The Kerr Stuart steam railmotor, also known as Motor Car 3, was a steam railcar operated by the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

from 1913 to 1924.

Construction

The engine unit was ordered in April 1912 from

Kerr, Stuart and Company Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent, England. History It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as "James Kerr & Company", and became "Kerr, Stuart & Company" from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a pa ...

It was of the same type used on steam railcars of the Great Western Railway. The engine unit was delivered to Melbourne on 24 November 1912. The body was constructed by the Victorian Railways at

Newport Workshops The Newport Railway Workshops is a facility in the Melbourne suburb of Newport, Victoria, Newport, Australia, that builds, maintains and refurbishes Rolling stock, railway rollingstock. It is located between the Williamstown railway line, Willia ...

. The body was supported on the power bogie by four vertical links in the same style as the Great Western Railway steam railcars. It was designated Motor Car 3 (following on from the

Rowan steam railmotor The Rowan steam railmotor was a steam railcar operated by the Victorian Railways. Design The type was designed by William Robert Rowan, Managing Director of the Scandia Company of Copenhagen, Denmark. The design was brought to the attention of ...

s which were Motors No. 1 and No. 2) and entered service in June 1913. It could carry 27 first class and 27 second class passengers, using seats from the contemporary Tait trains.

Service

Motor Car 3 made its first run on 25 January 1913 and commenced regular testing the following month. It entered service on 5 March 1913 between

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. It was unable to accommodate the number of passengers and a trailer car for 30 passengers was attached. The additional weight of the trailer car resulted in it running late on every trip and requiring water every 18 miles. By late April 1913 the new steam car had failed and had to be returned to Newport for repairs. From May 1913, it operated between Maryborough and St Arnaud, initially as a temporary measure to replace a

McKeen railmotor The McKeen Railmotor was a 6-cylinder self-propelled railcar or railmotor. When McKeen Company of Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., first unveiled the car in 1905, the McKeen was among the first engines with a distillate-fueled motor. Revisions to th ...

and permanently from April 1914. From January 1915, it operated local services between Ballan and

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. However it suffered frequent breakdowns and accommodation for passengers and luggage was often inadequate.

Withdrawal

By 1922, the cost of operating the one-carriage steam car proved to be more expensive than the new petrol cars. Motor Car 3 was withdrawn in 1924 after travelling in service and was scrapped in 1927.

References

{{VRLocos Victorian Railways railmotors Kerr Stuart locomotives Railmotors Scrapped locomotives

Construction

Service

Withdrawal

See also

References