carriage service, introduced by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1964 after passenger demand between Masterton to Wellington exceeded the capacity of the diesel railcars then used.
The Picton Express was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Christchurch and Picton. It ran from December 1945 until February 1956, and was thus the shortest-lived provincial express in New Zealand. Following the end of railcar services in 1976, a new carriage train between Christchurch and Picton began, under the same name as the earlier service, until it was replaced in 1988 by the Coastal Pacific Express.
The NZR 56-foot carriage is a class of 56 ft (17 m) long railway passenger carriage formerly used on almost all long-distance passenger rail transport in New Zealand. 88 carriages have been preserved.
The New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriages were built by British Rail Engineering Limited for British Rail in the early 1970s. From the mid-1990s, 150 were exported to New Zealand. After being rebuilt, refurbished and re-gauged, they entered service with a variety of operators on New Zealand's railway network. The carriages generally replaced older NZR 56-foot carriages, some of which had been in use for almost 70 years.
The New Zealand AK class carriage is a class of 17 cars built by Dunedin's Hillside Workshops for KiwiRail's long-distance passenger operation The Great Journeys of New Zealand. Consisting of 11 AK saloon carriages and four AKC café carriages, supplemented by three AKL luggage vans and four AKV open-air viewing/generator vans converted from AG vans, similar to those previously used on the Coastal Pacific and the TranzAlpine. The AK class are the first new carriages to be built in New Zealand since 1943.
The Northern Explorer is a long-distance passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Three services operate per week in each direction between Auckland's The Strand Station and Wellington railway station. The Northern Explorer replaced the Overlander from 25 June 2012.
