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The CPH (or 42 foot) rail motors were introduced by the
New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...
in 1923 to provide feeder service on country branch lines.


Introduction

Often referred to as "Tin Hares", having evolved at the same time as the mechanical lures used in
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
in Australia, the first vehicle was placed in service on 17 December 1923 and based at
Culcairn Culcairn () is a town in the south-east Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. Culcairn is located in the Greater Hume Shire local government area on the Olympic Highway between Albury and Wagga Wagga. The town is south-west of the stat ...
, in southern New South Wales."Goodbye Tin Hare" ''
Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways in Australia. Overview The magazine is published by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was in March 1 ...
'' February 1985 page 37


Construction

They were lightweight vehicles and considerable care was taken in the original selection of materials used in their construction. One of the most innovative features was the underframe, taking the form of a modified
Warren truss In structural engineering, a Warren truss or equilateral truss is a type of truss employing a weight-saving design based upon Triangle, equilateral triangles. It is named after the British engineer James Warren (engineer), James Warren, who pat ...
(containing additional vertical struts). No bolts or rivets were used in its construction and it was fabricated entirely by electric arc welding. It is believed to be the first application of such technique on a railway vehicle in Australia. The body was of timber construction, using mainly Queensland yellow wood,
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s and cedars. The cars were finished externally with
tongue and groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. A strong joint, it allows two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to mak ...
d timber below the window line. In addition, five similar non-powered trailer cars were constructed between 1926 and 1927. The body for these cars was constructed in a similar manner and dimensions to their powered counterparts, but were mounted on a lighter "C" section steel underframe. Seating arrangements were similar, however, they featured a larger centre Guard's compartment. They were numbered 51 to 55 and carried the coding CTC.


Seating

As built, the normal seating capacity was 45, 21 in 1st class and 24 in 2nd class. A further seven could be accommodated on the flap seats provided in the guard's compartment. An additional feature of these cars were the prized seats either side of the driver (the drivers cab being centrally located in the middle of the carriage, there was one passenger seat located either side of the driver's cab, looking directly ahead). During their lifetime, seating arrangements were modified to suit the working being undertaken and included the removal of a varying number of seats for increased luggage capacity. From the mid-1970s the so-called "Big Cab" conversions were applied to a number of units. This involved the construction of a wall between the first and second rows of seats to create an isolated driver's cab. The back of the original driver's cab was removed and a loose seat provided. This conversion was applied to one end only and could be fitted to either the No.1 or No.2 End.


Engines

As built, they were fitted with petrol engines, the first four (CPH 3–6) receiving a 6-cylinder 75 hp
Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its f ...
Z6 and the others a 6-cylinder 95 hp Leyland type with a four-speed mechanical transmission controlled by a gear lever in the cab. Some units were later fitted with a 6-cylinder 150 hp Leyland petrol engine with a Lysholm-Smith hydraulic transmission. Experiments were also made with AEC and Winton engines in some vehicles. A 6-cylinder 120 hp Leyland diesel engine was also trialled in one unit. During World War 2, to conserve fuel, gas producer units were fitted to six vehicles. Five of these six vehicles were destroyed when fire spread to the vehicle. Beginning in 1945, a programme began to replace the petrol engines with 6-cylinder GM
Detroit Diesel Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) is an American diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Daimler Truck AG. ...
71 Series engines and Twin Disc 3-position hydraulic transmissions. It was also at this time that multiple unit controls were fitted. A single driver's cab and multiple unit controls were fitted to the No.2 End of the five trailer cars at this time.


Operations

A total of 37 vehicles were built and they operated many branch line services throughout the state, from
Kyogle Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Kyogle had a popu ...
in the north to the Riverina in the south, as well as extensively through the Central West regions, until their widespread withdrawal in November 1983 and replacement by road coaches. A fleet of 12 CPHs continued to be used extensively in the
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
area, working north to
Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
, west to
Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Moss Vale is the administrative centre of Wingecarribee Shire local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. The Illawarra Hi ...
and south to
Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...
and
Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...
. In
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
a CPH provided passenger services on the Belmont line until these ceased in April 1971. They also operated pre-electrification service on many Sydney suburban services. These include
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...
to
Lidcombe Lidcombe () is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north in t ...
, Clyde to Carlingford,
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
to Campbelltown, Westmead to Rogans Hill,
Kingsgrove Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is south-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the Local government in Australia, local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Banksto ...
to East Hills, Hornsby to Cowan,
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in New South Wales, Australia, west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Sydney, Greater Sydney. History Before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the area of ...
to
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and
Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...
to Waterfall. In November 1984 the last Sydney area motors were withdrawn from Richmond services along with most of those in Wollongong. The final two CPHs, 36 and 37, were withdrawn after the Moss Vale to Wollongong service ceased in September 1985."Proposed Country Train Plans" ''Railway Digest'' May 1985 page 133


Preservation

Following list of preserved Rail Motors:


Gallery

File:CPH 12, 25 and 24 railmotor at Junee Railway Station.jpg, CPH 12, 25 and 24 railmotor at Junee station File:CPH 2 railmotor at the Junee Roundhouse Museum.jpg, CPH 2 railmotor at the
Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum The Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum (under the organisation name Regional Heritage Transport Association) preserves the former Junee Locomotive Depot, a railway depot located on the Main Southern railway line, Main Southern line in Junee, Australi ...
File:Driver's cab of CPH 24 on the Main Southern railway line (1).jpg, Driver's cab of CPH 24 on the Main Southern railway line File:Rail Motor Society CPH 7 (4).jpg, Rail Motor Society CPH 7 at the Hunter Valley Steamfest 2013 File:Rail Motor Society CPH 1 (3).jpg, Rail Motor Society CPH 1 lettering File:NSW CPH Rail Motor (20231001).jpg, CPH 1 leads a 3-car set at
Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...


References


External links

{{NSWLocos, state=collapsed Railcars of New South Wales Train-related introductions in 1923 1923 in rail transport