New South Wales U Set
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The U sets were a class of
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
(EMU) operated 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 ...
and its successors between September 1958 and November 1996. They were colloquially nicknamed
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s.


Development

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 ...
began planning the electrification of the Main Western line over the Blue Mountains from 1949, and with that plan in full swing by the early 1950s, called tenders for 80 cars (40 motor, 20 trailer and 20 first with buffet trailer), with the contract was awarded to
Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering, often shortened to Com-Eng, later known as Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Common ...
, Granville, in 1954. Electric traction equipment was supplied by the
Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. However, before construction began the order was amended with the 20 planned first with buffet cars built as full first class seating cars, after a review of the New South Wales Government Railways conducted by American firm Ebasco Services Incorporated in the mid-1950s recommended the change."U-Boats...A Tribute" ''
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 ...
'' November 1996 page 43
The U sets were a bit different compared to the suburban single decked trains that were delivered at the same time. They were the first EMUs in NSW to feature stainless-steel construction using technology from the
Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense produ ...
, improving train acceleration and giving the trains lower maintenance costs and a longer usable life.


Delivery

The U Sets started to be delivered from June 1957, and the first sets made their first public appearances that same year. The first appearance took place on 22 June 1957 when they were hauled by electric locomotive 4625 as part of the first official electric train to travel on the newly electrified Blue Mountains line. Normal services began on 15 September 1958, and all were in service by March 1960. The cars were numbered as: *Second-class motor cars: CF 5001-40 *Second-class trailer cars: TF 6001-20 *First-class (non-smoking) trailer cars: ETB 6021-40 First class travel was abolished on 1 September 1974. This saw the removal of the word "Second" on all carriages and also allowed non-first class passengers to enjoy the benefits of non-smoking carriages for the first time.


In service

The U sets initially entered revenue service on 15 September 1958 this being a Sydney Terminal to Mount Victoria service which was then known as "The Fish". The U sets initially operated on the Main Western line as far as Bowenfels which was the limit of the electrified system at the time. This was cut back to Lithgow in 1974. As the electrified network expanded they began to operate to
Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...
(23 January 1960),
Wyong Wyong () is a town on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately South-South-West of Newcastle and North-North-East of the state capital Sydney. Established in , it is one of the two administrative centres fo ...
(April 1982),
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 ...
(June 1984),
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 ...
(February 1986) and
Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...
(January 1993). The U sets were supplemented by V set double deck sets from 1970. From the mid-1970s many had their original lift-up windows replaced by Beclawat sliding windows.


Withdrawal and preservation

Withdrawals due to accident damage include: * 11/1/1973: CF5034 and ETB6033 burnt while stabled at Gosford, scrapped in March 1976 * 3/1978: CF5038 and TF6018 damaged in a shunting incident at Flemington car sheds, scrapped in August 1981 * 11/1/1982: CF5016 damaged at Gosford, cut up on site * 27/10/1983: CF5002 damaged in a shunting incident at Flemington, scrapped at Chullora * 25/12/1989: CF5009 damaged in a shunting mishap at Flemington Maintenance Facility and cut up on site during May 1990 * 22/7/1993: CF5032 collided with electric locomotives 8627 and 8612 at Lithgow and cut up at Lithgow Maintenance Facility Withdrawal of the sets began in 1994 as new Tangara G sets began replacing them. The first Tangara G sets entered service in June 1994 and as they were progressively put into service through to late 1995 the U sets were progressively withdrawn. The final run of the U sets on the Main Western Line for Blue Mountains services was in late February 1996 after which they only performed revenue services on the Northern Line between Sydney and Newcastle. The very last U Sets were withdrawn in early November 1996. The final revenue service performed by a U set was on Friday afternoon 1 November 1996 – a four car set operating a Newcastle to Sydney service. The cars on the final passenger service were CF5008 TF6004 TF6020 CF5022 on set U3. The final U set to run under its own power was a Sydney Electric Train Society Farewell tour two days later on the Sunday 3 November 1996 performed by an eight car set.
Like Minds ''Like Minds'' is a 2006 Australian thriller film written and directed by Gregory J. Read. The film was produced by the South Australian Film Corporation. It debuted in Australia on 9 November 2006. The psychological thriller is the first Au ...
(2005) featured car TF6011 in numerous scenes. A number of U Set carriages have been preserved.:."Eligible Preservation Groups Car Allocations" ''Railway Digest'' December 1998 page 39 Most of the cars allocated to the Hunter Valley Railway Trust were scrapped in 2013, excepting CF 5001. Richmond Vale Railway lost cars TF 6001/02 and ETB 6026 in a bushfire in 2017. A preserved U set appeared in Guy Sebastian's " Standing with You" music video in 2020. *The NSW State-Owned Heritage Collection, managed by Transport Heritage NSW, has five U set carriages (CF5015, CF5017, CF5035, TF6013 & ETB6029) preserved and in custody of Historic Electric Traction who are currently restoring heritage U set "U2" to operational condition at Redfern. *Sydney Electric Train Society has CF5003 & CF5021 (stored at Lithgow) and CF5001, CF5022, TF6010 & ETB6037 (stored on a private property). *Valley Heights Rail Museum has ETB6039 on static display. *Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum has CF5004 & CF5024 on static display. *Richmond Vale Railway Museum has TF6008, TF6009, TF6011, TF6012 & TF6019 stored. Except the cars mentioned previously, all remaining cars have been preserved for private use.


References


External links


SETS article on the U sets
{{NSWLocos, state=collapsed Electric multiple units of New South Wales Train-related introductions in 1958 1500 V DC multiple units of Australia