7RM

ID/Name: 7RM
Type:  Railmotor
Description: 102hp Walker Rail Car
Built: 1949
Status: In Storage

SERVICE HISTORY
7RM entered service in 1949 and was part of the order of twelve 102hp railcars from Walker Bros. in Wigan England, with the power units and controls being shipped out from the UK and the car bodies built locally by Martin and King in Malvern with the finished units being assembled at Newport Workshops.

These were intended to replace the remaining wooden bodied railmotors from the 1920s and as an alternative to steam hauled mixed trains on the more lightly used branchlines. By the beginning of the 1960s many of these services had been withdrawn as they had been marginal at best when taken over by the 102 hp units.

This now saw them relegated to just a handful of lines, with many being used to transport track gangs to and from worksites. Their inability to tow a trailer due to their low power saw them limited in use, although through the 1970s they would occasionally substitute for a 153hp unit on services Nyora - Wonthaggi, Frankston - Mornington and Melbourne – Mansfield, along with services to Seymour.

PRESERVATION JOURNEY
By 1978, all 102hp units had been withdrawn and for many years 7RM sat at Newport Workshops having been purchased by the Victorian Goldfields Railway at Maldon. In the meantime, all other units were scrapped.

It was eventually moved by road to Maldon in 1991 and remained there until 2007 when it was deemed surplus to their requirements and sold to Daylesford Railway, thus competing our collection of Walker railcar vehicles. As they had been planned only as a stop gap measure and built for a service life of just 10 to 15 years, it has deteriorated significantly and requires a major rebuild.

CURRENT STATUS
Stored

FUN FACT
Once done so it will be returned to 1949 livery of blue and silver, where it earned the nickname on the Tallangatta service of the ‘Bluebird’.