The Endeavour Railcars are a class of

diesel multiple units A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

operated by

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

on passenger rail services in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia on the

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, Blue Mountains (to Bathurst), Southern Highlands and

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

lines (between Kiama and Bomaderry). They are mechanically identical to the Xplorers. All 30 carriages were built by ABB Transportation in Dandenong, Victoria. Fourteen two-carriage sets were ordered in April 1992 to replace Class 620/720 railcars, DEB set railcars and locomotive hauled stock, with the first entering service in March 1994. In November 1994, one further two-carriage set was ordered. All are scheduled to be replaced in the early 2020s by the

NSW TrainLink Regional Train Project The NSW TrainLink Regional Train Project is an initiative of Transport for NSW to procure new Electro-diesel multiple unit, bi-mode CAF Civity trains to replace NSW TrainLink's New South Wales Endeavour railcar, Endeavour, New South Wales Xplorer ...

Features

Each set consists of two carriages, one having a wheelchair-accessible toilet (TE), and the other having luggage space and bicycles racks (LE). All cars are air-conditioned. They operate as four carriage sets on a few peak hour services. Each car is powered by a

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

KTA-19R diesel engine rated at at 1800rpm coupled to a Voith T311r hydraulic transmission driving both axles on one bogie via Voith Turbo V15/19 final drives. The transmission incorporates a Voith KB260/r hydrodynamic brake. An auxiliary Cummins LT10R(G) diesel engine drives a Newage Stamford UCI274F alternator to supply power for the air conditioning and lighting. The maximum speed of Endeavour railcars is but in service this is limited to .

In service

Endeavours operate on four lines: *

: between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland or

Telarah Telarah is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb was formerly known as Homeville, however use of this name was abandoned in the 1950s. It is located on the New England Highway and is also the site of a major ra ...

, with some services extending to

Dungog Dungog is a country town on the Williams River in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber country, it is the centre of the Dungog Shire local government area and at the 2016 census it had a po ...

and Scone * Main Western: the '' Bathurst Bullet'' service, between Sydney Central and Bathurst * Southern Highlands: between Campbelltown and

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several he ...

, with some services extending to Goulburn and Sydney Central *

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

: between

Bomaderry Bomaderry (locally known as "Bommo") is a town in the Shoalhaven council district area of New South Wales, Australia. At the , it had a population of 8,718 people. It is on the north shore of the Shoalhaven River, across the river from Nowra, the ...

and Kiama Endeavours previously operated weekend only Wollongong to Moss Vale services.

Refurbishment

Refurbished Endeavour Maitland (cropped)

In 2009–2010, the Endeavours, along with the Xplorers, were refurbished by

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

. The refurbishment included: * New reversible 3x2 seats, as found on the Hunter railcars and H sets, the seat covers are made of woollen moquette fabric which is more durable and vandal proof * Vinyl flooring, replacing the original carpet flooring * Voiceovers to closing the doors * Improved air-conditioning system * Improved crew facilities * A new livery (blue and yellow front, black window band and underskirts, and yellow doors)

Second Refurbishment

Endeavour railcars 2801 and 2851 (30621845427)

In 2017, the Endeavours were refurbished by Downer in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The refurbishment includes: * New lighting * New flooring, similar to the Waratahs * New livery * Refurbished seating * New drivers window wipers * Refurbished Couplers (Auto and Intermediate)

Conversions to Xplorers

The similarities of the Endeavours and Xplorers have allowed easy conversions. Endeavour carriages LE 2865 and TE 2815 were converted to Xplorer carriages EA 2508 and EC 2528. Endeavour carriage TE 2805 was temporarily converted to an Xplorer carriage between September and November 2007. The CityRail logos were removed and its skirts painted black, but it otherwise retained its livery. It also retained its carriage number.

References

External links

*
Technical drawings and specifications
{{NSWLocos, state=collapsed ABB multiple units Diesel multiple units of New South Wales NSW TrainLink Train-related introductions in 1994