V & SAR The Overland carriages

Overland Carriages
Operators	various heritage operators
Specifications
Track gauge	<5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), has operated on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

Design

From 1949 The Overland moved into the modern era, with new air-conditioned Corten steel carriages gradually entering service, in maroon with a fluted stainless steel panel on each side and a black roof. This livery remained until the 1990s.

The sitting cars were all organised as eight compartments linked to a side corridor, with different fittings as suited to the type. The first-class cars seated 48, and the second-class cars seated 64.

Construction

Phase one

Six sleeping carriages had been built by the end of 1950; 1951 saw two first-class sitting carriages and a further two sleeping cars entering service, and four second-class sitting cars entered service the following year, for a fleet total of fourteen cars.

Phase two

To respond to growing patronage, a further two sleeping cars were built in each of 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958. 1960 saw a further two second-class sitting cars constructed, and in 1962 a third first-class sitting car was constructed, to replace composite sitting car 3ABS which was returned to the Victorian Railways fleet.

Phase three

Construction picked up again in 1966, with two more second-class sitting cars built to a slightly modified design. The next year saw two further sleeping cars added, then the final two second-class sitting cars entered service in 1968.

Phase four

From 1970 the train underwent significant changes. The last of the E type timber carriages were withdrawn from joint-stock service and split between the South Australian and the Victorian Railways. To replace them, two Luggage Vans (CO), three Club Cars, and four Power Vans (PCO) were built for the train; and the remaining rollingstock was converted away from axle-mounted generator sets to instead take power from the generators fitted to the PCO.

Shortly afterwards, the first three second-class sitting cars (1BJ, 2BJ and 3BJ) had some compartments modified to provide on-train buffet facilities. These were reclassed RBJ. Also around the same time, the Victorian Railways purchased the SAR's share in the first four Sleeping cars for their use on the Mildura Vinelander run; these were replaced by 1972 with four new cars, taking on the old identities.

Operations

V&SAR era 1949-1975

• Fit HEP 1970
• RBJ 1, 2, 3
• Club Cars could've been RAJ

V&ANR era 1975-1997

In 1975, Australian National took over the South Australian Railways, and the former SAR share of the carriages was transferred across to ANR.

In 1986 ANR introduced a new computerised rollingstock tracking system, with the carriages awarded check letters following the first four letters of their names as the class; for example Yanni was officially known as YANN, with check letter K generated by the algorithm.

In 1987 the names were removed and the carriages were reclassed. The sleepers were split into four groups; JRA and JRB for first and second class roomette carriages, and JTA and JTB for first and second class twinette carriages. First Class carriages were from the original batch built 1949-1958, and Second Class from the 1967-1972 batch.

Between 1987 and 1993, the deployment was thus:-

Shared between V/Line and ANR

• AJ cars 1, 2 and 3
• RBJ cars 1, 2 and 3
• BJ cars 4-10
• Club Cars 1, 2 and 3
• Luggage Vans CO 1 and 2
• Power Vans PCO 1 through 4
• JRA cars 1 through 6 were Mururi, Chalaki, Nankuri, Purpawi, Juki and Tarkinji.
• JRB cars 1 and 2 were Allambi 2nd and Tantini 2nd.
• JTA cars 1 through 6 were Nomuldi, Mokai, Malkari, Paiti (since renamed to Sir Hans Heysen), Yanni (since renamed to Sir John Forrest) and Kuldalai
• JTB cars 1 through 4 were Tawarri, Yankai, Weroni 2nd and Dorai 2nd.

With V/Line for the Vinelander

• Sleeping Cars 11, 13 were Allambi 1st and Tantini 1st; later SJ281, SJ283.
• Sleeping Cars 12, 14 were Dorai 1st and Weroni 1st; later SJ282, SJ284.

With the pending conversion of the mainline from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1994-1996 and falling patronage in any case, the oldest cars were withdrawn from service and onsold. The remaining fleet - the sitting cars and the newest of the sleepers - were converted to standard gauge - Sitting cars AJ 1, 2 and 3, Roomettes JRB 1 and 2, and Twinettes JTB 1, 2, 3 and 4.

In 1993 the Vinelander was withdrawn and the V/Line carriages were placed into storage at Newport Workshops; when V/Line was split into Passenger and Freight divisions in 1995, the cars were retained by the Victorian State Government rather than being allocated to either group.

Dispersal 1995

In 1995 the CO, JRA and JTA cars and power van PCO2 were removed from Australian National's rolling stock register, marked as withdrawn and scrapped. In actuality they were sold to International Development Services, who onsold the fleet over the next few years. At the same time, power vans PCO1 and PCO3 and Club Car No.1 were sold in whole to V/Line Passenger. The latter was renamed Victoria. It is thought that 1CO was successfully sold, but it has been sitting at Islington workshops for over a decade.

In 1997, JTA4 and JTA5 were sold to Blue Bird Rail, then to Grand Corporate Rail. At some point they were converted to luxury cars, with some bedrooms retained and others converted to an open lounge and dining area; under this form the two became BMC1 and BMC2 respectively. Grand Corporate Rail was forced to stop operating due to the insurance crisis of 2003, so the cars were sold to Great Southern Railway and renamed Sir Hans Heyson and Sir John Forrest in 2003.

In 1998, JTA6 was privately purchased, and is now under restoration as a static display on private property.

Also in 1998, West Coast Railway purchased cars PCO 2, CO 2, JRA 1, 3 and 4, and JTA 1 and 3. They were transferred to Melbourne on standard gauge bogies, then railed to Ballarat for reconditioning and use on excursion trips. When West Coast Railway folded in 2004 the cars were dispersed by the Australian Loco & Railway Carriage Company. PCO2 was immediately snapped up by V/Line Passenger; in 2009 it was reconditioned and renumbered to PCJ493, and it now operates with PCJ491 and 492 (ex PCO 1 and 3) on the standard gauge trains from Melbourne to Albury. After PCO2, the next two sold were JTA1 and JRA3, also in 2004. JTA1 was sold privately, then again in 2012 and is now under restoration on private property in Kyneton. CO2 and JRA3 were sold to Rail Experience and held at South Geelong yard, then moved to Newport Workshops in 2012.

In 2007, JRA1, JRA4 and JTA3 were sold by the Australian Loco & Railway Carriage Company to Bluebird Rail Operations. Around the same time, Bluebird acquired JRA2. All four were refurbished as crew cars, and they re-entered service in the period 2008-2010 as, respectively, RZEY 1, 4 and 3, and QCAY 2; the latter for Queensland Rail.

Not much information is available for JRA5 or JTA2 immediately following their purchase by Bluebird Rail. At some point JTA2 was sold to Genesee & Wyoming Australia, and JRA5 was sold to Queensland Rail (now Aurizon) as QCAY5.

GSR era 1997-2010

On 1 November 1997, the remaining passenger services operated by Australian National were sold to Great Southern Rail. The sale included the standard gauge Overland passenger fleet - two roomette, four twinette sleepers; three first-class and six second-class sitting cars, three composite second-class sitting with buffet cars and two club cars. Power van PCO4 was also included in the sale, but at the time it was on broad gauge for the short-lived Explorer train, in a dark blue livery with wide yellow bands. It was converted to standard gauge in 1998 and given quick coat of grey paint.

In 1999 the carriages were refurbished and repainted to a plain grey scheme at Keswick, and most of the cars had names applied, recycled from the sleeping carriages. Respectively, 5BJ through 10BJ became Mururu, Nankuri, Purpawi (sic), Chalaki and Tarkinji, and PCO 4 became Paite (sic). The three RBJ cars were all named "Kookaburra Club Car"; the Club Cars 2 and 3 were classed CCL and named Nomuldi and Malkari. AJ1, 2 and 3, RBJ1, RBJ3 and 4BJ were not named following their refurbishment; and shortly afterwards Chalaki was renamed Kildalai (sic). In 2003 Purpawi was corrected to Purwapi.

Then, in 2002-2003, the fleet was sold to a third party consortium and leased back for operational purposes.

A second refurbishment was undertaken in 2006-2007, applicable mainly to the second-class sitting cars. Retention toilets were fitted, with the male toilets shifted to the former ladies' toilet, and the latter shifted into the former powder room. The original male toilets were converted into showers, allowing the cars to be used on The Ghan and Indian Pacific services if and as necessary. At this time RBJ3 was refitted again, this time named Cafe 828. Similarly, CCL2 "Nomuldi" was upgraded to the "Charles Sturt" Outback Explorer lounge car, re-entering service in 2008; and PCO4 had its name removed, along with door replacements and a general overhaul.

In 2010, GSR was looking at selling parts of the fleet for use as crew cars by other operators.

Current status

In 2011, 8BJ "Mokai", CCL3 "Malkari", RBJ1 and RBJ2 and JRB2 were sold to Genesee & Wyoming Australia and converted to crew cars ADFY1 through 5.

JRB1 was sold to Pacific National to become their RZEY2, slotting between RZEY1, 3 and 4. The original RZEY gap was made for Queensland Rail's QCAY2.

AJ1-3 were also sold though their current ownership is unclear.

As of 2016, the V/Line Passenger Network Service Plan Addenda lists these vehicles as accredited for operation in Victoria:

• Great Southern Railway: BJ4-10, BMC2, CCL2, JTB1-4, PCO4 & RBJ3, all Standard Gauge only.
• Seymour Rail Heritage Centre, leased to V/Line: JTA6 "Kuldalai"
• Steamrail Victoria, leased to V/Line: SS283. The Steamrail website also lists SS282.
• V/Line Passenger: PCJ491, 492. 493 is not listed even though it has been part of the fleet since 2009.

Other vehicles were deployed thus:

• Pacific National: RZEY1, 2, 3 and 4.
• Aurizon: QCAY2 and QCAY5.
• Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia: CDAY1.
• Genesee & Wyoming Australia: ADFY1-5, JRA6 and JTA2.
• VicTrack Heritage: Victoria
• 707 Operations: SS284
• Static displays: JTA1 Nomuldi (private), JTA6 Kuldalai (private), Allambi (National Railway Museum).
• Privately owned, stored at Newport: 2CO, JRA3
• Held at Islington: 1CO
• Missing vehicles: AJ1, AJ2, AJ3

Fleet Details

First Class Sitting - AJ

1AJ, 2AJ, 3AJ

Second Class Sitting - BJ

1BJ, 2BJ, 3BJ, 4BJ, 5BJ, 6BJ, 7BJ, 8BJ, 9BJ, 10BJ

Second Class Sitting with Buffet - BRJ

1BRJ, 2BRJ, 3BRJ

Club cars

Club Car No.1, Club Car No.3, Club Car No.3

Sleeping cars

1967 Steel Sleeping Car Yankai (JTB 2) in the 1999–2007 livery

When the Overland service was converted from E type carriages to a new steel, fully-airconditioned train, eight new sleeping cars were built. The interiors of these new cars were of a more modern design than the older cars. The roomette cars had a zigzag corridor instead of a straight one, and the compartments had the shape of a trapezium. This enabled the use of the toilet and washbasin units while the bed was still down, not possible in the older roomettes.

In 1949 the classleader, Allambi, entered service, followed by Tantini, Weroni, Dorai, Mururi and Chalaki in 1950 and Nomuldi and Mokai in 1951. Of those, Allambi, Tantini, Mururi and Chalaki were roomette cars with zigzag corridors; the other four were standard compartment style twinette cars.

The sleeping cars were of two types. Twinette cars had two-berth compartments (as had the E and Mann cars before them), but each compartment had an adjoining toilet and shower room; roomette cars had single-berth compartments either side of a central aisle, and a shower room at the end of the car. The new cars were not numbered, but instead given names based on Aboriginal words related to sleep or dreams.

Additional carriages were built a few years later, with Roomettes Nankuri and Purpawi in 1955, Twinettes Tolkini (later Malkari) and Tandeni (later Paiti) in 1956, Twinettes Yanni and Kuldalai in 1957 and Roomettes Juki and Tarkinji in 1958.

Two further cars were built in 1967, Twinettes Tawarri and Yankai, for a total fleet of eighteen. These last two had a slightly different interior layout.

In 1971, the SAR's share in roomette cars Allambi and Tantini and twinette cars Dorai and Weroni was sold to the Victorian Railways for use on the Vinelander to Mildura. They were repainted dark blue and their names removed; these names were then applied to the same type of new cars built to replace them.

The new sleepers, Weroni and Dorai (1971) and Allambi and Tantini (1972) were built with the altered interior matching the 1967 batch (though Allambi and Tantini were still roomettes).

Under Victorian Railways, later VicRail service the cars had blue painted where maroon had previously been used, with VINELANDER nameplates on the carriage sides in place of the names. The cars were numbered as Sleepers No.11 through 14, previously Allambi, Tantini, Weroni and Dorai. The New Deal in 1983 saw the four Victorian Railways Sleeper carriages renumbered to SJ 281 through 284, and the carriages were repainted again, this time with orange replacing the blue, and with V/Line logos on plates fitted to the left ends.

Power vans

V/Line liveried van PCJ 493

PCJ491 (ex-PCO1) at Southern Cross station

In the early 1970's The Overland required head end power for air conditioning and lighting. Prior to this time, all electrical power had been supplied by axle-driven generators. As a result, the two railways between them built four PCO vans, numbered 1 - 4, in 1970. They were Joint Stock vehicles owned and maintained jointly by the VR and South Australian Railways, and their later, respective incarnations of VicRail and V/Line (VR), and Australian National (SAR). Each had two 162.5 kilowatts (217.9 hp) diesel generators and could carry 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) of luggage. In 1990 the V/Line N class locomotives, which had their own head end power units, took over hauling the Overland and the PCO vans were put into storage.

In 1995, V/Line and Australian National took full ownership of two vans each. V/Line took PCOs 1 and 3, which it renumbered PCJ 491 and 492 respectively, and AN took PCOs 2 and 4. PCO 2 remained in storage until was purchased by West Coast Railway in 1998. When West Coast Railway ceased operation in 2004 it was acquired by V/Line and in 2009 was refurbished and renumbered to PCJ 493. A three PCJ vans were converted to standard gauge in 2011 for use on the V/Line Albury service. Australian National used PCO4 on the short-lived Explorer tour train in South Australia and converted to standard gauge for use again on the Overland. It was completely refurbished in 2007 with new diesel generator sets.

Luggage vans

In 1970 two Joint Stock guards vans were built for the Melbourne - Adelaide The Overland service. They were coded CO, and remained in use until 1994, when they were transferred to Australian National. Both vans were written off of the shared V/Line and Australian National rollingstock register in 1995.

2CO was sold to West Coast Railway in 1998 and transferred to Melbourne in early December of that year. However, there is no evidence that it was ever restored or utilised by that group. In 2004, when West Coast Railway shut down, the carriage was sold to Steve Moritz's Australian Loco & Railway Carriage Company for the Murraylander service, but quickly passed on to the Geelong-based group Rail Experience.

Model railways

HO Scale

Lima

Lima produced approximations of these carriages.

Trainbuilder

Trainbuilder has produced a brass range of the Overland carriages.

The first series were released as parts of complete Overland trains.

In 2016/17, a new batch included pairs of Sleepers 11/13 or 12/14 in Vinelander Blue with silver, or SJ281/283 or SJ282/S84 in V/Line Orange and Grey. Pairs of cars sell for $950/pack.