One of the last Harris motor carriages built The Harris trains were first the first steel-bodied trains on the Melbourne metropolitan railway system. They were introduced in 1956, and last operated in 1988, although a number of the carriages were converted for other uses and are still operating. They were named after Sir Norman Harris, Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways between 1940 and 1950. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...
This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ...
Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ...
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. ...
Description
The Harris trains were commonly referred to as "Blue Trains" due to their deep blue colour, with only a yellow band about halfway up the body. Royal blue and yellow were common colours for the Victorian Railways rolling stock.
The first 30 7-carriage trains, known as the first series, were delivered between 1956 and 1959. Another 30, the second series, were delivered between 1961 and 1967. From 1966, these were delivered with end doors and gangways between carriages, allow passengers to change carriages.
Between 1968 and 1970, ten additional motor carriages were delivered to provide for some Harris trains to be lengthened to eight carriages, and in 1970 and 1971 six new trailer carriages were built as prototypes for the next fleet (the Hitachi trains). These carriages were 75 feet (23 m) long, compared to 63 feet (19 m) of the earlier carriages, and were equipped with the mechanisms for power-closing doors, the first such use in Melbourne. However, it was not until the following year that a complete (4-carriage) train was used this way, after conversion of some motor carriages. A Hitachi train (left) and newer XTrapolis (right) at Flinders Street Station Hitachi on a Belgrave service The Hitachi train (often called tachis [] or Silvers) is a type of electric train that operates on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. ...
The Harris trains were originally run as 7-carriage (M-T-T-M-BT-T-M) sets, reduced to 4-carriage (M-T-T-M) sets (known as "blocks") for off-peak and weekend services. The extra motor carriages built from 1968 allowed for some BT-T-M units to be converted to M-T-T-M sets, to provide for trains to be run in M-T-T-M-M-T-T-M configurations. Melbourne, capital city of the State of Victoria, Australia, has a long history of railway development. ...
Carriages were connected by semi-permanent drawbars, except for the driving ends of motor carriages and one end of BT carriages, which were provide with automatic couplers. Knuckle (AAR Type E) couplers in use AAR Type E railroad car coupling A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism for connecting railway cars in a train. ...
The M cars and early T cars were constructed in the United Kingdom by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company while the later T cars were built by Martin and King in Melbourne. Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (GRCW) was a railway manufacturer based at Gloucester. ...
Conversions and Disposal With the exceptions of the last few carriages built, all Harris trains contained asbestos insulation. The first sets contained blue asbestos, and the later sets contained white asbestos. Due to the presence of asbestos, most were wrapped in plastic and disposed of in a tip in Clayton, south-east of Melbourne. Two motor carriages (pictured, one unrefurbished and one refurbished) have been preserved at the Williamstown Railway Museum and two more motor carriages have been retained for preservation. For other uses, see Asbestos (disambiguation). ...
Riebeckite is a sodium-rich member of the amphibole group of minerals, chemical formula Na2(Fe,Mg)5Si8O22(OH)2. ...
Chrysotile Asbestos Chrysotile is an asbestiform sub-group within the serpentine group of minerals. ...
Clayton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...
Refurbishment
Refurbished Harris motor carriage A program to refurbish the Harris trains was begun in 1982. The refurbishment included individual vinyl foam type cushions on an integrated plastic frame to replace the former more traditional vinyl sprung seats, air conditioning, and a new colour scheme. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...
However, industrial and other problems with the refurbished trains meant that only 16 carriages were so converted before the program was stopped. The refurbished trains were withdrawn in 1991 and subsequently cut up for scrap, except for one M carriage which has been preserved and is now held at the Williamstown Railway Museum, Melbourne. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...
The four refurbished trains ran initially in an M-T-T-M configuration, but three of the trains were later remarshalled to M-T-M-M-T-M configuration. Melbourne, capital city of the State of Victoria, Australia, has a long history of railway development. ...
The refurbished trains generally ran on the Port Melbourne, St. Kilda and Sandringham lines. They never ran in the City Loop, except for a farewell tour in 1991. Problems and solutions Prior to the construction of the Loop, Flinders Street and Spencer Street stations were connected only by a viaduct beside the Yarra River. ...
Locomotive-hauled services 55 carriages, including the 75 ft (23 m) carriages, were converted to H series carriages for interurban service and are still in operation with V/Line. V/Line is a regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. ...
Similarly, four carriages were converted to MTH carriages and are still used on the Stony Point line. One of the last Harris motor carriages built The Harris trains were first the first steel-bodied trains on the Melbourne metropolitan railway system. ...
The Stony Point line is a greater-metropolitan railway line in Melbourne, Australia. ...
External links - Harris trains on VicSig (enthusiast site).
- Suburban carriage details by Peter J. Vincent.
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