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American Suburban Carriage
End platform car HFA 1032 stored at Broadmeadow Loco Depot.
Interior of HFA 1171 at Broadmeadow Loco Depot.
Manufacturer	Clyde Engineering (270) Ritchie Brothers (133) Hudson Brothers (141) C.G Hudson (18) John Morrison (68) Australasian Engineering & Rolling Stock Co. (20) Carriage and Wagon Works, Eveleigh (5) Jackson and Sharp (USA) (2) Gilbert, Bush and Co. (USA) (2)
Constructed	1877 - 1912
Number built	659
Operators	New South Wales Government Railways Public Transport Commission
Specifications
Car length	49 ft 7 in (15.11 m)
Width	8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
Height	12 ft 9+1⁄2 in (3.90 m)
Weight	17 to 22 tonnes (depending on type)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The American Suburban Carriage are a type of passenger carriage that were built for the New South Wales Government Railways

History

The American Suburban Carriages were built between 1877 and 1912 by a number of manufacturers with timber frames and truss sided body work. Due to the truss bodywork, it was difficult to cut doors in the sides of the body so doors at either end of the cars were provided with covered platforms to allow access to the carriages. They became the most numerous group of carriages built for any Australian railway system with a total of 659 carriages built. A further 196 carriages, known as Lucy Suburban Carriages were constructed between 1913 and 1916 but had steel under frames and separate bodywork. While they retained the general layout and appearance of the American Suburban Carriage, they were generally not referred to as such and 193 were later completely rebuilt for use in Electric train stock in the 1920s.

The American Suburban Carriages were built primarily as suburban passenger carriages for the Sydney network. Following the electrification of the Sydney network in the 1920s and 1930s, most carriages were converted for use on longer distance services, whilst others were transferred to Newcastle and Wollongong for continued suburban service or to country branch lines. The last examples were withdrawn in the mid-1970s.

Preservation

A number of these carriages have been preserved. Examples are held at the Canberra Railway Museum, Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum, Lachlan Valley Railway, NSW Rail Museum and the Valley Heights Rail Museum.

References

1. Carriage, HFA1171

Further reading

• Cooke, David; et al. (2003). Coaching Stock of the NSW railways Volume 2. Eveleigh Press. ISBN 978-1-876568-01-6.

• Railway coaches of New South Wales