Rail Motor Society

Rail Motor Society
Established 1984
Location Webbers Creek Road, Paterson, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates 32°36′05″S 151°36′55″E / 32.601304°S 151.615275°E / -32.601304; 151.615275
Type Railway museum
Nearest car park On site and in adjoining streets
Website www.railmotorsociety.org.au

The Rail Motor Society, based at Paterson, New South Wales, is a privately owned collection of preserved self-propelled railway vehicles and equipment from the New South Wales Government Railways. The items in its collection date from 1923 through to 1961.

Status

621/721

The Society was established in 1984 as a not-for-profit organisation to collect, preserve and operate a representative fleet of New South Wales Government Railways rail motors. The Society’s sole focus was to be on self-propelled or diesel multiple unit rolling stock, a principle that it still adheres to today. The Society is an accredited rail operator in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.[1][2][3]

History

The Society's origins stem from the Newcastle Branch of the Australian Railway Historical Society where a small band of members proposed a local organisation to preserve and operate some of the CPH railmotors that were planned for withdrawal at the end of 1983 by the State Rail Authority. The nucleus of the Society was established in 1984 with the support of four established heritage organisations - the NSW Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society, the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum, the Zig Zag Railway and the Sydney Tramway Museum. Each of these organisations purchased CPH rail motors when they were sold and these were pooled to form the nucleus of the fledgling Society's fleet. A site for its base in the old goods yard opposite Paterson station was identified and the first rolling stock items were delivered to Paterson from Sydney on New Year's Eve of 1984.[4][5]

The Rail Motor Society is run entirely by volunteers and self funds its day-to-day activities, restorations and construction programs from heritage train operations and donations from the public.

The Society's collection is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and contains CPH 3 the oldest surviving rail motor in NSW. The 620/720 class railcars 621/721 are part of RailCorp's core heritage fleet and are managed on behalf of Transport Heritage NSW by the Society under a custody arrangement.[6][7]

In August 1986, HPC 402 was leased back to the State Rail Authority and after an overhaul used as a radio system test unit operating across NSW.[8] Initially leased for six months, it would not be until July 2000 that it returned to the Society after travelling some 200,000 km.[4] It has continued to see regular main line use, often being hired by rail network owners as a route learner or for executive inspections. In 2013, it performed such duties in Victoria.[9]

In October 1986 CPH 1 was returned to traffic painted in post-war cream and green livery.[10] It was joined by CPH 7 in January 1987 and together these have toured NSW and beyond extensively.[11] In July 2011 they were joined by CPH 3.[12]

42-Foot Rail Motor Trailer CTC 51 is currently under restoration to operational service by the Society.


Depot and Museum

The Society's Depot and Museum is located in the old Goods Yard adjacent to Paterson Railway Station. The 1 hectare site is on the western side of the North Coast Railway, 213 kilometres north of Sydney and 20 kilometres north of Maitland. The site houses the Society's rail motor fleet, a large three-track storage shed, maintenance facilities and the old station Master's cottage. The cottage houses a small museum with a collection of railway memorabillia and also member facilities. During 2017, the facilities were expanded and improved with the construction of a 30 metre by 4 metre extension to the shed. This work was funded by a NSW Heritage Grant.

Heritage listing

The museum's locomotive collection - eleven of the current thirteen vehicles - was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 17 August 2001.[13]

The heritage-listed vehicles consist of Rail Motor CPH No. 1, Rail Motor CPH No. 14, Rail Motor CPH No. 19, Rail Motor CPH No. 3, Rail Motor CPH No. 7, Rail Motor FPH No. 602, Rail Motor FPH No. 606, Rail Motor HPC No. 402, Rail Motor Trailer CTC No. 51 and Rail Motor Trailer FT No. 50.[13]

Affiliations

Other societies and organisations with which the Rail Motor Society is affiliated include:-[14]

Rolling Stock

Preserved Rolling Stock
CodeNumberDateDescriptionStatusReference
CPH 1 1926 42-Foot Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, CPH 1
CPH 3 1923 42-Foot Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, CPH 3
CPH 7 1924 42-Foot Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, CPH 7
CPH 14 1925 42-Foot Rail Motor Stored Rail Motor, CPH 14
CPH 19 1926 42-Foot Rail Motor Stored Rail Motor, CPH 19
CTC 51 1926 42-Foot Rail Motor Trailer Under restoration Rail Motor Trailer, CTC 51
HPC 402 1938 400 Class Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, HPC 402
FT 501 1938 500 Class Rail Motor Trailer Stored Rail Motor Trailer, FT 501
WFP 602 1949 600 Class Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, WFP 602
FPH 606 1949 600 Class Rail Motor Stored Rail Motor, FPH 606
CT 707 1950 700 Class Rail Motor Trailer Stored Rail Motor Trailer, CT 707
NPF 621 1961 620 Class Rail Motor Operational Rail Motor, NPF 621
NTC 721 1961 720 Class Rail Motor Trailer Operational Rail Motor Trailer, NTC 721

References

  1. ↑ NSW accredited operators Archived 2012-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. NSW Independent Transport Safety Regulator
  2. ↑ Accredited rail operators Transport Safety Victoria
  3. ↑ Accredited railways Queensland Department of Transport & Main Roads
  4. 1 2 History of the Rail Motor Society Rail Motor Society
  5. ↑ "Tourist Railways" Railway Digest September 1984 page 322
  6. ↑ NPF621 - Diesel Power Car NSW Department of Environment & Heritage
  7. ↑ NTC721 - Diesel TrailerCar NSW Department of Environment & Heritage
  8. ↑ "Rail Motor 402 Back to the SRA" Railway Digest October 1986 page 324
  9. ↑ "Not Stopping all stations" Railway Digest May 2013 pages 40-43
  10. ↑ "Rail Motor Society" Railway Digest January 1987 page 28
  11. ↑ "Rail Motor Society News" Railway Digest April 1987 page 124
  12. ↑ "CPH 3 Returns to Service" Paterson Points August 2011
  13. 1 2 "Rail Motor Collection, New South Wales State Heritage Register (NSW SHR) Number H01488". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Rail Motor Society web site
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