South Australian Railways Redhen railcar

Construction

The Redhens were built in three batches. The overall design of the railcars was very similar, but there were differences in detail between the batches. Several railcars in the 300 class were re-numbered later in life, taking on the numbers of written-off or modified units.

The exterior of the units was always painted red, with variations in the colour of roofs and bogies over the years. The interior design and layout remained largely unchanged throughout their life. Some 300 class units were modified to provide guard’s accommodation or space for bikes when the 860 class trailers were withdrawn in 1987. This slightly reduced the seating capacity of these modified cars.

Deployment

Cab of 402 at the South Gippsland Railway

When first introduced, all the 300 class Redhens were formed as 3-car consists, comprising an 820 or 860 class trailer sandwiched between two powered 300 class railcars. In peak hours, two sets were coupled together to form 6-car trains. On rare occasions, at times of heavy traffic demand, trains of Redhens could be up to nine cars long.^[1][7]

Instead of building trailer cars to work with the 300 class cars, the South Australian Railways chose to convert existing rolling stock. To operate with 300 to 347, five 800 class and nineteen 850 class carriages were converted, becoming the 860 class. These steel cars had been built at Islington Railway Workshops between 1944 and 1946 as part of a plan to electrify Adelaide's suburban railways.^[2]

For use with 348 to 373, thirteen wooden end loading suburban baggage cars were converted, becoming the 820 class trailers. These had been built between 1912 and 1924.^[2]

The 400 class were used as single cars on the main lines during the evenings and at most other times on lightly patronised services such as the Grange, Tonsley and Northfield lines. They were also used in multiple with other 300 or 400 class units.

Super Chooks

Following the introduction of the 2000 class railcars in 1980, two 300 class Redhens and an 860 class trailer were chosen for an experimental rebuild at STA's Regency Park workshops. Nos 300, 337 and 862 were modified in 1983 with new interiors, elevated cabs and stainless steel panelling similar to the 2000 class. The rebuilt cars were re-numbered 2301, 2302 and 2501 and nicknamed Super Chooks (a chook is a chicken in Australian vernacular) entering service in June 1983.^[2][8][9]. The exercise was not successful and no more were modified. The Super Chooks saw only limited passenger service and often 2301-2302 was sandwiched in between two 400 class Redhens before they were withdrawn in 1992.^[10]

Withdrawal

All thirteen of the 820 class trailers were retired by December 1976. The corresponding 300 class Redhens were then coupled to a 400 class railcar to form 2-car trains (designated 300/400 class).^[2] In 1987, the steel-bodied 860 class trailers were withdrawn and all the 300 class Redhens were reconfigured as 2-car trains, usually consecutively numbered pairs.

In 1987/88 the State Transport Authority introduced the first of its new fleet of 3000 class railcars, which were intended to replace the Redhens. As more 3000 class were delivered through the early 1990s, the Redhens began to be withdrawn and were gradually restricted to operating only during weekday peak hours. This was especially the case when driver only operation (DOO) was introduced in the early 1990s. The manual sliding doors made Redhens unsuitable for DOO and guards had to be retained to supervise passenger boarding and alighting.

By January 1996, only 16 remained in service, confined to peak-hour Gawler, Outer Harbor and Tonsley services.^[13] The last were withdrawn on 15 December 1996.^[14][15]

Preservation

402 at Leongatha on the South Gippsland Railway in December 2008

Whilst in service the Redhens were mechanically robust and reasonably reliable; they were attractive options for use on heritage and tourist railways after retirement. However, their age, and the increasing service time since overhaul, has affected their reliability in preservation. Some continue to operate on broad gauge lines in south-eastern Australia. Many have been broken up, but the first and last units and a few others still exist.^{[16][17][18][19]}

The National Railway Museum have 321, 400 and 875 in preservation.^[20][21]

The South Gippsland Tourist Railway (SGR) purchased Redhens 311, 402 and 416 in 1993 but after it closed in 2015 they passed to the Mornington Railway in 2016.

Model

SAR Model Co make's a HO model kit, Both the 300 and 400 cars are produced with both unpowered and powered kit versions. The powered kits are supplied with a SPUD power units. Available kits are: 300 class 2 car kit, 400 class single car kit, 300 and 400 class box set (1 of each type) they are sold in a wooden box.