H type carriage

The H type carriages are an Australian interurban passenger carriage operated by V/Line. Fitted with high-density 2+3 seating, they are used on short distance interurban services from Melbourne to Bacchus Marsh and Seymour.

History

2 MTH cars at Stony Point station in February 2005

H set in the original orange and grey V/Line livery led by a N class

H type carriage set led by an A class locomotive with a power van at West Footscray in September 2006

Between 1983 and 1992, Clyde Engineering converted 59 cars from early Harris suburban Electric Multiple Units to replace the last of the older wooden carriage stock.^[1] They were ordered after the success of the 1981 New Deal in increasing patronage.

The four MTH variants were originally converted for use with the DRC railcars until the early 1990s, being provided with underfloor generators. They were then used as locomotive hauled carriages on the unelectrified suburban Stony Point line operated by Connex Melbourne until 26 April 2008 when Sprinter trains were introduced on the route instead. MTH 102 has been converted to an inspection car for Metro Trains Melbourne and now operates between two T Class locomotives as IEV102 for inspection trains, while the remaining three MTH cars are stored along with BH 141 at Newport Workshops.

In conjunction with a new timetable of 18 November 2012, the H fleet were reorganised to give four six-car sets as well as ten semi-permanently-coupled three-car sets, giving an effective total of nine six-car sets in service. These trains usually provide peak-hour services to Bacchus Marsh and Seymour, hauled by N and P class locomotives. Previously, they had been used in combinations of anywhere from three to five carriages per set for runs to Leongatha and Sunbury, and occasionally these sets would be coupled to make even longer trains. At one point seven carriage trains were trialled by combining a three- and a four-car set.

When running to Lara for the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport, the H cars would sometimes be organised into twelve-car sets, with a single P Class locomotive on each end, and a third between the eighth and ninth cars. In this configuration the train was operated by a single crew, but head-end-power was provided to each four-car set by its nearest P Class counterpart. This was done to avoid overheating of the wiring between the carriages, as the wiring is only designed to handle a four-car electrical load.

The H type carriages were refurbished and repainted into the new V/Line livery from September 2007.^[2][3]

Usage

The carriages are hauled by N and P class locomotives, with through cabling providing multiple-unit train control and enabling push pull train operations. The carriages require a head end power supply for lighting and air conditioning operation, either supplied by an appropriate locomotive or a separate power van. Each carriage has two doors per side, manually opened by passengers, but remotely closed and locked by the train guard. Toilets, drinking fountains and luggage areas are provided throughout each carriage set. They were previously also hauled by A class locomotives

The MTH carriages previously ran on the Stony Point line with an A Class, until that was taken over by Sprinters. These cars are now in storage.

Coding

H type carriages are numbered in the 101 - 200 series. Sets were issued to traffic with three types of carriage:

• BCH economy class with conductors van: 121-131, 132-133 long, 134 and 135 seat 10 more people but don't have toilets
• BH economy class: 141-149, 150-151 were converted to BTH 174-175, 152, 153 long
• BTH economy class with terminal connections: 161-171, 172-173 long, 174-175 formerly BH 150, 151
• MTH metropolitan (suburban) class with terminal connections: 101-104

Additional cars were later constructed to increase capacity. These cars do not feature toilets:

• BIH economy class intermediate: 181-194

Carriage sets

Since November 2012, the H type carriages have been fixed into semi-permanent sets, identified with the following codes, in conjunction with a unique number:

• SSH: 6 short carriages
• SH: 3 short carriages (normally coupled with another 3-carriage set)
• LH: 3 long carriages (two LH sets exist - they were created from 75 feet (23 m) long Harris trailers)

Prior to this change, H sets were arranged as follows:

• SH: 3 carriages
• FSH: because of the F, this means that the sets contains 4 carriages
• VSH: the V means that the set contains 5 carriages
• VLH: the L meaning long

Sets originally entered service as 3 car sets, later having additional cars added to being them up to four cars. With the breaking up of some sets and reallocation of carriages, longer carriage sets have since been formed.

Services

As at March 2015, H sets are used on peak-hour services to Bacchus Marsh and Seymour.

They were previously used on services from Melbourne to Ballarat, Bendigo, Leongatha, Marshall and Traralgon as well as Metro Trains Melbourne services on the Stony Point line.

References

Further reading

• H Cars information Vicsig
• H Type Carriages V/LineCars.com
• Peter J Vincent: BCH cars
• Peter J Vincent: BH cars
• Peter J Vincent: BTH cars
• Peter J Vincent: BIH cars