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300 Class Diesel Hydraulic Railcars
Diesel railcars first succesfully appeared on South Australian tracks during the 1920's. Faced with the task of rehabilitating an ailing government railway; one of the reforms of Chief Commissioner W.A.Webb was to reduce costs on steam hauled passenger services.
The Model 55 and 75 railcars of the era were an effective solution for off peah & country services; but their inability to work as multiple units made them ineffective for peak hour commuter services. Electrification of the urban network would have been the ultimate solution; but as Webb pointed out the cost was prohibitive.
It wasn't until nearly 25 years after Webb returned to the USA that Government reformed the use of steam on suburban services; and it authorised the construction of a fleet of diesel- hydraulic railcars.
The 300 Class railcars were single ended, and could be operated in sets of 2 or more units, often working in pairs seperated by a trailer. The introduction of these railcars immediately impacted upon suburban services, and they were popular with the public as a cleaner alternative to steam hauled services. Further their performance in acceleration was far greater than that of steam hauled services, and for the drivers it took some getting used to.
The 400 Class were built alongside the second and third batches of 300 Class railcars, the first entering service in 1959. While visually very similar, a design feature is their ability to be worked as single units; having driving compartments at both ends.
The 300 & 400 Class railcars were originally painted in Regal Red with silver roof; though prblems with keeping the roof clean resulted in red being applied to the rooves also. True to fashion, railwaymen nicknamed these railcars 'Red Hens'; and by this name they became commonly known to the public.
37 of these 400 Class railcars entered service between 1959 and 1971. Today, all have been withdrawn, though there are several units which have been preserved for use by Historical Societies in Australia.
Model: 300 Class
Year: 1959
Engine: 2 x GM 6-71
Power: 163kW
Continuous Tractive Effort: 191kN @ 17.7km/hr
Max Speed: 113 km/h
Driving Wheel Diameter: 1.02m
Length: 20m
weight: 42.5t
Seating Capacity: 91
Тип: traincar