> dbromage@metz.une.edu.au (David Bromage) writes:
>
> >I'm amazed that SRA is disposing of 11 620/720 sets and 4 DEB sets with
> >the Olympics only 2 years away. With the number of people visiting they'll
> >need every car they can get their hands on. It stands to reason that the
>
> Most of the old railcars are not operable. The SRA couldnt use them during
> the Oylmpics without spending a lot of money on them.
>
> In the last days on the south, many were running with only 1 of the two
> traction engines running, mostly transmission failures. The EP brake no longer
> worked on most of the fleet. The wheels were worn, the bogies worn, they really
> shouldnt have been in service. Thats before we get to the sad state of the
> passenger space.
>
> The SRA let them run into the ground. A lot of work needs to be done to get
> them back up to minimum acceptable standards. It would probably cost more to
> rehablitate those cars than it would to by a nice new commuter road coach.
>
> Their only future is preservation where labour isnt a cost.
After the last election when the ALP promised to reinstate the Griffith and
Broken Hill services Countrylink hired a consultant (Yes at taxpayers expense) to
look at the best way of reintroducing these services. I spoke to the fellow that
did the report and in his opinion there were so few DEB set cars in a good
condition that the idea of using them for these services was not possible without
spending millions to completely refurbish them. The other problem was who would
maintain them and where as the XPT and Explorer centers are at capacity. It was
soon clear that a loco hauled set was the only cheap option and this is how they
came to the idea of overhauling (repainting) some left over A/C cars. Most of the
620s are so badly vandalized or stripped of useful parts that I would be surprised
to see many make it to preservation. In Newcastle the surplus 620s have been
stripped of all motors and transmissions and even the windows and some seats have
been reclaimed by the local railcar depot to keep the remaining cars in service. At
this stage they have been told that there is no money to replace the Newcastle 620s
and they will continue to run for at least 5 years. There is even a possibility
that they may be Gonninonized somewhat like the citydecker program with hopper
windows and Tangara seats. I hope not.
Bob