E type carriage
Encyclopedia
The E type carriages were wooden express passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria
, Australia
. Introduced by Victorian Railways
Chairman of Commissioners Thomas James Tait
and based on Canadian carriage design, the class remained in regular service for 85 years.
cars operated by the New South Wales Government Railways
relatively cramped and austere. Chairman of Commissioners Thomas Tait, previously the Transportation Manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway
, introduced a carriage design that was 71 feet (21.6 m) long, and as wide as the loading gauge
allowed. Much of their external design was based on typical Canadian carriage design, with a clerestory
roof curved at the ends, doors only at the ends of the car, and six-wheel bogies, although their interior design retained the compartment and corridor layout typical of English railway practice.
15 carriages were fitted with air-conditioning, the first (36AE) being outshopped in December 1935 and was claimed to the first such car in the British Empire
, but was beaten by the Canadian Pacific and the New South Wales Government Railways
.
The first batch of E-class carriages were built between 1906 and 1909, with 26 AVE 1st class cars, 31 BVE 2nd class cars, 16 DVE guard's vans and 10 ABVE 1st/2nd class cars. The DVEs were 60 feet (18.3 m) long, the remainder 71 feet (21.6 m). All had wooden bodies, clerestory roofs and six-wheel bogies. On his website, Peter J. Vincent notes that he suspects the 'E' classification referred to 'Express'.
The cars were recoded, AVE to AE, BVE to BE, DVE to CE and ABVE to ABE, in the 1910 renumbering. In 1935 some surplus carriages were converted to BCE cars. The original total of 81 was increased, with more cars being built from 1910 onwards. The fleet never exceeded 178 cars. However, note that at least four were destroyed (and at least two of those rebuilt), at least ten were in Joint-Stock The Overland service from Melbourne to Adelaide, some were converted to dining or buffet cars, at least nine were converted from surplus BDSE cars, and of the remainder, at least ten were reclassed during both the early 1960s and the early 1980s.
Two of the class, 21AE and 26AE, were converted to carriages 1BG (named Kiewa) and 2BG (named Moyne) in 1955. These had buffet modules, and were used on longer-distance trains. They were converted back to sitting cars in 1961, but they were not completely restored to AE-form. They had three compartments at one end, and the rest of each car was longitudinal seating. 2BG was destroyed in a Glenorchy level crossing smash, in 1971.
Car 36AE was notable as this car was the prototype car for air conditioning carriages in VR service, the test for the "Spirit of Progress" cars. 36AE entered service December 13, 1935, after air conditioning modifications, which took seven months to complete. In 1961, it was renumbered 49BE. The car was destroyed in a derailment at Laverton during 1978.
In the early 1960s, some AE cars were recoded to BE. The cars were renumbered 50BE to 52BE. The cars were converted back to AE classification in the early 1980s.
1AE (coded 50BE), 2AE and 30AE are in the custodianship of the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, along with the frame of 39AE. 12AE is currently in the care of Steamrail Victoria. 18AE is with the Victorian Goldfields Railway but was moved to Seymour by rail for restoration in late 2010.
31 cars were built in the first batch, and they were numbered BVE 1 to BVE 31. In the 1910 recoding the class was relettered to BE, with the same numbers retained. 8 more cars were built in 1910, bringing the total to 39, but five of them were in joint-stock operations with the South Australian Railways (in 1923 these were 5BE thru 10BE). Another four cars were built to supplement the joint-stock arrangement around this time.
Cars BE 44 to BE 48 were converted from BDSE mail sorting cars between 1922 and 1929. Cars BE 50 to BE 61 were converted from AE and ABE cars during 1981. This was the start of the transition from wooden stock to all steel cars, and altered rostering of carriages into small fixed sets. The first three of these, 50BE - 52BE, were ex-AE cars, while the remaining nine, 53BE to 61BE, were ex-ABE cars. The ex-AE cars were renumbered back to AE by 1981.
To overcome problems with different seating capacities within the BE group, two prefixes were added to the class in 1982. Using the standard BE capacity of 72 passengers, cars with a greater capacity (76 passengers) were coded BEL and cars with less capacity (64 passengers) were coded BES. Cars listed as BEL were 44 to 47 converted from BE cars with the same number. Cars BE 50, 53, 55-61 were reclassed to BES, same numbers, during 1982. All these cars were withdrawn during 1983/1984.
1BE, 14BE, 26BE and 33BE are currently preserved at Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, 4BE, 17BE, 25BE, 38BE and 46BE are currently preserved with Steamrail Victoria, 15BE and 20BE are with the Victorian Goldfields Railway
but were moved to Seymour for restoration in late 2010, 19BE and 34BE are allocated to the South Gippsland Railway, and 42BE (constructed at Islington Workshops, South Australia) is preserved at the National Railway Museum at Port Adelaide
. 45BE has been named Hastings and is currently at Moorooduc on the Mornington Tourist Railway.
Originally, 16 DVE vans were built, numbered 1 to 16, between 1906 and 1909. The DVEs were recoded in 1910 to CE, retaining the numbers 1 to 16. From 1909, CE vans 17 to 25 were built, 26CE to 32CE in 1923 and finally 33CE to 37CE, built in 1924. Vans 33-37 were built with arched roofs instead of clerestory, and fitted with four wheel bogies instead of six-wheel bogies. In 1930, a collision at Seymour wrecked 15CE. A new van, also numbered 15CE, was built to the style of CE 33-37 instead of as the original 15CE. 33CE was the only wooden vehicle to be painted in the VicRail 'Teacup' livery, which followed the Victorian Railways' blue and gold.
In 1963 35CE was modified for standard gauge service. It was reclassed to 1VHE: (V) Victoria; (H) (NSW guards van code); (E) (E-car van). In 1969 the van was restored to broad gauge and relettered 35CE. 18CE is currently under the care of Steamrail Victoria and 5CE is preserved in Bright at a museum at the former railway station.
, along with 12ABE, which was scrapped in 2008 after deteriorating markedly.
In 1935, five BDSE carriages were converted from mail sorting use to baggage and van use. The new class letters were BCE, numbers 1-5. The five BCE cars were converted from BDSEs 4, 1, 2, 6 and 7 respectively. These vehicles saw use on passenger trains to replace the large guard's vans that had been in use at the time, which could not hold passengers and thus did not make a profit. The BCEs were an attempt to fix that.
All five BCE cars have been preserved:
1BCE - Steamrail Victoria
2BCE - Victorian Goldfields Railway (Not operational), this carriage was moved to Seymour for restoration in late 2010.
3BCE - Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
4BCE - Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (not operational)
5BCE - Steamrail Victoria (not operational)
Parlor cars Yarra and Murray were built in 1906 to the E car design, with an open observation car
balcony at one end, along with a glass end window and lounge. They were used on the Sydney Limited until the introduction of the Spirit of Progress
. Yarra was restored by the Australian Railway Historical Society
in the 1960s and remains in service today.
riages were built to E car design for use on the Melbourne-Adelaide The Overland service with the South Australian Railways
. Named after rivers in Victoria, a number of the carriages remain in preserved service today.
' reforms of passenger rail operations, and by the early 1990s only eight equipped with air conditioning were still in service. The last regular train worked with E class cars was the 5:40 pm V/Line
South Geelong service on 24 December 1991.
A number of carriages were earmarked for preservation. They are now shared by Steamrail Victoria
, the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
, and other rail preservation groups.
The Victorian Goldfields Railway
has in their possession 18AE, 15BE, 20BE, 2BCE and TAMBO.
Rail transport in Victoria
Rail transport in Victoria, Australia, is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. Victorian lines use broad gauge, with the exception of a number of standard gauge freight and interstate lines, a few experimental narrow gauge lines, and...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Introduced by Victorian Railways
Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
Chairman of Commissioners Thomas James Tait
Thomas James Tait
Sir Thomas James Tait was a Canadian-born rail executive.Born in Melbourne, Quebec, the son of Melbourne McTaggart Tait, Tait entered the service of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1880, and by 1903 he was manager of transportation with Canadian Pacific Railway company.In March 1903 Tait was appointed...
and based on Canadian carriage design, the class remained in regular service for 85 years.
Design
Carriages on Victorian long-distance express services at the start of the 20th century were, in comparison to the PullmanPullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
cars operated by the New South Wales Government Railways
New South Wales Government Railways
The New South Wales Government Railways was the government department that operated the New South Wales Government's railways until the establishment of the Public Transport Commission in 1972. Although later known officially as the Department of Railways, New South Wales, it was still generally...
relatively cramped and austere. Chairman of Commissioners Thomas Tait, previously the Transportation Manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, introduced a carriage design that was 71 feet (21.6 m) long, and as wide as the loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
allowed. Much of their external design was based on typical Canadian carriage design, with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
roof curved at the ends, doors only at the ends of the car, and six-wheel bogies, although their interior design retained the compartment and corridor layout typical of English railway practice.
15 carriages were fitted with air-conditioning, the first (36AE) being outshopped in December 1935 and was claimed to the first such car in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, but was beaten by the Canadian Pacific and the New South Wales Government Railways
New South Wales Government Railways
The New South Wales Government Railways was the government department that operated the New South Wales Government's railways until the establishment of the Public Transport Commission in 1972. Although later known officially as the Department of Railways, New South Wales, it was still generally...
.
Construction
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| Four and six wheeled bogies as used under the cars. | |
The first batch of E-class carriages were built between 1906 and 1909, with 26 AVE 1st class cars, 31 BVE 2nd class cars, 16 DVE guard's vans and 10 ABVE 1st/2nd class cars. The DVEs were 60 feet (18.3 m) long, the remainder 71 feet (21.6 m). All had wooden bodies, clerestory roofs and six-wheel bogies. On his website, Peter J. Vincent notes that he suspects the 'E' classification referred to 'Express'.
The cars were recoded, AVE to AE, BVE to BE, DVE to CE and ABVE to ABE, in the 1910 renumbering. In 1935 some surplus carriages were converted to BCE cars. The original total of 81 was increased, with more cars being built from 1910 onwards. The fleet never exceeded 178 cars. However, note that at least four were destroyed (and at least two of those rebuilt), at least ten were in Joint-Stock The Overland service from Melbourne to Adelaide, some were converted to dining or buffet cars, at least nine were converted from surplus BDSE cars, and of the remainder, at least ten were reclassed during both the early 1960s and the early 1980s.
Details
AE cars
26 cars were built in the first batch, and they were numbered AVE 1 to AVE 26. In the 1910 recoding the class was relettered to AE, with the original numbers retained. Twelve cars were built during 1912 (Nos. 27-38) and four cars in 1923 (Nos. 39-42). Some cars were in Joint Stock service (shared) between Adelaide and Melbourne, on trains such as the Overland.Two of the class, 21AE and 26AE, were converted to carriages 1BG (named Kiewa) and 2BG (named Moyne) in 1955. These had buffet modules, and were used on longer-distance trains. They were converted back to sitting cars in 1961, but they were not completely restored to AE-form. They had three compartments at one end, and the rest of each car was longitudinal seating. 2BG was destroyed in a Glenorchy level crossing smash, in 1971.
Car 36AE was notable as this car was the prototype car for air conditioning carriages in VR service, the test for the "Spirit of Progress" cars. 36AE entered service December 13, 1935, after air conditioning modifications, which took seven months to complete. In 1961, it was renumbered 49BE. The car was destroyed in a derailment at Laverton during 1978.
In the early 1960s, some AE cars were recoded to BE. The cars were renumbered 50BE to 52BE. The cars were converted back to AE classification in the early 1980s.
1AE (coded 50BE), 2AE and 30AE are in the custodianship of the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, along with the frame of 39AE. 12AE is currently in the care of Steamrail Victoria. 18AE is with the Victorian Goldfields Railway but was moved to Seymour by rail for restoration in late 2010.
BE cars
Cars BE 44 to BE 48 were converted from BDSE mail sorting cars between 1922 and 1929. Cars BE 50 to BE 61 were converted from AE and ABE cars during 1981. This was the start of the transition from wooden stock to all steel cars, and altered rostering of carriages into small fixed sets. The first three of these, 50BE - 52BE, were ex-AE cars, while the remaining nine, 53BE to 61BE, were ex-ABE cars. The ex-AE cars were renumbered back to AE by 1981.
To overcome problems with different seating capacities within the BE group, two prefixes were added to the class in 1982. Using the standard BE capacity of 72 passengers, cars with a greater capacity (76 passengers) were coded BEL and cars with less capacity (64 passengers) were coded BES. Cars listed as BEL were 44 to 47 converted from BE cars with the same number. Cars BE 50, 53, 55-61 were reclassed to BES, same numbers, during 1982. All these cars were withdrawn during 1983/1984.
1BE, 14BE, 26BE and 33BE are currently preserved at Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, 4BE, 17BE, 25BE, 38BE and 46BE are currently preserved with Steamrail Victoria, 15BE and 20BE are with the Victorian Goldfields Railway
Victorian Goldfields Railway
The Victorian Goldfields Railway is a broad gauge tourist railway in Victoria, Australia. It operates along a formerly disused branch line between the towns of Maldon and Castlemaine.-History:...
but were moved to Seymour for restoration in late 2010, 19BE and 34BE are allocated to the South Gippsland Railway, and 42BE (constructed at Islington Workshops, South Australia) is preserved at the National Railway Museum at Port Adelaide
National Railway Museum (Port Adelaide)
thumb|Conference dinner being held in the rollingstock pavilionThe National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide, South Australia, is the current site of the Port Dock Station Railway Museum's vast Australian Railway Collection.- History :...
. 45BE has been named Hastings and is currently at Moorooduc on the Mornington Tourist Railway.
CE cars
In 1963 35CE was modified for standard gauge service. It was reclassed to 1VHE: (V) Victoria; (H) (NSW guards van code); (E) (E-car van). In 1969 the van was restored to broad gauge and relettered 35CE. 18CE is currently under the care of Steamrail Victoria and 5CE is preserved in Bright at a museum at the former railway station.
ABE cars
10 cars were built between 1906 and 1909, classed ABVE. They were half first class, half second class. In the 1910 recoding the cars were relettered to ABE with numbers retained. 6 more cars were built for this class in 1910, numbers 11-16. Between 1970 and 1982 four of the class were scrapped. Nine of the cars were recoded to BE in about 1960. 5ABE and 16ABE are preserved at Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, 3ABE and 7ABE are currently under the care of Steamrail VictoriaSteamrail Victoria
Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to the restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the railways in Victoria, Australia. The main depot of the group is at the Newport Railway Workshops in suburban Melbourne...
, along with 12ABE, which was scrapped in 2008 after deteriorating markedly.
BCE cars
All five BCE cars have been preserved:
1BCE - Steamrail Victoria
2BCE - Victorian Goldfields Railway (Not operational), this carriage was moved to Seymour for restoration in late 2010.
3BCE - Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
4BCE - Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (not operational)
5BCE - Steamrail Victoria (not operational)
Parlor cars
Observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the last carriage, with windows on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure...
balcony at one end, along with a glass end window and lounge. They were used on the Sydney Limited until the introduction of the Spirit of Progress
Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express train passenger service on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the Victorian border, and later through to Sydney.-Route:...
. Yarra was restored by the Australian Railway Historical Society
Australian Railway Historical Society
The Australian Railway Historical Society was founded in Sydney in 1933 as The Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. It aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. Membership now exceeds 2,500, with Divisions in every...
in the 1960s and remains in service today.
Sleeping cars
A number of 'Joint Stock' sleeping carSleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
riages were built to E car design for use on the Melbourne-Adelaide The Overland service with the South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 to the incorporation of its non-urban railways into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1975, together with the former Commonwealth Railways and the former Tasmanian Government Railways...
. Named after rivers in Victoria, a number of the carriages remain in preserved service today.
Demise
The E-class carriages were slowly phased out of service from the 1980s as part of the 'New DealNew Deal (railway)
The New Deal' for Country Passengers was a timetable introduced on 4 October 1981 in Victoria, Australia that revolutionised the provision of country passenger railway services. 35 little-used passenger stations were closed, rolling stock utilisation improved, and new rolling stock introduced...
' reforms of passenger rail operations, and by the early 1990s only eight equipped with air conditioning were still in service. The last regular train worked with E class cars was the 5:40 pm V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
South Geelong service on 24 December 1991.
A number of carriages were earmarked for preservation. They are now shared by Steamrail Victoria
Steamrail Victoria
Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to the restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the railways in Victoria, Australia. The main depot of the group is at the Newport Railway Workshops in suburban Melbourne...
, the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre
The Seymour Railway Heritage Centre is a railway preservation group based in Seymour, Victoria, Australia. The volunteer non-profit incorporated association was established in 1983 to restore and preserve locomotives and rolling stock as used on the railways of Victoria.The group is an accredited...
, and other rail preservation groups.
The Victorian Goldfields Railway
Victorian Goldfields Railway
The Victorian Goldfields Railway is a broad gauge tourist railway in Victoria, Australia. It operates along a formerly disused branch line between the towns of Maldon and Castlemaine.-History:...
has in their possession 18AE, 15BE, 20BE, 2BCE and TAMBO.