Suburban steam locomotives M36 Class at the Sydney powerhouse museum. In the late 1860s, four more of the
1 class were manufactured by
Mort's Dock & Engineering Company Sydney in 1870–71. Another four locomotives of the M.36 class were manufactured at
Eveleigh Railway Workshops in 1876–77 using re-built tenders from Locomotive No.1-4. Two of the class later had cab shelters fitted to the tenders for suburban running.
Z18 Class An order was placed in February 1882, with the
Vulcan Foundry for six
2-4-0T locomotives to the specification of the then Acting Locomotive Engineer, Mr Scott. During Mr Scott’s subsequent absence in England on official business, Thomas Middleton, Locomotive Engineer, had the specifications altered to 0-6-0T wheel arrangement with 4'0" diameter driving wheels, together with other variations to the original order. Middleton claimed that the revised design would enable the locomotives to run at in suburban service.
Commissioner Goodchap approved the changes and despite the protests on Scott’s return, the variations were made. The six locomotives were delivered in 1884 and designated the 285 class. They became the (R) 285 class in 1889 and the Z18 class in 1924. Their driving wheels proved too small for the speed required and they were reduced to shunting duties in
Sydney Yard, with just the occasional venture into the suburbs. In 1907, the locomotives were fitted with new domed boilers, replacing the domeless versions originally fitted. This increased their weight by 3 tons which improved their adhesion factor. Power reversing gear was fitted in 1922, making them the first class in New South Wales to be so fitted. It was a hydraulic type and was excellent when shunting at Sydney station, however this was only short lived and
Johnson bar lever reversing gear was fitted shortly after. In 1927, following the release of other locomotives with the electrification of the Sydney suburban network, the class was transferred to locomotive depot work, some being fitted with cranes and renumbered into the (X)10 series. Later, with the cranes removed, they were restored to their Z18 numbers and worked at
Port Kembla shunting. 1076 was an exception which continued to be known by that number. No. 1802 (originally R286) was sold to the
Public Works Department in 1927 and became their No. 75. It continued in service until it was cut up for scrap metal in 1964. 1801 and 1806 were sold to the Wallarah Coal Company in 1957 and worked on the isolated
Catherine Hill Bay Coal Railway until the line ceased operation in December 1963.
F351 Class Originally ordered in 1879, but the order was stopped. A follow-up order in 1882 was made, the specification originally for 2-4-0 tank locomotives with 5'0" diameter driving wheels made by the acting locomotive engineer Mr Scott. As noted above, the order was altered during Scott's absence, resulting in the R285/Z18 class. In August 1884, Mr Scott informed the commissioner that more locomotives were required with the opening of the Illawarra extension. Mr Middelton wanted more of the R285 class, but Mr Scott recommended his original proposed design from 1881. After much hesitation by the government,
Beyer, Peacock & Company were asked to design and build the locomotives. These became the F351 class and went into service on the Sydney suburban network in 1885–86, being numbered 351 to 362. In 1887, six more locomotives of this design (numbered 363 to 3680) were delivered by Henry Vale of Sydney. No. 366 featured in the Redfern collision of 1894. The design was extremely similar to a number of 2-4-0 tank locomotives supplied to the Isle of Wight Central Railway from 1864. A similar locomotive was delivered to the
South Australian Railways in 1884 as their P-class. Their running life came to an end in 1901 as a result of the findings on the
Sydenham derailment involving No. 363 and the whole class was taken out of passenger work. The F351 class were known to oscillate and rock at high speeds and were officially limited to 30 mph. A factor in the Sydenham derailment was the driver exceeding the official speed limit. The locomotive was believed to be doing 51 mph when the accident occurred. The entire class was subsequently withdrawn from passenger work and allocated to various shunting, yard and depot duties. A number of the class were modified with a heavy cast iron front buffer beam in an attempt to stabilise the front of the locomotive after 1901. Between 1906 and 1929, ten of the class were sold to various private railway operators. All members of the class had been withdrawn from passenger work by 1914. Eleven were still on the books at this stage and were renumbered Lo.19–Lo.26 (Lo. Indicated that they were no longer in revenue-earning service). In 1924 they were renumbered in the X10 class, bearing numbers 1031–1033, 1035–1037 and 1039–1043. From 1914, members of the class still in
NSWGR service were rebuilt with the same domed boilers that replaced the dome-less type originally supplied on the R285 class. A number of other modifications were made to the class such as replacing the leaf spring on the front axle with twin coil springs. For reasons unknown 1033 at some stage had the original parallel buffers on the rear replaced with longer bottle-shaped Turton buffers. In 1966, 1036 with withdrawn and scrapped, but during an overhaul the boiler was given to 1076, previously numbered R288 then 1804. Three of the class were still in service with the NSWGR from 1940. 1033 at Eveleigh Railway Workshops, 1036 at Junee Locomotive Depot (withdrawn and scrapped in 1966) and 1042 at Cardiff Railway Workshops.1042 was given an overhaul as late as 1970 at the age of 83 years and continued working until February 1973, only three months shy of 86 years in service and having completed 401,359 km (249,446 miles) of logged running. 1036 (F359) had accumulated the most mileage in service with 707,564 km (437,889 miles) at withdrawal.
Z11 Class The
Z11 class (formerly the M40 class) was a class of
steam locomotives built for the
New South Wales Government Railways in
Australia. Built by
Beyer, Peacock & Company of Manchester, they entered suburban traffic in Sydney in 1891. They were primarily intended for use on the steeply-graded Strathfield-Hornsby and Milson's Point-Hornsby sections, hence their hefty weight which served to hinder them later in their careers. Because of this, they were never noted for spectacular performance. Between 1906 and 1910, they were rebuilt with
Belpaire boilers. They were soon superseded by the
S636 class 4-6-4Ts and were promptly used on Newcastle suburban services for a period. In 1924, all were renumbered as part of the Z11 Class. No. 50 was sold to Australian Iron & Steel Ltd., No. 51 to the
South Maitland Railway, No. 1104 to the Nepean Sand & Gravel Company and No. 1111 to the Southern Portland Cement Company of Berrima. The remainder were sold for scrap between 1925 and 1927. None are preserved.
Z13 Class Due to a shortage of suburban engines in the Sydney area and the availability of surplus
C79 class tender engines, it was decided to experimentally convert one of the tender locomotives to a tank type engine in 1896. The conversion proved successful and twenty had been converted at
Eveleigh Railway Workshops by 1902. In 1924, the class was renumbered becoming the Z13 class. Following the delivery of
C30 class locomotives from 1903, they were transferred to
Newcastle suburban traffic and when replaced there, were allocated minor roles such as working the
Carlingford,
Morpeth and
Warren branches. Two were sold to East Greta Mining & Railway Company, one to Ashtonfields Colliery,
Thornton and a fourth scrapped. The remaining tank locomotives were mostly employed on Sydney suburban services to
Cowan,
Penrith and
Campbelltown as well as branches to
Carlingford,
Richmond and
Camden. They were also used on suburban services in
Newcastle and
Wollongong. The last, 3085, was withdrawn on 22 February 1973. It was the second last steam locomotive in service on the NSWGR.
Single-deck cars '
1877 American Suburban
carriages' Main article:
New South Wales American Suburban carriage stock stored at Broadmeadow Loco Depot. The American Suburban Carriage 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. 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. In the 1920s, 193 cars were rebuilt into 184 electric trailer cars (T4101–4284) and nine driving trailer cars (D4001 to 4009). They were in service much longer than intended, being finally replaced by the Tulloch single deck, and later double-deck, trailers from the 1950s onwards. D4001 and 4006 were converted to Parcel Vans driving trailers. T4279 is preserved and has been used on many railfan single-deck tours in the 1980s and early 1990s. D4004 is also preserved awaiting restoration, but not operable. A number of the non converted American Suburban carriages have been preserved. Examples are owned by the
Canberra Railway Museum,
Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum,
Lachlan Valley Railway and
NSW Rail Museum.
1920s Wooden Bradfield motor carriages in 2010 In the 1920s, the Bradfield electrification program began. Until then, trains continued to be sets of steam-locomotive-hauled wooden end-platform cars. In 1921, 101 wooden bodied driving-motor cars (later numbered C3000–C3100) were built by
Ritchie Brothers and
Meadowbank Manufacturing Company C3045 (now preserved) was built by the railway workshops as a prototype, but became the very last to enter traffic in 1923. They were originally steam-hauled EBB/EFA cars, prior to conversion to electric traction with the opening of the first section of electrified line between
Sydney and
Oatley in 1926. These wooden cars had steel sheathing for additional strength, and became known as the "Bradfield" cars after
John Bradfield, although they were designed by Edward Lucy.
1926–1960 Tulloch and W sets Between 1926 and 1960, a total of 417 motor cars and 417 trailer cars were built by various contractors including
Leeds Forge Company,
Walsh Island Dockyard,
Clyde Engineering,
Tulloch Limited and
Comeng. The pre-war "1927 type" cars were known as the "Standard" cars as they dominated the suburban fleet, and featured First and Second Class travel until 1 January 1940. More cars (the majority being trailer cars), were delivered by Tulloch Limited between 1940 and 1957 to cater for system expansion, and to replace many of the decrepit Wooden trailer cars. The 80 cars built by
Comeng from 1957 to 1960 (40 motor and 40 trailer cars) became known as the Sputnik cars. They had 4 single power operated doors on each side and were of spot-welded construction. These cars were introduced at the time of electrification extension from
Parramatta to
Penrith. One 8-car set of Tulloch cars was fitted with power-doors and ran from 1956 to 1976 as set F39. Between 1968 & 1973, 97 Standard & Tulloch motor-cars were converted from two to four motors on new air-ride bogies for better performance and adhesion, starting with C7500 (ex C3500). These single deck electric multiple unit (EMU) sets were the backbone of the
Sydney suburban network until the stainless-steel double deck cars of the
S (and later
C,
K & R) sets took over. The last of the Sputniks had their final retirement in 1993. Many cars were painted blue & white during the PTC years from 1972 onwards, and the last blue & white cars were repainted in 1987. Several cars were fitted with Beclawat sliding windows during overhauls as a cost-cutting measure (see photo). After 1976, they carried a deep 'Indian Red' livery until their retirement. In 1991, one eight-car set H22 was painted in a special livery to promote
Taronga Zoo. Two power-door W-sets were painted in special liveries for the Zoo (W1) and to mark Sydney's Sesquicentenary (W2). Many of the motor cars were marshalled with the Tulloch double deck trailer cars (see below) to form 4 or 8 car mixed single and double deck sets. In their final years, these cars became associated with the term 'red rattlers' by the State Government and the media, due to the way the windows and window shutters rattled in their frames. On 10 June 2016, Preserved cars C7396, T4527, C3218 and C3426 were returned to operational status by
Sydney Trains in conjunction with Historic Electric Traction. This train set, now known as Red Set F1, operates occasional special passenger trips through
Transport Heritage NSW. At 90 years of age, Set F1 is now among the oldest fully operating electric train sets in the world.
Double-deck cars 1964 Tulloch double-deck passenger carriages (1964–2004) T4873 forming part of an
S set In the 1960s, tenders were called for double-deck electric passenger cars. In 1964, the first of 120
Tulloch trailers were delivered, and integrated into the single-deck sets. The cars were built by
Tulloch Limited, and were numbered 4801–4920, by operating across only the City Circle, South, Bankstown, East Hills and Inner West Lines (Sector 2). They consisted of normal floor level over the bogies, with a double deck passenger section between the bogies. The cars were largely riveted aluminium, with
steel underframes. They carried green internal livery and were painted Tuscan Red on the outside sides with painted silver roofs to match the single deck carriages. For the first time in Sydney, fluorescent internal lighting and air suspension bogies were used. The initial 40 cars were used in power door sets, the remainder in non-powered door sets, and they replaced the remaining wooden bodied trailer cars. In 1987, W-set trailers T4834–4838 were converted to manual door M-set cars by having their power-doors disconnected, and rewired from 120- to 32-volt operation. The Tullochs were painted in the colour scheme of the day (blue & white and later deep Indian red). Cars T4839 to 4895 were later painted grey and marshalled into sets containing Comeng & Goninan double-deck cars (see below) as 'R & S sets'. Cars T4834–4838 and 4896–4920 continued to operate with older single-deck motor cars as 'M Sets'. The W set trailers (T4801–4833) and M set trailers (T4834–4838 and 4896–4920) were withdrawn in 1994 with the retirement of all single deck suburban stock, the cars marshalled with Comeng power cars in W sets saw service until March 2004, before the introduction of the Millennium Trains. Cars 4801, 4814, 4816, 4823, 4840, 4844, 4857, 4874 and 4881 have been kept for preservation.
1968 Tulloch double-deck power carriages (1968–1980) In 1966, after the success of the Tulloch double-deck trailers, tenders were called for double deck motor cars. In 1968, four experimental double-deck motor cars (C3801–3804) were built by
Tulloch and entered service enabling the first eight-car double-deck train, set S10, to operate by marshalling them with four Tulloch trailers T4839, 4840, 4843 and 4844. These were the first fully
double-deck Electric Multiple Unit passenger trains in the world that had seating on both the upper and the lower level. Each power-car carried electrical equipment from different manufacturers for evaluation purposes: C3801 (
Mitsubishi), 3802 (
Toshiba), 3803 (
Hitachi) and 3804 (
English Electric). Set S10 proved unreliable and the single-deck "
Sputnik" C3701-series power-cars often deputised for Tulloch power cars out of service. In 1977, it was decided to disband the set to convert them to trailers. C3801 was converted to T4797 in 1980 and C3803 became T4799 in 1982. Conversion of C3802 to T4798 was started at Elcar Workshops, but never finished and it was later scrapped. C3804 is now preserved at the
NSW Rail Museum,
Thirlmere. It was withdrawn from service on 4 January 1980. These trailers operated on the: •
South Line –
City Circle to
Macarthur via
Granville •
Inner West Line –
City Circle to
Liverpool via
Regents Park •
Bankstown Line –
City Circle to
Liverpool via
Bankstown •
East Hills Line –
City Circle to
Macarthur via
Sydenham (then via the
Airport Line in 2000–2003)
1972 S set power carriages (Comeng) C3840 at Petersham, 2025 In 1972, the first Comeng-constructed stainless steel double deck power-cars entered service. These cars (C3805–3857) were loosely based on the recently introduced inter-urban cars, the
V set. Their stainless-steel bodies were painted the standard "Tuscan red" to match the livery of the existing fleet. Cars C3844–3857 were delivered in the blue and white livery of the
Public Transport Commission in the 1970s, and repainted to deep Indian red after 1976, before being paint-stripped to run in their original stainless steel finish in the early 1980s. They were initially marshalled into sets (from S11 onwards) with Tulloch trailers T4841, 4842, and 4845 to 4895, which had their passenger doors modified from manual to power operation. Internally, they had reversible seating with a light-tan upholstery, and a grey and off-white internal livery. Beclawat sliding windows were fitted to the upper and lower decks, with drop windows in the doors. The sliding windows were replaced with Hopper windows in the 1990s and internally they were repainted light grey with blue upholstered seating. These motor cars had tapered ends, which were fitted with destination boards in the 1990s. With the introduction of the Millennium Trains in 2002, several early Comeng power-cars were converted to non-driving trailers, with their pantographs removed, and renumbered T4701–4723.
1973 S set power and passenger carriages (Comeng) -built
S set led by power car C3765 In 1973, additional 54 Comeng power cars C3858–3911, and 56 Comeng trailer cars T4921–4962, were ordered to coincide with the opening of the
Eastern suburbs railway line. These trailer cars were the first to be of stainless steel construction, and they had an extra row of seats on the top deck (and are thus distinguished by an extra single window at the centre of the car on both decks). Ten driving trailers D4011–4020 were built with small driver's compartments for 2-car trains. However, they never saw service as driving cars due to Union bans. Subsequently, 25 driving trailer cars D4021–4045 (with large guard's compartments) were also built to be paired with a driving motor car to allow 2-car sets to be operated. Ten driving trailers were diesel hauled on
South Coast suburban services, south of
Thirroul, prior to electrification. Ten driving trailers, renumbered D4001–4010, were used for two car shuttles in the initial period after the electrification of the
Richmond line. These driving trailer cars subsequently had their driving equipment removed and were converted into standard non-driving trailer cars. Extended orders saw the Comeng double-deck fleet expanded to include power-cars C3912–3986 & 3741–3765, trailers T4963–4987 and driving trailers D4046–4095 by 1982. By 1976, one quarter of suburban cars were double deck. All the 1973 cars are now integrated with earlier stock and operate as L, R &
S Sets. With the introduction of the
Millennium Trains in 2002, several early Comeng power-cars were converted to non-driving trailers, with their pantographs removed, and renumbered T4701–4723.
1978 S sets (Goninan) -built
S set In the 1970s,
A Goninan & Co in
Newcastle entered the passenger car construction market building 80 power cars C3001–3080 and 70 trailer cars T4101–4170. Unlike the
Comeng cars, the power cars had a flat front end and Pullman Standard fluting, and the upper deck passenger windows were set significantly lower than the earlier Comeng cars reducing passenger sight lines (a source of complaint from passengers).
1986 C sets at
Redfern station In 1986, a new generation of advanced suburban passenger train was being considered by the
State Rail Authority. There was a delay in the construction of these trains, and 56 interim stainless steel air conditioned cars, C3581–3608 and T4247–4274, were built by
Goninan, known as the 'Chopper Cars' for their chopper control. These cars trialled several features of the next generation cars, such as fixed seating, door chimes and passenger address systems. They were originally fitted with a push-button feature, to enable passengers to open the doors manually, but this feature was short-lived. They retained the flat ends of the previous
Goninan cars, but with the addition of a fibreglass moulded end piece which was originally white with orange and red stripes (the 'candy' State Rail livery). These ends were later painted grey with a lower yellow section which they retain to this day, and internally the standard grey livery and blue seat upholstery was applied. These cars were initially branded as a continuation of the K Sets, but were incompatible due to the camshaft controls fitted to the existing fleet. Often, the sets would ‘jerk’ while accelerating when coupled together. These cars were later rebranded as
C sets, to differentiate them from K Sets. They continued to operate until the second batch of Series 2 Waratah B Sets started entering service from late 2020. The last train was withdrawn on 26 February 2021, after operating its last revenue run on 90-W from the City to Liverpool via Bankstown. A farewell tour took place on 6 March, organised by the Sydney Electric Train Society (SETS). The train operated up the Blue Mountains to Mount Victoria and made a trip to both Hornsby and Fairfield. Initially, no sets were to be preserved due to the small fleet, however, SETS will preserve one 4-car set as of July 2021. This set has been confirmed to be formed of cars C3584, T4266 (both from set C5), T4274 and C3608 (both from set C9). C3608 and T4274 are significant for being the final stainless steel power and trailer cars respectively built for the Sydney network. == Current suburban passenger rolling stock ==