New South Wales American Suburban carriage stock

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American Suburban Carriage
HFA 1032.JPG
End platform car HFA 1032 stored at Broadmeadow Loco Depot.
HFA 1171 Interior.JPG
Interior of HFA 1171 at Broadmeadow Loco Depot.
Manufacturer Clyde Engineering (270)
Ritchie Brothers (133)
Hudson Brothers (141)
C.G Hudson (18)
John Morrison (68)
Australasian Engineering & Rolling Stock Co. (20)
Carriage and Wagon Works, Eveleigh (5)
Jackson and Sharp (USA) (2)
Gilbert, Bush and Co. (USA) (2)
Constructed1877 - 1912
Number built659
Operator(s) New South Wales Government Railways Public Transport Commission
Specifications
Car length49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
Width8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
Height12 ft 9+12 in (3.90 m)
Weight17 to 22 tonnes (depending on type)
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The American Suburban Carriage are a type of passenger carriage that were built for the New South Wales Government Railways

Contents

History

End platform cars LFA 1958, RBI 1561 & LFA 942 stored at Broadmeadow Loco Depot. End platform cars.JPG
End platform cars LFA 1958, RBI 1561 & LFA 942 stored at Broadmeadow Loco Depot.

The American Suburban Carriages were built between 1877 and 1912 by a number of manufacturers with timber frames and truss sided body work. Due to the truss bodywork, it was difficult to cut doors in the sides of the body so doors at either end of the cars were provided with covered platforms to allow access to the carriages. They became the most numerous group of carriages built for any Australian railway system with a total of 659 carriages built. A further 196 carriages, known as Lucy Suburban Carriages were constructed between 1913 and 1916 but had steel under frames and separate bodywork. While they retained the general layout and appearance of the American Suburban Carriage, they were generally not referred to as such and 193 were later completely rebuilt for use in Electric train stock in the 1920s.

American Suburban carriage at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot Carriages stored insode Broadmeadow No.2 Shed.JPG
American Suburban carriage at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot

The American Suburban Carriages were built primarily as suburban passenger carriages for the Sydney network. Following the electrification of the Sydney network in the 1920s and 1930s, most carriages were converted for use on longer distance services, whilst others were transferred to Newcastle and Wollongong for continued suburban service or to country branch lines. The last examples were withdrawn in the mid-1970s.

Preservation

A number of these carriages have been preserved. [1] Examples are owned by the Canberra Railway Museum, Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum, Lachlan Valley Railway and NSW Rail Museum.

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References

Further reading