The RM class was the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and its successors gave to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. "RM" stands for Rail Motor which was the common name at the turn of the 20th century for what became known in New Zealand as railcars. [1] As many types of railcars are operated, class names have been given to each railcar type to differentiate them from others. [2]
In the early 20th century, NZR began investigating railcar technology to provide profitable and efficient passenger services on regional routes and rural branch lines where carriage trains were not economic and "mixed" trains (passenger carriage(s) attached to freight trains) were undesirably slow. [3]
A number of experimental railcars and railbuses were developed:
The most successful of the experimental and early railcars was the Edison battery-electric railcar, [4] which provided a popular twice-daily service on the Little River Branch line in Canterbury. It may have been expanded into a full fleet of railcars had the economic difficulties of the Great Depression not intervened, and it was destroyed by a depot fire in 1934 and not replaced. [4]
The first truly successful railcar classes to enter revenue service in New Zealand were the Midland and Wairarapa classes that began operating in 1936, [6] following the building of the Red Terror (an 8-seat inspection railcar) for the General Manager, Garnet Mackley, in 1934. More classes followed over the years, primarily to operate regional services. The various classes were:
The Silver Ferns were the only railcars to survive into the privatisation era of Tranz Rail and Toll Rail, and later re-nationalisation as KiwiRail. They were introduced to provide a premier service on the North Island Main Trunk between Wellington and Auckland, and after they were replaced by the Overlander locomotive-hauled carriage train in 1991, they were redeployed to operate the Geyserland Express between Auckland and Rotorua, Kaimai Express between Auckland and Tauranga, and Waikato Connection between Hamilton and Auckland. When those services were cancelled in 2001, the Silver Ferns were transferred to Auckland and operated suburban services for the Auckland Regional Transport Authority between Britomart and Pukekohe station. The Silver Ferns were then only used for special charter services and were withdrawn in 2019. [8] [ page needed ]
The fastest speed officially achieved on New Zealand's railway network was attained by a Vulcan railcar. On a trial run on 25 October 1940, the speed of 125.5 kilometres per hour (78.0 mph) was achieved on a flat stretch of the Midland Line east of Springfield. [9]
In September 1938 Standard railcar RM 30 covered the 321 km between Napier and Wellington in 4 hours and 36 minutes running time. In 1967 RM 30 took a group of railway enthusiasts from Auckland to Wellington in 9 hours and 26 minutes (running time 8 hours and 42 minutes).
The Wairarapa railcars hold the fastest speeds for operations over the Rimutaka Incline. Passenger services were previously slow trains operated by the H class locomotives specially built to operate on the Fell mountain railway system employed on the Incline. The Wairarapa railcars were designed to operate unaided on the Incline, and as they were lighter and more nimble, they achieved speeds well in excess of any service operated by an H class (or any of the few other engines occasionally permitted to work on the Incline).
None of the experimental or early railcars survived to be preserved, but the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway operates a Model T Ford replica and possesses the unrestored body of one of the original Model T railcars.
At least one member of all of the main railcar classes has been saved for preservation. For many years, it was feared that no 88-seater would be preserved, but the Pahiatua Railcar Society has successfully recovered one and is actively seeking to return it to operational condition. The same society is in possession of the sole surviving Wairarapa railcar and is restoring it to operational condition. Four of the nine Vulcan railcars are preserved, one by the Plains Vintage Railway and three by the Ferrymead Railway. Four of the six Standard railcars are also preserved, two by the Silver Stream Railway, one by the Pahiatua Railcar Society (their active railcar), and one by private interests in the Waikato stored at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway.
All three Silver Ferns are being preserved by the Pahiatua Railcar Society which bought them in 2020. [10] [11]
A railcar is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach, with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors".
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 , the same as other railcars, using the Silver Ferns because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland route, the Silver Star. The Silver Ferns replaced the three successful Blue Streak railcars on the service.
The NZR RM class Clayton steam rail motor was a unique railcar that was operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR) for New Zealand's national rail network and one of only two steam railcars to operate in New Zealand - the other being 1925's RM class Sentinel-Cammell.
The NZR RM class Edison battery-electric railcar was a railcar that ran in Canterbury, New Zealand for eight years. It was built for New Zealand Railways (NZR) as a prototype for battery-electric railcars. While the railcar, classified "RM 6", was considered the first successful railcar in New Zealand, it was later destroyed in a fire, and battery-electric traction for railcars was not developed further in New Zealand. Two other classes of battery-electric locomotives were introduced about the same time as RM 6, the E class of 1922 and the EB class of 1925.
The NZR RM class Midland railcar was the first successful railcar, and first diesel-powered vehicle, to enter revenue service in New Zealand. Two were built, RM 20 and RM 21, and they ran for five years from 1936 to 1941 before being replaced by larger Vulcan railcars. They operated primarily on the Midland Line and the Greymouth-Hokitika portion of the Ross Branch
The NZR RM class Model T Ford railcar was a type of rail motor that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. Only two were built, classified as RM 4 and RM 5, and they were experimental railcars designed in an attempt to offer improved passenger services on quiet country branch lines that served regions with small populations.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM , the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the class eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".
The Railway Enthusiasts Society Incorporated is a New Zealand railway enthusiast society formed on 17 July 1958. RES formed the Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) in 1968, with GVR now forming a separate charitable trust.
This is a list of jargon commonly used by railfans and railway employees in New Zealand.
The Wairarapa Line is a secondary railway line in the south-east of the North Island of New Zealand. The line runs for 172 kilometres (107 mi), connects the capital city Wellington with the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line at Woodville, via Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Masterton.
The NZR RM class Wairarapa railcar was a class of railcars on New Zealand's national rail network. They entered service in 1936 and were classified RM like all other classes of railcars in New Zealand; they came to be known as the "Wairarapa" class as they were designed to operate over the famous Rimutaka Incline to the Wairarapa region on the Wairarapa Line. They also acquired the nickname of "tin hares" in New Zealand railfan jargon. The first two to be introduced re-used the numbers RM 4 and RM 5 that had previously been used by the withdrawn experimental Model T Ford railcars. The class consisted of six passenger railcars and one passenger-freight railcar. It is often described incorrectly as a class of six railcars.
The NZR RM class Standard railcars were a class of railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) in the North Island of New Zealand. Officially classified as RM like all other railcar classes in New Zealand, they acquired the designation of "Standard" to differentiate them from other railcar classes. They were introduced in 1938 and withdrawn in 1972.
The Pahiatua Railcar Society (PRS) is a society located in Pahiatua, New Zealand, dedicated to the restoration of railcars and other locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department. It is notable for possessing the sole remaining examples of the RM class 88 seater and Wairarapa railcars.
The NZR RM class Sentinel-Cammell was a steam-powered railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). It was the only one of its type to operate in New Zealand, and one of only two steam railcars trialled in the country; the other was the Clayton steam railcar.
The Wairarapa Mail was a passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between Wellington and Woodville, continuing on to Palmerston North as a mixed train. It ran from 1909 until 1948 and its route included the famous and arduous Rimutaka Incline.
The NZR RM class Westinghouse railcar was an experimental railcar built by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) in 1914. Although not the first railcar to operate in New Zealand, it was the first to enter revenue service.
Woodville railway station is the northern terminus of the Wairarapa Line and is located at the junction with the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line in the small Tararua town of Woodville, 27 km (17 mi) east of Palmerston North in New Zealand's North Island.
Pahiatua railway station is on the Wairarapa Line in New Zealand's North Island. It was opened in May 1897, shortly before the line was opened to Woodville in December of that year. The station is located in Mangamutu, 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) west of Pahiatua, in contrast to the original plans for the railway line to run through the town.
Eketahuna railway station was a station on the Wairarapa Line, a railway line that runs through the Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island. Located between the stations of Mangamahoe and Newman, it served the small southern Tararua town of Eketahuna and was one of the few attended stations on the northern section of the line.
In 2020 KiwiRail officially retired the 3 Silver Fern railcars after 48 years of sterling service. KiwiRail and the Pahiatua Railcar Society entered into a sale agreement including all parts which saw the 3 railcars towed to Pahiatua prior to Christmas 2020.
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