Brief History Of The Class.
After the introduction of nineteen 45hp AEC railmotors between 1922 and 1925, the Victorian Railways searched for an improved design of railmotor of a more substantial type with improved passenger comfort. Four vehicles of 100hp each and riding on two 4 wheel bogies were introduced in 1925-26. These were numbered 51 to 54RM. Unlike the AEC railmotors which had a drivers cab at only one end, the new railmotors had a drivers cab at each end. They were officially known as a Double Ended railmotor, but as they were powered by a Leyland engine they soon became commonly known as Leylands. As there were only 4 in the class, they were not widely traveled and spent most of their service lives at Whittlesea, Tallangatta, Cohuna and Echuca with some trips to Mansfield and Maffra. With the introduction of the Walker railcars in 1947, the Leylands were slowly withdrawn with 52 and 53 being the last in service. These two railmotors were withdrawn in July 1954.
Interesting Notes.
53RM was one of the last wooden railmotors built in Victoria.
The Leylands were the first application of roller bearing and the first double ended vehicles to be powered by an internal combustion engine in Victoria.
The VR constructed two similar railmotors for the Tasmanian Government Railways in 1925 at Newport Workshops. They entered service as LP1 and LP2. In 1938 the bodies were removed and the underframes were used to construct DP9 and DP10. The body of LP2 was sold and used as a shack for about sixty one years before being donated to the Don River Railway in June 2000. DRR hope to eventually restore the body and build a new underframe so it can return to service.
Restoration Policy
53RM was purchased in 1982 from a farm where it had been used as a shed for thirty years. At this stage it was only a body shell. Work has been done in external restoration and it has been placed on temporary bogies. 53RM is a long term restoration project as the bogies and mechanism must be constructed. When 53RM is restored, it will return to its 1936 condition, painted indian red with diagonal silver stripes on each end.
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References:
Cooper, Greg, "The History of the Don River Railway's Locomotives, Railcars & Carriages", Don River Railway, Devonport, Tasmania, 2001.
Fell, Barry & Brook, Arthur, "CHTR Rollingstock Register", CHTR, Daylesford, Victoria, 2001.
Medlin, Peter, E-mail on 19/7/2002.
Vincent, Peter, "RM - Double Ended (1925)", Victorian Railways Rolling Stock 1886 - 1996, CD-ROM, 1998
