| DRC railcar | |
|---|---|
DRC 43 in V/Line livery at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre |
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| Manufacturer | Tulloch Limited |
| Built at | Tulloch Sydney |
| Constructed | 1971 |
| Entered service | 1971-1995 |
| Number built | 4 |
| Number in service | 2, preserved in operational condition |
| Number scrapped | 0 |
| Formation | Single cars, can run with cars from the same order |
| Fleet numbers | DRC40-43 |
| Capacity | 56 seats |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 23.470 m (77 ft) or 77 ft (23.470 m) |
| Width | 2.880 m (9 ft 5.386 in) or 9 ft 5 3⁄8 in (2.880 m) |
| Height | 4.158 m (13 ft 7.701 in) or 13 ft 8 3⁄4 in (4.185 m) |
| Articulated sections | End doors and open gangways |
| Maximum speed | 115 km/h (71 mph) |
| Weight | 65 t (64.0 long tons; 71.7 short tons) |
| Engine(s) | Two Cummins NT-855-R 6 cylinder 225 kW/302 bhp turbo-charged diesels |
| Transmission | Voith T113 2 stage automatic hydraulic transmission, Dana-Spicer axle drive to one axle per bogie |
The DRC (Diesel Rail Car) was a class of railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways on the country rail network Victoria, Australia. The cars were built by Tulloch Limited in New South Wales and featured stainless steel construction, air-conditioning, and a diesel hydraulic transmission.
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The first railcars of this type were built for the New South Wales Government Railways in the late 1960s. The Victorian Railways decided to order two railcars of their own to replace the 280hp Walker railmotors then in use.[1] The first railcar entered service in May 1971 as DRC40, followed by DRC41 on November 1971.[2] The cars suffered numerous failures in service,[3] and by 1974 the NSW railways decided to withdraw their fleet.[1] The VR purchased two of the NSW cars and modified them for Victorian use: DRC42 (formerly PCH 1224) and DRC43 (formerly PCH 1227). The remaining railcars were converted(de-motored) to loco hauled carriages in 1982 & then used on Illawarra & Southern Highlands(Moss Vale & Goulburn) services. They entered VR service in August and December 1975 respectively.[3] By 1978 the railcars still had issues with reliability, with a modification program being carried out at the Bendigo Workshops in 1983-84.[4] Four MTH carriages were converted from Harris suburban carriages in 1984, for use as trailers with the DRC railcars.[5]
In 1980s the DRC railcars were the fastest train in Australia by average speed, running 107 kilometres from Ararat to Hamilton on Mondays and Saturdays in 72 minutes, for an average speed of 89.17 km/h.[6] A regular usage of the railcars was the Stony Point service from 1984 when passenger services were reintroduced,[7] but regular failures saw them replaced by locomotive hauled trains by the early 1990s. The DRCs were used on the Leongatha line for a few years when the line reopened in 1984 but were replaced by P Class locos hauled with three MTH carriages.[8] The unreliability issues were later solved, but the fleet was withdrawn in June 1995 with the introduction of the new Sprinter railcars.[1]
Due to differences in control equipment, only designated DRC's can work together- DRC40 with DRC41, and DRC42 with DRC43.
The features of the DRC railcar.[9] From the No.1 End:
No.2 end:
DRC40 is preserved and operational at the Daylesford Spa Country Railway[1] while DRC43 is stored and deactivated at the Seymour Railway Heritage Centre.[10][11][12] DRC 41 and 42 are stored at Newport Workshops in Melbourne.[13]
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