The NZR RM class 88-Seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although they became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the classes eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".
Background In the early 1950s, NZR was in the process of replacing steam traction with diesel and modernising the railways to cope with vastly increased traffic, the after-effects of wartime stringency, and increasing competition from motor vehicles and aeroplanes. As part of this modernisation process, it was decided to upgrade provincial passenger services, which were provided by a combination of steam-hauled passenger trains that operated several times a week, and "mixed" trains that carried both freight and passengers. NZR had experimented with several different classes of railcars, but it was not until after the second World War that railcars began to replace provincial passenger services en masse.
Following the success of the Vulcan railcars introduced in the 1940s, NZR began investigating the replacement of the older Wairarapa class railcars in the mid-1940s with larger diesel-electric railcars. A tender for 25 replacement railcars was approved by Cabinet in 1944, but World War II delayed the completion of responses until 1947. In 1948, NZR decided not to proceed with this tender as the prices received were considered too high. In 1949, Cabinet approved a new tender to replace the Wairarapa railcars and other steam-hauled services, which were to have 88 seats and have braking equipment for the centre (Fell)rail on the Rimutaka Incline. A total of 35 railcars were now specified. It was decided that engines for the railcars should be mounted underfloor for increased passenger capacity and for a parcel and baggage compartment, with trussed chassis to support the braking equipment.
Tenders were received from English Electric and the Drewry Car Company. Drewry's tender presented a design for an articulated railcar with seating for 88 passengers, with either Hercules or Fiat engines. An order was placed with Drewry in the United Kingdom in March 1950 for the railcars with the Fiat engines. Drewry had supplied some smaller diesel shunting locomotives (DSA class and DSB class locomotives) to NZR previously. A Ministerial letter of July 1955 to the Wellington Standard newspaper said regarding the Fiat engines that: "...the make of engine was ordered because at the time it was the only "pancake" type of engine available outside the dollar area, and indeed the only one which had been designed for and proven in railcar use." Due to the progress of the Rimutaka Tunnel (which opened in November 1955), and the impending closure of the Rimutaka Incline, it was decided by NZR to remove the requirement for centre-rail braking and the trussed chassis required to hold the braking equipment.
Introduction The railcars were constructed under subcontract by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from Drewry. There were significant delays in delivering the railcars, with one (RM 120) damaged in transit, and used as a spare parts source for the other railcars. The first railcar was delivered in November 1954 and the last in May 1958.
They were to be cheaper than the 25 diesel-electric railcars that English Electric proposed in 1949 but had difficulty designing. They were to be built by the Drewry Car Company of Birmingham with lower-cost engines from Fiat. The Chief Mechanical Engineer Percy Roy Angus said railcar was a "first class engineering concern". Angus proposed to cancel the English Electric diesel-electric order, and to order 35 88-seater railcars instead. Ten of the railcars were to operate over the Rimutaka Incline. NZR General Manager Frank Aickin approved this order on 12 January 1950; and they were to be shipped to New Zealand from early 1952. With the opening of the Rimutaka Tunnel due to occur not long after the railcars arrived in New Zealand, the requirement for 10 railcars to be able to operate over the Rimutaka Incline was removed, so the railcars could all have lower floors and wider bodies. They were also to have reclining seats as required by the new General Manager Horace Lusty. The redesign spawned "multiple delays" and Drewry prioritised an order for Nyasaland (now Malawi). The first railcars finally arrived in early 1955.
The arrival of the first railcars was greeted with enthusiasm by local newspapers, and were described as a "new-dawn for long-distance rail travel" in New Zealand. A number of "ministerial special" promotional services were run in March 1955, and the first service operated by an 88-seater railcar was the Wellington-Gisborne daily service on 6 April 1955.
Following their introduction, the railcars suffered overheating from ballast dust and engine failure, which led to railcars running 20 to 30 minutes late every two to three days. This was despite two Fiat fitters being in New Zealand as the railcars went into service.
The railcars also suffered frequent internal fires, which led to external fires in the farmland and foliage along the tracks. Both types of fire were due to excessive hot carbon particles in the exhaust emissions. These problems were most notable in the South Island on steep West Coast railway lines and the steep Scargill and Dashwood sections of the Main North Line. The crankcases were not strong enough to absorb the power of the diesel engines that drove the railcars. These issues were considered so serious that NZR called a meeting with Drewry and Fiat in March 1957. Ten of the railcars had wrecked crankcases and blown motors. Following the meeting, a number of replacement motors and crankcases were ordered in late 1957.
Additional Fiat staff and fitters came to New Zealand from Italy and essentially rebuilt the engines and power systems of all the railcars. The rebuilding was completed in March 1959, and the Minister reported that the railcars were giving "much better service" as a result.
Second batch The second batch of 15 railcars was authorised by the government in October 1955, but cancelled in 1956 due to the unsatisfactory performance of the first batch of railcars, in particular, their high cost in repairs and excessive diversion of skilled labour for those repairs, particularly in Auckland.
In service In early December 1955, NZR ran a four-day demonstration train from Picton to Invercargill, creating much public interest. After initial trials around Wellington, the railcars were deployed on a wide variety of provincial services. In the North Island they ran: Auckland – Okaihau and Opua (starting 12 November 1956); Auckland – Te Puke (starting 8 February 1959); Auckland – Rotorua (starting 8 February 1959); Auckland – Taumarunui and New Plymouth (starting 26 November 1956); Wellington – Napier and Gisborne (starting 1 August 1955)
In the South Island they ran: Christchurch – Picton (starting 12 February 1956); Christchurch – Invercargill (starting 13 February 1956); Christchurch – Greymouth and Ross in conjunction with the Vulcan class (starting 20 February 1956).
Operation From almost the beginning the railcars faced mechanical problems, with cooling being the primary issue, along with crankcase failures and electrical fires towards the end of their lives. Although modifications were made they continued to have a reputation for unreliability throughout their career, frequently having to run with one motor isolated.
The 1950s was a period of increased prosperity and saw massive increases in the numbers of private motorcars, along with improvements to roads such as the tar sealing of main highways, and the construction of new roads such as the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Growing road traffic led to the requirement in 1956 that all railcars have headlights on at all times.
While the delay in introducing the railcars on the Rotorua route (1959) and the difficult geography of the Northland and Bay of Plenty service meant poor patronage, the railcars stabilised NZRs long-distance rail patronage at 3 million passengers annually from 1959 to 1964. But by the mid-1960s the railcars were dated, patronage fell and services became unprofitable.
Main trunk services The 1952 Royal Commission recommended railcar services on the North Island Main Trunk and replacing the daylight Mail express trains on the South Island Main Trunk. NZR were opposed to the proposals of the Royal Commission and politicians PM Holland and Rail Minister McAlpine for daylight mainline railcar services and saw the existing Limited and Mail Express's timetable as excellent and the best possible in speed, convenience and safety. The 1952 160/175 Mail Express on the Main South Line leaving Dunedin at 8:45 am and Christchurch at 9:00 am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday which supplemented the 9 stop M, W, F Christchurch Invercargill, South Island Limited and the South Express which combined the Limited and Mail on Tu, Th, Sat and replace local trains between Auckland and Hamilton, Wellington and Palmerston North, Christchurch and Ashburton. These services did not eventuate following the decision to cancel the second batch of railcars in 1956.
Replacement engines
NZR requested the calling of tenders for new engines and crankshafts for all 35 railcars plus spares for £1.05 million New Zealand pounds in July 1966. In January 1967 the Cabinet approved only replacement crankshafts to continue the railcars for five years on the Wairarapa, Wellington-Napier-Gisborne and Auckland-New Plymouth routes and to conduct trials of fast upgraded railcar service between Auckland and Hamilton (later known as the "Blue Streak" service) and Wellington and Palmerston North. At the time it was intended to scrap all railcar services in the South Island, except for Vulcans on the Picton (Vulcan railcars and summer passenger trains replaced the 88-seaters on this route from 1967 to 1968) and West Coast services.
Service cancellations From 31 July 1967 all railcar services between Auckland and Northland were cancelled, along with services from Auckland and Hamilton to Tauranga and Te Puke. The railcar service to New Plymouth was kept but was cut back to operate between New Plymouth and Taumarunui in 1971, with passengers making connections to North Island Main Trunk trains. This service lasted until 11 February 1978 when it was replaced by a carriage train. The final run of an 88-seater railcar was in 1978 from Greymouth to Christchurch. The last trip came to an ignominious end when an engine failure and fire meant that passengers had to be taken onwards from Otira by bus.
Almost all cancelled trains were replaced by New Zealand Railways Road Services buses.
Withdrawals By 1971, 10 of the original 35 railcars had been withdrawn, due to engine problems or collisions with motor vehicles.
In 1976 it was announced that no more railcars would receive major overhaul works, and they would be withdrawn from service as they wore out. Although the remaining services were to areas not well served by road, the mechanical condition of the railcars meant that by the mid-1970s replacement was becoming urgent. By 1978, the only remaining railcars in NZR service were the Silver Ferns.
Blue Streaks