The New South Wales Bradfield suburban carriage stock are a type of electric multiple unit operated by the New South Wales Government Railways and its successors between 1921 and 1975.
The carriages featured wooden bodies on steel underframes with 43 fitted out as EBB first class carriages and 57 as EBA second class. The carriages gained the Bradfield carriages nickname after the New South Wales Railway's Chief Engineer John Bradfield, even though they were designed by Chief Mechanical Engineer Edward Lucy.[2][3]
Bradfield carriages were the first electric train stock to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932
All were delivered between January 1921 and January 1922 numbered 2112 to 2211. One further first class carriage was delivered as 2212 by the Eveleigh Carriage Workshops in January 1923.[3] All initially entered service as locomotive hauled stock with eight seats fitted in what would later become the driver's cabin.[1][2][4]
In preparation for the commissioning of the electrified network, the 101 newly-built carriages were converted to driving motor cars at Electric Carriage Workshops, being renumbered C3000 to C3100 and operated with American Suburban stock.[2][3][4]
In the mid-20s, 183 American Suburban end platform carriages were converted into trailer carriages numbered T4101 to T4284, along with a further nine converted into driving trailers numbered D4001 to D4009.
The Bradfield carriages would on occasionally operate in mixed train sets with the later constructed Standard and Tulloch Suburban cars built in the same and following decades which came as a result of the steel constructed cars using the same electrical system. After the retirement of many of the Bradfield trailers in 1968, the motor cars would continue to work with some hauling the newer Tulloch double deck trailer cars first built in 1964.[5][6]
Carriage C3067, converted c. 1961-62.
The last Bradfield motor car was withdrawn in 1975 with two preserved.[7][8]
The last trailers and driving trailers were retired in the late-1970s.
Carriages C3001-C3080 were renumbered C7001-C7080 to allow newer Goninan-built S set carriages to be numbered C3001-C3080.
The power carriages were inspired by the New York City Subway cars used at the time. This reflects in their appearance with them having a similar door layout to those used in New York during this period. This was to reduce the dwell time at stations, but not considered a necessary feature and was not given to later rolling stock.[6] The carriages were all equipped with a sun shade above the drivers window.
Since the trailer cars were converted from previously-built steam-hauled passenger stock, they were slightly shorter compared to the power cars that they operated with at only 15 meters long, while the power cars were a further 18 meters. The trailers only have three doors on each side while the motor cars were built with six. In the 1950s, some cars had their roofs replaced by Tulloch Limited at Rhodes.[6]
In the 1960s, some of the motor cars were rebuilt with a door layout reminiscent of later introduced rolling stock at the Elcar Workshop in Chullora. By 1967, 18 carriages were given this feature. These were C3005, C3012, C3035, C3037, C3040, C3041, C3042, C3046, C3050, C3052, C3054, C3055, C3067, C3074, C3077, C3090, C3094, and C3098.[9][10] None of these carriages were preserved.
The cars were fitted with electrical equipment from the English engineering company Metropolitan-Vickers, with two motors placed under the bogie underneath the pantograph. This would extend to the suburban and Tulloch carriages that the wooden stock would mix with.[6]
The sets were fitted with target plates on the leading and trailing power cars of each train. Every aspect of the target plate had a purpose. The target plates had a letter for the depot, a number for the set, and the colour would indicate how long the train was and whether or not it could be broken up into a smaller consist. All single deck sets were based at Flemington, Hornsby, Mortdale, and Punchbowl depots.
Most target plates had the first letter of the depot the sets were allocated to, although Punchbowl-based sets had B instead of P on their target plates as a result of the close proximity to Bankstown at the end of suburban electrification. There were 24 sets at Hornsby, Punchbowl, and Mortdale, but 40 Sets at Flemington.[11]
Blue target plates with the depot letter and set number were fitted to sets that were seven or eight car trains that could not be divided. Red target plates were fitted to seven and eight car trains that could be divided and would be given an extra letter e. g. one half of the set would be F5A and the other half F5B. If the trains could be broken up further into two car sets, they would be given yellow plates with an extra number, such as F5A1 and F5A2. There were also plans to use green plates for four car sets that could not be split up, although there is no record of these in use.[5] These would have had a display like the red target plates. With the exception of the Comeng-built cars from the 1950s and 60s, this targeting system would be used by the Bradfield cars and subsequent single deck suburban trains in New South Wales until the last sets were withdrawn in the early 1990s.[5]
Most Bradfield and other wooden carriages were disposed of through scrapping at SIMS, however some were also burned at Port Kembla. Very few carriages were preserved.
Sydney Electric Train Society has Bradfield motor car C3082 preserved. This car were previously owned by RailCorp (now Sydney Trains) but was sold to SETS in 2008 (along with standard carriages C3104 and C3444). This car is currently in undercover storage at Bilpin.[as of?] Sydney Trains / Transport Heritage NSW / Historic Electric Traction has Bradfield motor car C3045 and wooden trailer car T4279 preserved. C3045 is on static display at the NSW Rail Museum, Thirlmere as part of an interactive train set with Walsh Island Dockyard trailer T4310 and Tulloch double deck power car C3804. T4279 is in undercover storage at Redfern, with the rest of the heritage electric fleet.
Bradfield motor car C3080, Bradfield parcel vans C3661 and C3662, wooden trailer cars T4186 and T4224, and wooden driving trailer car D4004 are all in undercover storage at Rothbury. C3661 is privately owned and the ownership of the other carriages is unknown. Due to the advanced age and frailty of the carriages, none have been restored to traffic.
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