Re: Harris trains

["Peter J. Vincent" <pjv101@netspace.com.au>]

Ron Bennell wrote:
> 
> Where can I get a copy of "Electric Railways of Victoria"?
> 
> I left VR in 1982.  At that time there were more than a few stories running
> around the EE Branch about them....
> 

Don't know, but try the auctions and the ARHS swap meet etc, I suppose.

> > 2 car sets M-M for Pakenham shuttles
> This arrangement with the once every so often when the resident Silver M-DT
> was brought in for maintenance.

Yes, true, then later at Dandenong, each two car set on the Pakenham was
replaced by the next two car set from the next new train that was
output.

> One story goes that an M-M was made up as required.  Apparently the M's were
> the one with 200hp motors (early 500s).  In later life some cars had their
> field weakening circuits reactivated (they were deactivated in the 1960's as
> an economy measure).  For the M-M combination, this meant a high top speed
> capability, with good acceleration.  The rumour was that these capabilities
> were often tested to their extreme on late night shuttle runs between
> Pakenham and Dandenong.  While not officially known about, some of the old
> boys were glad to see "their" machines running as they were designed to do,
> even though they never ran to Geelong as originally planned

I can't remember now but weak fields worked well on one series but not
the other. May be it was 1st series. (501-590). and they certainly could
fly. 
Reverse worked well too.

> 
> > Up to the end of Harris running the set
> > 501M-601T-602T-502M-501BT-603T-503M (without or without the additional
> > 1000 series number for M's and 2000 series for T/BT's )
> > remained together. This set was used for all mods and testing from the
> > 1960's to the 1980's (except rheo braking ). The last major test was the
> > fitting of Westcode Triple valve and EP gear ( no 7 step EP relay ).
> >
> > The greaser train to traralgon usually ran M-M-Greaser-M-M.
> This arrangement I never saw to my dismay.  I worked on the early wire
> greaser (447M) when 457M and 460M (plus two others I cannot remember) that
> were set up for running to Traralgon.  I was not involved with the original
> 3CM wire greaser trials, but have many photos of it.

Well that would have been 461M and 459M. I got photos of every greaser
that ran from 1978 til the set standardised to 459M/461M.
Until computerisation, the greaser never had a number but apparently
from 1984 it was known in rostering as 447M, so it never became 1447M as
their was no external lettering but on the computer I think everyone
calls it 1447M.

I got photos of 447M in service, during conversion, and then in running.

Highlight of a three car set run with 461M-T-459M was a speedo proved
113km/hr down Berwick bank with a special noise level test crew. It rode
very well.

-- 
Peter J. Vincent

Website ............ http://www.netspace.net.au/~pjv101/index.htm