The 2000 class railcars are a class of self-propelled railcars built by

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 ...

Rocklea Rocklea is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,672 people. Low-lying parts of the suburb are flood prone. Geography Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The ...

for the

Queensland Railways Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...

between 1956 and 1971.

History

In 1956, two 2000 class

railmotor Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it. Steam railcars ...

prototypes were constructed by

at its

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Railway Workshops sheeted in satin finished aluminium. They were powered by AEC engines."2000 Class Railmotors" The Workshops Rail Museum 23 October 2003 In 1959, ten units were ordered from

. These differed from the prototypes in having sheeted stainless steel and

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

engines. In 1963, a further five were ordered, followed in 1971 by a further ten. The last four were completed as Passenger Luggage Driving Trailers with access doors at both ends instead of a streamlined front, allowing the formation of three-car (and occasionally four-car) trains. They operated services around

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

as well as being allocated to Mackay,

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

and

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

. Most were withdrawn in the early 1990s, with the last operating in regular service on the Corinda-Yeerongpilly line in January 2000.

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both Commuter rail, suburban and Regional rail, interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well ...

retains nine units, of which three operate ''The Savannahlander'' tourist train, three are operational with the QR Heritage Division (and occasionally used by Queensland Rail for track inspections) and three are stored at Ipswich Workshops.

Aurizon Aurizon Holdings Limited ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland G ...

inherited two units from QR National which are used for track inspections. These units are now with

DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum The DownsSteam Tourist Railway & Museum was founded in 2001 in the Toowoomba suburb of Drayton in Queensland. It operates under the auspices of the ''Great Divide Scenic Railway''. The station building on the complex was originally situated at ...

. Many others are preserved. In October 2022, two units were road transferred from Ipswich to Longreach for Outback Aussie Tours for their upcoming “Outback Rail Adventure” tours.

Summary

References

External links

Queensland's Great Trains gallery
{{QueenslandLocos, state=collapsed Railcars of Queensland Train-related introductions in 1956