Railmotors and Railcars in Tasmania
Railway administrations all over the world have always been interested in cutting costs and those who were in charge of the railways in Tasmania were no different.
So when it came to moving small numbers of passengers around the state both the government railways and the private railway companies were early adopters of railmotors and railcars.
One of the earliest railcars to be seen in Tasmania was this Berliot four-wheeler bought by the Emu Bay Railway for use on its private line that ran southwest from Burnie. By 1960 it had been sold to a sawmiller in Zeehan who was still using it to transport workers to his mill.
One of the earliest railmotors operated by the Tasmanian Government Railways was this unit … note the unusual wheel arrangement.
When it had outlived its usefulness as a people carrier it was converted to this maintenance vehicle. The Australian Standard Garratt in the background is an indication that this this unit was still in service well into the 1940s.
Most Tasmanian Government Railmotors were classified ‘DP’ and DP7 was another unusual design. Once again, notice the unusual wheel arrangement on a railmotor that was obviously intended for more busier lines than the earlier railmotor.
All images are used with the permission of the National Archives and come from negatives held in the Archives.