Victorian Railways power vans
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| Power Vans | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Victorian Railways |
| Built at | Newport Workshops, others |
| Operator | VR, SAR, NSWR and successors |
| Specifications | |
| Power supply | Diesel generators |
| Gauge | Broad |
The Victorian Railways of Australia and successors have utilised a number of different types of railway carriages and wagons for the supply of head end power to passenger trains on the Victorian railway network.
When passenger in trains around the world began to enjoy comforts such as heating and cooling, lights and other features, the Victorian Railways began to experiment, with axle mounted generators, eventually settling on head end power (HEP) as a source for this equipment. In more recent times, vans have been specially built for the purpose of supplying HEP, or special generators are fitted to locomotives (the N and P classes)
Contents |
[edit] Current V/Line
[edit] PH Vans
By the mid 1980's, passenger trains within Victoria almost always required head end power, as the wooden cars were phased out. While a number of trains had self-contained generator supplies, the majority required HEP from outside sources. The N and P class locomotives were fitted with HEP generators, but if another locomotive were to haul the train, there would be no power supply to the train.
To this end, three freight vans were fitted with generator sets and suitable cables in 1984. The corrugated roofs were replaced with sheet metal. The vans were coded PH and numbered 451, 452 and 453. They were converted from VLPY freight wagons 139, 140 and 142 respectively, and appeared in a grey livery.
These vans are all in service today, in a plain blue livery.
[edit] D, DT & DN Vans
While not HEP vans, these wagons are worthy of mention. The D vans were conversion from VBPY, VBAX & VBAY vans in 1983. D Vans were commonly seen on locomotive hauled V/Line services when extra luggage space was required.
When HEP cabling between a loco and carriage set was introduced, the D vans were modified, with cabling that could link a locomotive and a carriage set, so as to allow the locomotive's HEP unit to power the carriage set without requiring removal of the van. The D vans, once modified, were reclassed as DT.
The DN Vans are exactly the same as D Vans, except that when they were released after conversion from VBPY vans in 1984, they were already fitted with through cabling. Because of this, they do not have a "T" on their number boards.
V/Line have two DN van's. However, both of them are stored at Newport Workshops, and have been there for so long that they are still painted in the V/Line orange livery. This implies that they have not been repainted in at least thirteen years. Their futures are unknown at this point.
The remainder of the DT vans are in service in a plain red livery or in the former West Coast Railways livery.
[edit] Victorian & New South Wales Joint Stock
[edit] PHN Vans
The PHN class were Standard Gauge Joint Stock owned by New South Wales and Victoria. They were steel fluted sided vans, and ran between Sydney and Melbourne, on trains such as the Southern Aurora. Six were built from 1961, three for the Southern Aurora, and three for the Spirit of Progress. The former three were numbered PHN 2361 - PHN 2363, while the latter three were PHN 2369 - PHN 2371.
PHN 2370 was destroyed in the Violet Town collision in 1969. This van was replaced by PHN 2381, which was built in 1970. In 1981, PHN 2362 and 2363 were renumbered to 2862 and 2863 respectively.
[edit] Victorian & South Australian Joint Stock
[edit] PCO & PCJ Vans
By the mid 60's, The Overland, which ran between Melbourne and Adelaide, required HEP for heating and lighting, because the train was no longer hauled by steam engines which could supply these two features.
As a result, the two railways between them built four PCO vans, numbered 1 - 4. They were Joint Stock vehicles owned and maintained by the VR and South Australian Railways, and their later incarnations of VicRail and V/Line (VR), and Australian National (SAR).
In addition to a guards compartment and baggage area, these vans were fitted with diesel generators. During 1995, V/line took over control of PCO 1 and 3. These vans became PCJ 491 and 492 respectively. PCO 2 was purchased by West Coast Railway in the 1990s and on their withdrawal was acquired by V/Line in 2004. PCO 4 was refurbished and re-entered service with Great Southern Railway in 2007.
PCO 4 is in plain grey, PCO 2 is in a variant of the V/Line passenger stock livery, and the PCJ vans are in a plain grey V/Line livery with old style logos.
[edit] References
- Peter J. Vincent: PHN - Joint Stock Power Van
- Peter J. Vincent: PH - Head End Power Van
- Peter J. Vincent: PCO/PCJ - Guard's Van with Head End Power Unit
- V/LineCars: D Vans - Luggage vans
- V/LineCars: D Van Image Gallery
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