The family of Walker railmotors were a type of

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railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) 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 coa ...

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 ...

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. After

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, the

undertook a major rebuilding program known as Operation Phoenix. One of the first tasks was the upgrading of passenger services on country branch lines, through the replacement of 23 wooden-bodied railmotors built in the 1920s, and the withdrawal of steam locomotive hauled

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In some countries, the term refers to a freight train carrying various different types of freight rather a single commodity. Although common in the ...

s. An initial order of twelve railcars, six railcars with trailers, and twelve railcars was placed with Walker Brothers, Wigan, England. It was then extended to include a further ten railmotors and trailers. The first was delivered in 1948, with additions to the fleet running through to 1955.

Construction

The power units and controls were built by Walker Bros. and shipped out from Wigan England, the underframes were built by Thompsons of Castlemaine and the car bodies were built by

Martin & King Martin & King was a manufacturing company based in Clayton, Victoria, Australia. The company originally specialised in making motor vehicle bodiesArmadale. Assembly took place at the

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 van bodies were constructed with composite wood and steel framework, and aluminium sheeting screwed to the frames. The engine and trailing units were initially fitted with small plates below skirt level identifying each section as part of that specific railmotor set, i.e. 80RM, but these were removed as units were rotated through workshops and mixed with each other. Within a few years the identity of the and motors was marked only on the cabside door (with nothing on the saloon unit), and on the railmotors only on one side of each motor unit with nothing on either saloon unit. Vehicle identities were occasionally further confused when cabside doors were swapped in later years. The intended life of the Walker railmotors was only 10 years. However, most remained in service for up to 30 years.

102hp & 153hp

The final fleet included 13x engine/driving units 1-13RM and 16x engine/driving units 20-35RM which looked similar; these shared 27x trailing units each mounted on only one bogie, and attached semi-permanently to the associated motor unit, leaving one motor unit of each type spare. The trailing units were not identified normally when in service, but some correspondence notes individual identities No.100 to No.111 (or No.101 to No.112Newsrail December 1981 pg284) and No.220 to No.234. This was marked on a small plate on the passenger/driver door of cabs. The passenger units were all identical with room for 18 1st class and 22 2nd class seated passengers plus 2 tons luggage, except for 100, 104 and 220, which had 18+27 seats and room for only 1.27 tons of luggage; their tare weight was a ton less than the rest of the fleet. Newsrail April 1982 records the small-van units as "11, 12 and 20", and coupled to 3RM as of 8 June 1976, and 31RM as of 1 January 1977.Newsrail April 1982 pg79, correcting photo captions Newsrail December 1981 pg292

280hp

Separate to the paired units, railmotors 80-92RM consisted of two driving/sitting units, one either side of the power unit that gave its identity to the full consist. Originally, 80-91RM were in service and 92RM was spare without attached driving/passenger units. One unit in each pair was fitted with seating for 38 1st class passengers, and the other had 56 2nd class passengers, for a total of 94 seats. Each was also capable of holding a single ton of luggage, the train crew only were permitted to walk through the centre motor unit engine room. Unlike the and variants, the driving/passenger units of the series were classed A880-A891 for the 1st class units, and B880-B891 for the 2nd class units. While possible, there's no reason to assume that the sets were broken up or shuffled around, besides the central motor section.

Trailers

To go with the Walker railmotors, sixteen trailer cars were built. The first were delivered as class RMT, numbers 50 and 51; they were reclassed to MT in 1949, and further deliveries brought the class up to 64MT. Each was mounted on two bogies with no driving stands, so they required a runaround at terminal stations. Stylistically, they matched the and railcars, and were a little shorter than the type. Each trailer had capacity for 16 1st, 22 2 ^nd seated passengers and 2 tons of luggage, except 55MT fitted with 38 2nd-class seats instead of a mixture. Like the motors, these trailers were not fitted with standard couplings so special arrangements had to be made when it was necessary to move one of the trailers with a normal locomotive.

In service

The first run was on 15 March 1948, between Heathcote and

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on the North Eastern line; this was with , 1RM. The first unit ran from Spencer Street to Daylesford, until that roster was taken by the first of the units - 80RM - on 6 June 1950. The railcars soon saw use on the

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Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

and Ararat-

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services, and by the time the 91RM was delivered, Mansfield,

Wonthaggi Wonthaggi is a town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland Highway, South Gippsland and Bass Highway, Victoria, Bass highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Known originally f ...

, Woomelang and

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were also being served by the units. The long Glenrowan – Wangaratta section often saw the railcars exceed the speed limit. Each passenger unit was equipped with adjustable seating, internal heating, non-draught windows, water tanks for drinking or washing, along with ample luggage storage in overhead wire racks. At least when new, the engines did not cause any vibration in the passenger compartments. The lighting system was powered by the then-standard Victorian Railways' 24vDC supply, which utilised a belt-driven axle generator to charge batteries and 20-watt globes. Trailer cars were not fitted with their own power supply, instead drawing power via jumper cables from adjacent units; the exceptions being 54 and 56MT, which are thought to have had their own belt-driven axle generator to charge their own batteries. The railcars were fitted with fluorescent lighting, likely a first for the Victorian Railways. The light construction of the vehicles proved problematic, with many needing full rebuilds by 1954. It has been reported that the units had provision for multiple unit control, but that this feature was never utilised. As a result, when running in multiple each unit needed to have its own driver, the two communicating through the standard whistle codes used on locomotives. In later years the railcars' already poor riding qualities had deteriorated, especially due to their light construction. By the late 1970s the Walkers had reached the end of their lives, with a number of railcars being withdrawn from service during 1978 and 1979. By 1980 only 82RM, 85RM and 91RM remained in service. The last Walker railmotor ran on 17 September 1980, with 82RM operating the 08:00 service from Melbourne to Woodend and return. In 1981 the Central Highlands Tourist Railway (now the

Daylesford Spa Country Railway The Daylesford Spa Country Railway (which is operated by the Central Highlands Tourist Railway) is a volunteer-operated Victorian broad gauge, gauge Heritage railway, tourist railway located in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It ope ...

) acquired 91RM, 32RM and 56MT with the transfer being carried out in March 1982. Restoration of 91RM began in January 1987, and was certified for traffic in March 1990.

Liveries

Each unit was originally painted in all-over royal blue, with silver roofs, striping and highlighting. After the first of the B class diesels was delivered, the Walkers then in service were repainted, with gold replacing the silver. Over time, the roofs were repainted blue to hide grime, and the logos and striping were made simpler. To improve visibility at level crossings, the cars had thin orange stripes added in the 1950s, followed by a wide orange "dayglo" band over the top of the yellow stripe below window level. Dayglo was designed to look fairly normal in daylight, but to become reflective at night. These stripes were removed from 1968. A number of internal themes were used, with some cars having ivory ceilings and green and brown walls; others had blue ceilings with brown walls. All cars were fitted with seats upholstered in brown leather.

Typical rosters

By 1963, the Walkers had settled into a pattern with a number of routes. The 102 hp Walkers typically ran between: *Morwell - Mirboo North *Ararat - Hamilton *Swan Hill - Piangil *Castlemaine - Maryborough *Benalla - Yarrawonga *Ballarat - Ararat *Nyora - Wonthaggi *Horsham - Goroke *Kerang - Koondrook *Ouyen - Pinnaroo and *Numurkah - Cobram The 153 hp Walkers typically ran between: *Traralgon - Maffra *Ballarat - Linton *Echuca - Balranald *Ararat - Hamilton *Frankston - Mornington *Ballarat - Ballan *Bendigo - Deniliquin *Echuca - Kyabram "School Train", with three trailers. *Lilydale - Healesville *Melbourne - Seymour *Dimboola - Serviceton *Bendigo - Cohuna *Wallan - Heathcote *Lilydale - Warburton and *Melbourne - Mansfield The 280 hp Walkers typically ran between: *Ararat - Portland *Melbourne - Werribee *Melbourne - Leongatha *Melbourne - Daylesford *Melbourne - Woomelang *Melbourne - Wonthaggi and *Geelong - Ballarat *Frankston - Stony Point Some of these rosters required multiple units. Walkers Railcar at Old Romsey Station - panoramio

Walkers Railcar at Old Romsey Station - panoramio

Withdrawal and scrapping

35RM with unit no.224 was the first to be scrapped, on Thursday 15 October 1970. Scrapping then continued at a fairly easy pace until 1977, when VicRail decreed that branch lines in general were to be closed, rendering the units without a purpose. As such, 102 hp overhauls were stopped, with failed units being held awaiting scrapping instead. The same procedure applied to 153 hp and 280 hp units from April the next year. 4RM was the last 102 hp unit in service, withdrawn in December 1978; it survived longer because its engine unit had been replaced with a General Motors unit at some stage in its life, permitting a 50 mph maximum speed and allowing it to closer match the timetables applicable to the higher-horsepower units. Withdrawals of the larger units accelerated, and by the end of 1979 only 22, 32, 82, 85 and 91RM were still in service. The latter two of that list were withdrawn next; 85RM suffered a bearing failure and continued on to Ballarat North Workshops on one engine; however, its body condition was deemed too poor to be worth repairing, so it was transferred to Newport Workshops and was stored there. 82RM was the last of the 280 hp units to go, after running an 8:00 Melbourne to Woodend and return trip on 17 September 1980. 32RM ran with 56MT through to November 1980, when the engine was withdrawn on account of a much needed overhaul (which was never completed by VicRail). 22RM and 64MT stayed in service, usually running the 9:11am Melbourne to Leongatha and return trip on weekdays, occasionally forming a Sunbury trip or two after arriving back in Melbourne. On Saturdays the unit pair would run on the Werribee shuttles, and occasionally to either Bacchus Marsh or Seymour as railmotor shortages dictated. but eventually, the gearbox failed and the unit was withdrawn following its return from Leongatha on 1 April 1981.

Preservation

Walkers Railcar at Daylesford - panoramio

In 1981, two railmotors and a trailer – 32RM, 91RM and 56MT – were scheduled to be transferred to the

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Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the larges ...

. 91RM failed on the Ingliston Bank and the three ended up stored at Ballarat East. Later, the three units were purchased by the Central Highlands Tourist Railway, now the

. 7RM was being held at Newport for future use on the

Victorian Goldfields Railway The Victorian Goldfields Railway is a Victorian broad gauge, broad gauge Heritage railway, tourist railway in Victoria, Australia. It operates along a formerly disused branch line between the towns of Maldon, Victoria, Maldon and Castlemaine, V ...

. 22RM was static in the

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, with 85RM held for future addition, and 59MT was similarly allocated, but was badly vandalised, potentially to be replaced by 64MT. 82RM was stored at Wodonga for a proposed tourist service at

Tallangatta Tallangatta () is a town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The town lies on the banks of the Mitta Arm of Lake Hume, approximately south-east of Albury-Wodonga along the Murray Valley Highway. At the , Tallangatta had a population of 1 ...

. It is thought that the passenger units which had been with 29RM and 31RM at time of scrapping had been sold for use as sheds somewhere in the Victorian countryside. Units existing as at March 11, 2023 are: * 7RM Stored at Daylesford. * 22RM with No.225 – Owned by

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, allocated to Newport Railway Museum, sub-allocated to Yarra Valley Tourist Railway. In service. * 24RM Possibly with No.228. Stored in poor condition at Yarra Valley Tourist Railway (previously owned by Tallangatta Valley Steam Preservation Society at Huon). * 32RM In service at Daylesford. * 82RM with No.887A and No.891B – Stored at Daylesford. * 85RM with Units X, Y – Stored at Daylesford. * 91RM with No.880A and No.887B – In service at Daylesford. * 56MT – Stored at Daylesford. * 58MT – Under restoration at the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway. * 64MT – Location unknown.

Details of vehicles

102hp, 153hp and passenger units

280hp and passenger units

Trailers

References

*Newsrail December 1981 p. 284 {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker Railmotor Victorian Railways railmotors Train-related introductions in 1948