The NZR RM class Westinghouse railcar was an experimental

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...

built by the

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

(NZR) in 1914. Although not the first railcar to operate in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, it was the first to enter revenue service.David Jones, ''Where Railcars Roamed: The Railcars which have Served New Zealand Railways'' (Wellington: Wellington Tramway Museum, 1997), 4.

Development

In the early 20th century, NZR sought a means of providing economic services on lines with low traffic, including some suburban routes and to provide a faster alternative to

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In some countries, the term refers to a freight train carrying various different types of freight rather a single commodity. Although common in the ...

s on rural lines. It aimed to develop a light self-powered vehicle that could operate economically even with low passenger levels.Robin Bromby, ''Rails That Built A Nation'' (Wellington: Grantham House, 2003), 122-3. The MacEwan Pratt petrol railcar of 1912 did not pass its tests and never entered revenue service. It was dismantled in May 1913; the next experiment with railcar technology did not take place until 1914, when the Westinghouse railcar was developed. It re-used the classification of RM 1 that had been given to the MacEwan-Pratt railcar.

Technical specifications

RM 1 was the solitary example of its type. The traction equipment, underframe, and

bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...

s were provided by British Westinghouse and were fitted to a wooden body that had been built by NZR at the Petone Workshops. The wooden body largely resembled a railway passenger carriage, though the driving compartments fitted at each end had an appearance similar to contemporary

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

.Jones, ''Where Railcars Roamed'', 8. The six-cylinder petrol engine and generator were housed in a compartment at one end of the railcar, and the current produced was fed to two electric traction motors, one fitted to each

. This allowed the long, railcar to travel at speeds up to , although a contemporary account claimed 40 mph. In its gas-illuminated passenger compartment, it had provisions for 48 passengers.

Operation

The railcar was placed in service on the steep

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

- Johnsonville section of what was then the North Island Main Trunk Railway and now known as the Johnsonville Branch. NZR intended that it also haul a passenger carriage, to boost its capacity further. However, on steep grades, the railcar was wholly incapable of hauling a carriage: not even small carriages such as those of the long B class variety were within its capabilities. Even without a carriage attached, the railcar continued to face frequent breakdowns and other difficulties. In 1916 it was joined by another experimental vehicle, the Thomas Transmission railcar, and in 1917 it was withdrawn from service. It lay derelict at the back of the Wellington car yard at the Thorndon station that preceded the present Wellington railway station and was eventually destroyed.

References

{{NZR Locomotives Railcars of New Zealand Rail transport in New Zealand Petrol railcars