Harris (train)

The Harris trains were the first steel-bodied Electric Multiple Unit train to operate on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They were introduced in 1956, by the Victorian Railways, and last operated in 1988, although a number of the carriages were converted for other uses and are still operating. They were named after Norman Charles Harris, Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways, between 1940 and 1950.

Harris
Harris train in 1959, soon after entry to service
The interior of a refurbished motor car at North Williamstown railway museum
Manufacturer	Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (early M cars) Martin & King (later M and T cars) Victorian Railways Newport Workshops (later M and T cars)[1]
Replaced	'Swing Door'
Constructed	1956–1971
Entered service	1956
Refurbishment	1982-1988
Scrapped	1988, some converted to other uses
Number built	60 seven-car sets (30 first series, 30 second series), plus ten motor cars 791M-800M and six long trailer cars 891-896T (total 436)
Number in service	2 stored 'M' cars, formerly used on the 'Greaser' train, currently awaiting restoration as passenger carriages by Steamrail Victoria.
Number preserved	2 motors at the ARHS Newport museum
Number scrapped	373
Formation	M-T-T-M "Blocks" and BT-T-M "Units"
Fleet numbers	501M-590M (1st series motors), 701M-800M (2nd series motors), 501-560BT (backing trailers), 601-690T and 801-890T (trailers), 891-896T (long trailers)[1]
Capacity	501M-590M: 59 seated, 172 crush[2] 701M-781M: 65 seated, 164 crush[3] 782M-790M: 71 seated, 155 crush[4] 799M: 64 seated, 175 crush[5] 601T-690T: 72 seated, 198 crush[6] 632T: 60 seated, 216 crush[7] 673T: 64 seated, 205 crush[8] 801T-861T: 80 seated, 183 crush[9] 862T: 64 seated, 209 crush[10] 863T-875T: 80 seated, 183 crush[11] 876T-889T: 82 seated, 179 crush[12] 890T: 72 seated, ??? crush[13] 891T-896T: 92 seated, 263 crush [14] 560BT: 68 seated, 212 crush[15]
Operator(s)	Victorian Railways
Depot(s)	Jolimont Yard
Line(s) served	All Melbourne Suburban
Specifications
Car body construction	Painted steel
Car length	61 ft 1 11⁄16 in (18.64 m) over body, some 75 ft (22.86 m) trailers
Width	9 ft 8 3⁄4 in (2.97 m) over body panels, 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) over window rivets, 10 ft (3.05 m) over grab rails[16]
Height	12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) over body, 12 ft 8.75 in (3.88 m) over flettner vents
Floor height	4 ft (1.22 m)[17]
Articulated sections	Open gangway (added later)
Wheelbase	8 ft (2.44 m) bogies at 43 ft (13.11 m) centres, total per carriage 51 ft (15.54 m); long trailers 53 ft (16.15 m) centres for total 61 ft (18.59 m) wheelbase
Maximum speed	70 mph (110 km/h) in service, 80 mph (130 km/h) design maximum[18]
Weight	701M-790M & 799M: 46 long tons 0 cwt 3 qtr (46.78 t)[19][20][21] 560T & 801T-889T: 30 LT 16 cwt 2 qtr (31.32 t)[22][23][24] 632T & 673T: 32 LT 6 cwt 2 qtr (32.84 t)[25][26] 891T-896T: 37 LT 8 cwt 2 qtr (38.03 t)[27] (est.)
Traction system	4 x 151 kW (202 hp) EE528A (first series), 4 x 113 kW (152 hp) EE539 (second series)
Electric system(s)	1.5 kV DC Overhead lines
Multiple working	Within own fleet only
Track gauge	5 ft 3 in (1 600 mm)

Description

The Harris trains were commonly referred to as "Blue Trains" due to their deep blue colour, with only a yellow band about halfway up the body. Royal blue and yellow were common colours for the Victorian Railways rolling stock.

The trains had a saloon seating layout, divided into smaller sections by full height partitions. They were provided with either two or three sets of hand operated dual sliding doors per carriage side. Later sets were fitted with power doors. Interiors were split into smoking and no-smoking compartments until late 1978, with the abolition of smoking on trains,^[28] and carriages were designated as First or Second class until 1958, when one class travel was introduced.^[28] The trains were initially delivered without end gangways between carriages, this being a later addition.

The Harris trains were originally run as 7-carriage (M-T-T-M-BT-T-M) sets, reduced to 4-carriage (M-T-T-M) sets for off-peak and weekend services. The M-T-T-M sets were known as "Blocks", while the BT-T-M sets were called "Units". The extra motor carriages, built from 1968, allowed for some BT-T-M units to be converted to M-T-T-M sets, to provide for trains to be run in M-T-T-M-M-T-T-M configurations.

Carriages were connected by semi-permanent drawbars, except for the driving ends of motor carriages, and one end of BT carriages, which were provided with automatic couplers.

History

The first 30 7-carriage trains, known as the first series, were constructed in the United Kingdom by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, and delivered between 1956 and 1959. Another 30, the second series, were built by Martin & King in Melbourne, and delivered between 1961 and 1967. From 1966, these were delivered with end doors and gangways between carriages, allowing passengers to change carriages.

The first series of "T" and "BT" trailers were built by Comeng (the first 10 in Sydney, the rest in Melbourne), and finished by Martin & King, with the remainder built at the Newport Workshops.^[1] Between 1968 and 1970, ten additional motor carriages, built by the Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops, were delivered to provide for some Harris trains to be lengthened to eight carriages.

In 1970 and 1971, six new trailer carriages were built as prototypes for the next fleet (the Hitachi trains). These carriages were 75 feet (22.86 m) long, compared to 63 feet (19.20 m) of the earlier carriages, and were equipped with the mechanisms for power-closing doors, the first such use in Melbourne. However, it was not until the following year that a complete (4-carriage) train was used this way, after conversion of some motor carriages. These carriages were converted into H type carriages, for use in LH sets with V/Line, in the mid 1980s.^[29]

Modifications

By the time the first ten 7-car sets had been delivered, it was found that the buffing plates between carriages would bind when going around tight curves or through complicated point-work, so this equipment was removed in time for delivery of the 11th train. However, this left a lot of slack between carriages, so acceleration and braking would be both rough and noisy.^[30]

Around the same time, the Victorian Railways was experimenting with replacing cast-iron brake blocks with a non-metallic compound (probably asbestos), so Set 11 was fitted with these, and tested between Seaford and Frankston, in 5 mph increments up to line speed, in both directions. Four tests were made - first using the non-metallic brake blocks with empty and later loaded with cast-iron blocks, equal in weight to a crush load of passengers, and then with the cast iron brake blocks fitted to the train, as well as simulating the load, and finally the empty train with cast iron brake blocks. It was found that the new type of brake blocks performed better at higher speeds, but worse at lower speeds, so on average they gave similar performance and were approved for use. A similar test was later conducted with the Walker railmotors between Laverton and Werribee.^[30]

In the 1960's the fleet was fitted with Guard-to-Driver bell communication circuits.

Wheel slip was found to be a problem with the more powerful 500-series motors, so in the late 1960s through early 1970s the "weak field" power generation, which used the back-EMF from the motors) was disconnected. 547M was fitted with an experimental wheel-slip solution, but the final implementation as applied across the fleet would close off the power supply, then re-open it bypassing the acceleration control when wheel-slip was detected, with limited success. The Weak-Field system was reconnected in the late 1970s to early 1980s in order to keep up with amended timetables, but this brought back the wheel slip issues.

By the time the second series (700+) Harris cars were being delivered, the design had been improved somewhat. A second window was fitted at the front of the Motor carriages for the guard and/or instructor driver to view the track, along with a window from the Guard's compartment into the passenger saloon, and walkways were added between all carriages within each Block or Unit. These latter changes were retrofitted to many of the 500-series carriages as well, following concerns about safety. While the 500-series trains had rotary flettner ventillators fitted, these were mounted on the curve of the roof and spun off-centre, causing a grinding noise. This was fixed in the second series with the units fitted level to the carriage floor. These units were also later fitted to the clerestory-roofed Tait stock, with their opening ceiling-windows being sealed to reduce maintenance costs.

The last few vehicles constructed were used as test-beds for features in the upcoming Hitachi train design. 560BT, when issued to service, had a short stainless steel exterior panel between the centre windows. Similar stainless steel panels were placed around bridgeworks at East Richmond, the purpose of both to check for weathering and cleaning methods. The last six trailer vehicles, 891-896T, were 75ft long over body instead of 60ft to test clearances at platforms and junctions along with passenger flows. However, the cars were significantly heavier and when coupled to 700-series motors already featuring weaker acceleration further impacting timekeeping.

While the last ten motors (791M-800M) were issued without asbestos insulation, only the last three had additional insulation in the ceiling. 799M was a further modification of the type with a forced draught ventilation system, shared with the long trailers, while 798M and 800M used the normal flettner ventilators. Similarly, 556-560BT and the long trailers were not fitted with asbestos.

Conversions and disposal

One of the two 'Greasers' at Newport Workshops

With the exceptions of the last few carriages built, all Harris trains contained asbestos insulation. The first sets contained blue asbestos, and the later sets contained white asbestos. Due to the presence of asbestos, most were disposed of in the 1990s, by being buried in an old quarry in Clayton, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, some having been wrapped in plastic.

No original Harris trailer cars remain, with all trailers having been converted to locomotive-hauled H cars or scrapped. Additionally, no first series motor units were preserved, the three remaining unmodified cars being high-numbered second series M cars.

Models

Gallery

• 
  Harris motor carriage 795M statically preserve
• 
  Close-up of a refurbished train
• 
  Refurbished Harris motor carriage
• 
  MTH carriage in use on the Stony Point line service

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harris (train).

• Harris trains on VicSig (enthusiast site).
• Suburban carriage details by Peter J. Vincent.
• V/LineCars.com - MTH Carriages