Commonwealth Railways carbon steel carriage stock

A carbon steel sleeping car, just completed, at the Comeng factory in 1964

In January 1963 Commonwealth Railways placed an order with Commonwealth Engineering, Granville for 24 air-conditioned carbon steel carriages.[1][2]

These standard-gauge carriages were purchased for use on the Trans-Australian Railway between Port Pirie and Kalgoorlie, and on The Ghan from Port Pirie to Marree.[1]

At 22.92 metres (75 ft 2 in), they were the longest passenger cars in Australia. They were Commonwealth Railways' first Australian-built standard-gauge carriages, their predecessors having been manufactured in Europe or Japan.[1]

In July 1975, all were included in the transfer of Commonwealth Railways assets to the Australian National Railways Commission.

Subsequently, some were converted to crew cars for use on Trans-Australian Railway freight trains; others were sold to the Australian Rail Track Corporation; still others were scrapped.

References

1. Dunn, John (2008). Comeng A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 2 1955-1966. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 266–272. ISBN 978-1877058738.
2. Commonwealth Railways Passenger Carriage Information Chris' Commonwealth Railways Pages