Re: [SA]-[VIC] 2000 class railcars

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

bscaro@hotmail.com wrote:
> I'm not surprised the 2000 railcars weigh that much.  They look very
> much like Amtrak's 1970s coaches in general shape and size.  IMHO, they
> are the nicest suburban vehicle on an Australian rail system apart from
> the V sets. They ride well and look stylish. It's even better if you
> can get that front seat.

Comeng Granville and Comeng Dandenong were so different they might as well
have been different companies. They even used to bid against each other
for contracts. In this case, Granville's 2000 beat Dandenong's bid of an
earlier version of the 3000.

The 2000 class was, like many other rail projects, a solution looking for
a problem. The idea goes back to the design phase of the Prospector.
Luckily it didn't get anywhere they the Prospector ended up as a modified
SPV2000. The raised cab was an afterthought when the idea was turned into
a suburban railcar.

Granville had originally intended to put up a slightly larger version of
the Perth suburban railcars, but management pushed for something new, or
more correctly a reworking of the abandoned Prospector design.

There was also a design for an intercity version of the 2000, touted as a
replacement for the Bluebirds. It had, wait for it, an 1100hp engine for
160km/h running. Think how much of a fuel guzzler that would have been!

> But they do have the misfortune to be owned and operated by the most
> backward state government in Australia. I'd like to eventually move to
> Adelaide- when Sydney's liveability declines 

Those TV ads been getting to you? :)

Cheers
David