Could the Sydney Prison Car, No. 948 be restored to operation by using Brill 22E trucks with motors from another disused, wrecked or derelict but still intact tram such as an ex NSW LP or N or an ex Melbourne C ?
Even a tram from a ‘reserve collection’ which is unlikely to be restored in the foreseeable future could supply the necessary equipment.
If 948 was mobile again, it could be used for people to experience ‘prisoners travel’ where some of the notorious ‘guests of the guv’ment’ made journeys between Darlinghurst Court House and H. M. Prison - Long Bay.
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Is the freight car 24s likely to be put to a remunerative use now that it is mobile again ?
A possibility could be its use as a ’mobile sub- station’ or ‘power station’, similar to USA trolley systems. These mobile sub-stations contained a rotary converter and were parked near sporting functions or areas distant from regular sub-stations to supply power to many ‘trolley cars’ for limited periods.
The freight car 24s could have a generator set carried inside if there was a need for extra power for convoys of coupled or ‘power hungry’ trams during special functions. It could also be useful in emergencies if the local commercial power supply was temporarily unavailable during museum operating days. The weight of a generator set could also help to add adhesive weight if ‘wheel spin’ was a problem.
Noel Reed.
From:TramsDownUnder@... [mailto:TramsDownUnder@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Monday, 13 November 2017 6:35 AM
To:TramsDownUnder@...
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Test run at Loftus
That’s right. One SPER ’oldtimer’ told me that Norm Chin (possibly Ken McCarthy) was visiting Randwick Workshops and upon seeing that scrapping of the prison tram had commenced, flew into the manager’s office and demanded that this cease as the tram was required for preservation.
Luckily only the motors were gone, and scrapping ceased. Such was their style of tact.
Regards,
On 12 Nov 2017, at 10:01 pm, Mick Duncankitbuny@... [TramsDownUnder]TramsDownUnder@...> wrote:
Gday Matthew, All
Its the Prison car that dosent have motors
Cheers, Mick
On 12/11/2017 7:57 AM, Matthew Geiermatthew@...
[TramsDownUnder] wrote:
On 12/11/17 07:22, Malcolm Rowemal.rowe@... [TramsDownUnder] wrote: Great work. This may be the only set of McGuire trucks in the world.
Parko and others have not been able to find any others of this type recorded as preserved anywhere. It's quite possible these really are the last of their type in existence.
Watching 24s operate and riding on it, I can sort of see why - they are not very good at all. When starting the weight transfer to the rear unloads the front driven wheel too much so the lead wheel is prone to wheel spin. Something doesn't seem quite right with the geometry. They are not a good example of the 'maximum traction' idea.
Any one using them would have replaced them with something better at the
first opportunity!
24s has them as they were rejects from the F class program, so were available 'cheap' (i.e. lying around the workshops) when the freight car was constructed.
With a few tonnes of freight to hold them down, they probably work much better !
In case any one's wondering about the reference to motors - for many years there was a persistent story that 24s's unique McGuire didn't have motors. I'm not sure where this came from, but it was considered gospel by many, and no one actually bothered to look under the car and check!.
While the motors were overhauled during this restoration, they didn't actually need any major work - they were stripped down, cleaned and repainted. The only replacement parts are new motor leads.
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Posted by: Richard Youl tressteleg@...>
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