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NZR RM class (88 seater)
Encyclopedia
The NZR RM class
88-seaters were a class of railcar
used in New Zealand, known unofficially as 'articulateds', 'twinset
s', 'Drewrys' and 'Fiats'. They were purchased to replace steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains. New Zealand Railways
classed them RM, the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134.
were in the process of replacing steam traction with diesel
and modernising the railways to cope with vastly increased traffic, the after-effects of wartime stringency, and increasing competition from motor vehicles and aeroplanes. As part of this modernisation process, it was decided to upgrade provincial passenger services, which were provided by a combination of steam-hauled
passenger trains that operated several times a week, and "mixed" trains that carried both freight and passengers. An order was placed with the Drewry Car Company in the United Kingdom
, which had supplied some smaller diesel shunters previously. They presented a design for an articulated railcar with seating for 88 passengers. The use of horizontal diesel engines allowed increased passenger capacity and a large parcels/baggage compartment. Fiat
210 hp units were selected. The 88-seaters were constructed by the Birmingham Railway, Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd under contract from Drewry.
After initial trials around Wellington
, the 88-seaters were deployed on a wide variety of provincial services. In the North Island
they ran Auckland
- Okaihau
, Auckland - Te Puke
, Auckland - Rotorua
, Auckland - New Plymouth
, Wellington - Palmerston North
via Masterton
, and Wellington - Gisborne
. In the South Island
they ran Christchurch
- Picton
, Christchurch - Invercargill
, and in conjunction with the Vulcan class
, Christchurch - Greymouth
and Ross
.
Unfortunately for NZR, the 1950s was a period of increased prosperity and saw massive increases in the numbers of private motorcars, along with improvements to roading such as tarsealing the main highways, and construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge
. These meant dramatic falls in passenger numbers, and in 1967-68 all railcar services from Auckland were cut except for the service to New Plymouth. This was cut back to operate between New Plymouth and Taumarunui
in the early 1970s, with passengers making connections to North Island Main Trunk trains. All cancelled trains were replaced by New Zealand Railways Road Services buses.
Although the remaining services were to areas not well served by road, the mechanical condition of the 88-seaters meant that by the mid 1970s replacement was becoming urgent. It was decided to refurbish 14 of them, remove their engines and drivers' cabs, and convert them to what was known as AC class unpowered carriages. These were painted green and came to be known as 'grassgrubs'. They ran on the New Plymouth to Taumarunui, a newly reintroduced Napier to Gisborne service, Wellington to Palmerston North via the Wairarapa
, Picton to Christchurch, and Christchurch to Greymouth services. The final run of an 88-seater railcar was in 1978 from Greymouth to Christchurch. The last trip came to an ignominious end when an engine failure and fire meant that passengers had to be taken onwards from Otira
by bus.
The 'grassgrubs' were ill-fated. Their drawgear and bodies were not designed to be locomotive-hauled and they quickly wore out. By 1985 they had been withdrawn from service due to metal fatigue. Most of the passenger runs were continued after their demise, but the New Plymouth-Taumarunui service ended in 1983 (having already had its rolling stock replaced by 56 ft cars), and by the late 1980s the Wellington-Wairarapa service was abbreviated to terminate in Masterton as patronage on the Masterton - Palmerston North section was often fewer than 20 passengers per trip, due to improved highways and bus services. The AC class vehicles were replaced by NZR 56-foot carriage
s on the remaining Wellington-Napier, Picton-Christchurch, Wairarapa and Christchurch-Greymouth services.
City Council, an 88-seater was refurbished for a new fast service between Hamilton and Auckland aimed at the businessman, and it started on Monday, 8 April 1968. It was fitted with carpet and reupholstered fabric-covered seats, and was painted in a new two-tone colour scheme that prompted the nickname 'Blue Streak'. The seating was reduced to 84 to accommodate a servery area from which light meals and assorted alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks could be purchased. This initial service was unsuccessful, with patronage well below levels needed to be profitable.
It was decided to introduce the railcar to a daytime service between Auckland and Wellington in conjunction with the Scenic Daylight
carriage train. This service, which started on Monday 23 September 1968, was highly successful and prompted the conversion of two further cars to 82 seats each to accommodate larger servery areas and, later, the purchase of the dedicated Silver Fern
railcars for this service.
Initially, the Blue Streak railcar ran from Wellington to Auckland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Auckland to Wellington until a second railcar was refurbished for the Christmas 1968-New Year 1969 period and a third for the 1969 Easter holidays. The service proved so popular that it was not uncommon to see two Blue Streaks running in multiple in one direction, with the third paired up with an unrefurbished red 88-seater in the other, and the Scenic Daylight carriage train ceased operating.
On Thursday 18 December 1972, the Blue Streaks were replaced by the new Silver Fern railcars and transferred to the Wellington to New Plymouth service, replacing Standard railcars
. They continued on this service until Friday 30 July 1977. By that time they were no longer serviceable, patronage had continued to decline and the service was replaced with buses.
Following withdrawal from service a number of RM class were stored around the country. Several units along with Vulcan RMs were sold to the abortive Southern Rail preservation project at Christchurch where they were scrapped; the cab and baggage car section of the No.1 end of RM 119 on the leading bogie together with some engines and gearboxes were kept at this time. After the project was wound up, the partial section of RM 119 was moved to Linwood Locomotive Depot where it remained in storage for several years. Subsequently the further abbreviated RM 119 consisting of just the cab and part of the baggage compartment was stored in a Bromley scrapyard, where it was found and purchased by the RM 133 Trust.
By the early 1990s it appeared that an 88-seater would not be preserved. The only one believed still to be in existence was a 'grassgrub', former RM 133, used for fire training at Auckland Airport. Fortunately in 2001 the RM 133 Trust was able to obtain this car, with one end fire damaged. In addition both sections of RM 121 were located, the No.2 end being found and recovered from a quarry near Kerikeri. The No.1 end was located at Waitomo, being used as a motel unit, and has since been relocated to Pahiatua. Restoration work has begun on the No.2 unit which has been welded back together, having been cut in two at some stage.
NZR RM class
The RM class is the classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department and its successors given to most railcars and railbuses that have operated on New Zealand's national rail network. As NZR and its successors has operated many diverse types of railcars, alternate names have been given...
88-seaters were a class of railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
used in New Zealand, known unofficially as 'articulateds', 'twinset
Twinset
A twinset, twin set or sweater-set is a matching set of a cardigan and a short-sleeved jumper|pullover . The twinset first appeared in the 1940s, but is now considered a classic wardrobe staple. - Description :...
s', 'Drewrys' and 'Fiats'. They were purchased to replace steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains. New Zealand Railways
New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...
classed them RM, the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134.
History
In the early 1950s, New Zealand RailwaysNew Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...
were in the process of replacing steam traction with diesel
Dieselisation
Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...
and modernising the railways to cope with vastly increased traffic, the after-effects of wartime stringency, and increasing competition from motor vehicles and aeroplanes. As part of this modernisation process, it was decided to upgrade provincial passenger services, which were provided by a combination of steam-hauled
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
passenger trains that operated several times a week, and "mixed" trains that carried both freight and passengers. An order was placed with the Drewry Car Company in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which had supplied some smaller diesel shunters previously. They presented a design for an articulated railcar with seating for 88 passengers. The use of horizontal diesel engines allowed increased passenger capacity and a large parcels/baggage compartment. Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
210 hp units were selected. The 88-seaters were constructed by the Birmingham Railway, Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd under contract from Drewry.
After initial trials around Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, the 88-seaters were deployed on a wide variety of provincial services. In the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
they ran Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
- Okaihau
Okaihau
Okaihau is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island, just north of Kaikohe. State Highway 1 passes through the town. The 2006 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings recorded Okaihau's population as 717, an increase of 30 people since the 2001 census.- Transport...
, Auckland - Te Puke
Te Puke
Te Puke is a town located 28 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit...
, Auckland - Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
, Auckland - New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
, Wellington - Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
via Masterton
Masterton
Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges...
, and Wellington - Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
. In the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
they ran Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
- Picton
Picton, New Zealand
Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...
, Christchurch - Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
, and in conjunction with the Vulcan class
NZR RM class (Vulcan)
The NZR RM class Vulcan railcars were operated by the New Zealand Railways Department in the South Island of New Zealand. All New Zealand railcars were classified as RM, and these were known as Vulcan railcars, from the name of the manufacturer, Vulcan Foundry of Britain. - Background :On 9 May...
, Christchurch - Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
and Ross
Ross, New Zealand
Ross is a small town located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.It lies 27 kilometres south-west of Hokitika and 46 kilometres north-east of Harihari...
.
Operation
From almost the beginning they faced mechanical problems, with cooling being the primary issue. The engines had been designed for Italian naval boats and were unsuitable for the conditions. Although modifications were made they continued to have a reputation for unreliability throughout their career, frequently having to run with one motor isolated.Auckland Harbour Bridge
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway...
. These meant dramatic falls in passenger numbers, and in 1967-68 all railcar services from Auckland were cut except for the service to New Plymouth. This was cut back to operate between New Plymouth and Taumarunui
Taumarunui
Taumarunui is a town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 4 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway....
in the early 1970s, with passengers making connections to North Island Main Trunk trains. All cancelled trains were replaced by New Zealand Railways Road Services buses.
Although the remaining services were to areas not well served by road, the mechanical condition of the 88-seaters meant that by the mid 1970s replacement was becoming urgent. It was decided to refurbish 14 of them, remove their engines and drivers' cabs, and convert them to what was known as AC class unpowered carriages. These were painted green and came to be known as 'grassgrubs'. They ran on the New Plymouth to Taumarunui, a newly reintroduced Napier to Gisborne service, Wellington to Palmerston North via the Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
, Picton to Christchurch, and Christchurch to Greymouth services. The final run of an 88-seater railcar was in 1978 from Greymouth to Christchurch. The last trip came to an ignominious end when an engine failure and fire meant that passengers had to be taken onwards from Otira
Otira
Otira is a small township seven kilometres north of Arthur's Pass in the central South Island of New Zealand. It is on the western approach to the pass, a saddle between the Otira and Bealey Rivers high in the Southern Alps...
by bus.
The 'grassgrubs' were ill-fated. Their drawgear and bodies were not designed to be locomotive-hauled and they quickly wore out. By 1985 they had been withdrawn from service due to metal fatigue. Most of the passenger runs were continued after their demise, but the New Plymouth-Taumarunui service ended in 1983 (having already had its rolling stock replaced by 56 ft cars), and by the late 1980s the Wellington-Wairarapa service was abbreviated to terminate in Masterton as patronage on the Masterton - Palmerston North section was often fewer than 20 passengers per trip, due to improved highways and bus services. The AC class vehicles were replaced by NZR 56-foot carriage
NZR 56-foot carriage
The NZR 56-foot carriage is a class of 17.07m-long railway passenger car formerly used on almost all long-distance rail transport in New Zealand, and still in service. Some have been preserved.-1927: Prototypes:...
s on the remaining Wellington-Napier, Picton-Christchurch, Wairarapa and Christchurch-Greymouth services.
Blue Streaks
In 1968, at the suggestion of HamiltonHamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
City Council, an 88-seater was refurbished for a new fast service between Hamilton and Auckland aimed at the businessman, and it started on Monday, 8 April 1968. It was fitted with carpet and reupholstered fabric-covered seats, and was painted in a new two-tone colour scheme that prompted the nickname 'Blue Streak'. The seating was reduced to 84 to accommodate a servery area from which light meals and assorted alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks could be purchased. This initial service was unsuccessful, with patronage well below levels needed to be profitable.
It was decided to introduce the railcar to a daytime service between Auckland and Wellington in conjunction with the Scenic Daylight
Scenic Daylight
The Scenic Daylight was a short-lived daytime express train in New Zealand that operated between Auckland and Wellington along the North Island Main Trunk Railway...
carriage train. This service, which started on Monday 23 September 1968, was highly successful and prompted the conversion of two further cars to 82 seats each to accommodate larger servery areas and, later, the purchase of the dedicated Silver Fern
NZR RM class (Silver Fern)
This article is about the New Zealand railcar service and the railcars themselves. For other uses, see Silver Fern .The NZR RM class Silver Fern is a class of railcar in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by...
railcars for this service.
Initially, the Blue Streak railcar ran from Wellington to Auckland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Auckland to Wellington until a second railcar was refurbished for the Christmas 1968-New Year 1969 period and a third for the 1969 Easter holidays. The service proved so popular that it was not uncommon to see two Blue Streaks running in multiple in one direction, with the third paired up with an unrefurbished red 88-seater in the other, and the Scenic Daylight carriage train ceased operating.
On Thursday 18 December 1972, the Blue Streaks were replaced by the new Silver Fern railcars and transferred to the Wellington to New Plymouth service, replacing Standard railcars
NZR RM class (Standard)
The NZR RM class Standard railcars were a class of railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department in the North Island of New Zealand. Officially classified as RM like all other railcar classes in New Zealand, they acquired the designation of 'Standard' to differentiate them from others...
. They continued on this service until Friday 30 July 1977. By that time they were no longer serviceable, patronage had continued to decline and the service was replaced with buses.
Preservation
By the early 1990s it appeared that an 88-seater would not be preserved. The only one believed still to be in existence was a 'grassgrub', former RM 133, used for fire training at Auckland Airport. Fortunately in 2001 the RM 133 Trust was able to obtain this car, with one end fire damaged. In addition both sections of RM 121 were located, the No.2 end being found and recovered from a quarry near Kerikeri. The No.1 end was located at Waitomo, being used as a motel unit, and has since been relocated to Pahiatua. Restoration work has begun on the No.2 unit which has been welded back together, having been cut in two at some stage.
Class register
| Number | Entered service | Withdrawn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM 100 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 101 | |||
| RM 102 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 103 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 104 | |||
| RM 105 | |||
| RM 106 | |||
| RM 107 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 108 | |||
| RM 109 | |||
| RM 110 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 111 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 112 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 113 | |||
| RM 114 | |||
| RM 115 | |||
| RM 116 | |||
| RM 117 | |||
| RM 118 | |||
| RM 119 | Blue Streak railcar No 1 end cab and part of luggage compartment still exists, and under ownership of RM 133 Trust |
||
| RM 120 | |||
| RM 121 | No 2 end is under restoration to become No 2 end of restored RM 133 No 1 end was being used as a motel unit in Waitomo, now at Pahiatua. |
||
| RM 122 | |||
| RM 123 | Blue Streak Railcar | ||
| RM 124 | |||
| RM 125 | |||
| RM 126 | |||
| RM 127 | Converted to AC carriage set | ||
| RM 128 | |||
| RM 129 | |||
| RM 130 | |||
| RM 131 | Blue Streak Railcar | ||
| RM 132 | Destroyed by fire near Eketahuna Eketahuna Eketahuna is a small rural service town, the most southerly in the Tararua District in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand, but is considered to be in northern Wairarapa. It was called Mellenskov, but was renamed soon after its founding.The town is located at the foot of... on 24 August 1975. Written off and scrapped at Eketahuna in September 1975. |
||
| RM 133 | Converted to AC carriage set No 1 end being restored by RM 133 Trust No 2 end damaged by fire beyond repair |
||
| RM 134 | Converted to AC carriage set |