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Preservation and Restoration of NSW Railway Track Vehicles |
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NSWGR Trikes |
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©Copyright NSWGR Trikes 2016 |
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Trikes and Trolleys A short history of track vehicles on the NSWGR
by Greg Lee |
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Chapter 9 The Departmental Heavy Duty Cars
In the late 1950s the NSWGR was heavily reliant on track vehicles for the use of track maintenance staff. For heavy work such as that carried out by bridge and extra gangs, powerful ST2 Fairmonts were usually provided. These had been purchased in the 1940s. When the need arose to acquire additional heavy duty track vehicles, NSWGR decided that rather than purchasing additional Fairmonts, they would build their own vehicles.
These vehicles were officially designated the Departmental Heavy Duty cars (DHDs) or alternatively, VW Gang Cars. The men who used them usually referred to them simply as Volkswagens, this being a reference to their Volkswagen engines.
Four VWs were trialled in 1960. They presumably proved successful as forty were ultimately built by the Goulburn Per Way workshops over the following few years.
DHDs were constructed on an all welded tubular frame of rectangular section. The engine was a 1200 cc Volkswagen industrial engine, developing about 36 HP. This is a very powerful engine for a track vehicle. The clutch was of the standard automotive type, driving a cardan shaft to the two speed, two directional gearbox.
The axles and axle boxes were the standard LGT type. (See chapter 4). The wheels were of the standard NSWGR wooden spoked type as used on sheffields, flat top trolleys, muck dobbins pull trikes, quadricycles, LGTs, TICs, SICs and SITs.
Quadricycles, LGTs, TICs and SICs had 14" wheels, and pull trikes had 14", 17" and 20" wheels. Sheffields, flat top trolleys and muck dobbins had 20" wheels. The DHD cars had 17" wheels. This gave them the largest wheel diameter of any powered track vehicle in NSW. It is not known why their designers gave them such large wheels, but it may have been in an attempt to improve traction, which is always a problem with high powered vehicles.
The gearbox was very similar in design to that of the Wickhams, but was of much heavier construction.
The brakes were a direct copy of Fairmont design, with longer links as necessitated by the longer wheel base.
DHDs were permitted to carry up to eight men, and travel at speeds up to 30 MPH (48 kph). They were a heavy weight car of 530 kg.
An examination of the design of the DHD reveals several influences. The frame, axles and wheels were NSWGR in origin, the drive arrangement was obviously Wickham derived, while the brake gear had Fairmont parentage. Truly a hybrid.
Having combined the best features of three different types of track vehicles, the design should have been a good one, and by all accounts it was. In 1960 it was reported that the DHDs were very easy to drive, well sprung, and silent in operation.
Some early teething problems were encountered. In 1961 it was reported that three cases of clutch failure had occurred, and clutches were to be replaced with a heavier type. Exhaust pipes were also modified.
There was one obvious design fault. The large 17" wheels meant an extremely high top speed. While ST2 Fairmonts had a reputation for being capable of speed, the DHDs far outstripped them. The large wheel diameter combined with the very powerful VW engine made the DHD a real speed machine. They had a top speed in excess of 100 kph. The capability of such high speed is not only unnecessary, but also very dangerous in inexperienced or foolish hands.
Many DHDs remained in service until the mid 1980s, when the NSW State Rail Authority started selling off trikes. About ten have survived in private ownership. |
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© Greg Lee, 1992 - 1999 |
