NZR RM class (MacEwan-Pratt)
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The NZR RM class MacEwan-Pratt petrol railcar was the first railcar to run on New Zealand's national rail network, though it was never used to operate a revenue service. It was built in 1912 at a time when the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) was seeking alternative methods of providing rural passenger transportation. "Mixed" trains that carried both passengers and freight were typical on country branch lines as there was not sufficient traffic to justify a separate passenger train, but the schedule delays caused by loading and unloading freight during the journey made the mixed trains undesirable. Accordingly, NZR began investigating whether railcars could provide a more efficient passenger service with low operating costs. At the time, railcar technology was new, and the rugged nature of New Zealand's terrain made the task of finding a successful design more difficult.
The MacEwan-Pratt railcar was built with a petrol-powered motor and externally resembled a tram of that era. A driver could operate it from either end, and on a trial run between Frankton and Putaruru, it reached a speed of 50 km/h, at the time a fast speed for a rural line in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the railcar then broke down and instead of returning it to service, research in different directions was undertaken. NZR chose to dismantle the MacEwan-Pratt railcar in 1913.
A successful railcar did not enter service until 1936, twenty-four years after the MacEwan-Pratt trial, when the Wairarapa railcars entered service, as well as the temporary Leyland diesel railbuses. It should be noted, though, that in 1926, an Edison battery-electric railcar entered service and its expansion into a fleet of railcars was only thwarted by financial conditions that came about as a result of the Great Depression.
[edit] Reference
- Churchman, Geoffrey B., and Hurst, Tony; The Railways Of New Zealand: A Journey Through History, HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand), 1991 reprint
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