NRS-15984 | Engine, Drive Train and Railmotor Vehicle History Cards

This series of cards, maintained by the Mechanical Branch, details the histories of mechanical sub assemblies such as power plants, drive train assemblies and railmotor vehicles. The cards were produced by various sections of the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office. These sections were the Rail Motor and Diesel Unit, the Diesel Traction Section and the Diesel Section. A small number of early cards relating to railmotor vehicles are attributed to the Locomotive Branch.The cards are divided into bundles according to the type of mechanical sub assembly or device. Sub assemblies described by this series include diesel generator sets, torque converters, gearbox auxiliary drives, final drives, engines, railmotor and power car vehicles. Engines are divided within the series according to manufacturer, fuel usage or function. It is noted that diesel, petrol and kerosene fuelled engines were utilised as power plants for locomotives, railmotor vehicles, power car vehicles, rail pay buses, generators and accident cranes. There are two major formats of history cards within the series. Cards from bundle [1] are concerned with Railmotor and Power Car Vehicles. Car number, code, date of trial and entry into service details are recorded at the top of the card, and information entered into the following columns:a) Trial trip - date and place;b) Service - date and place;c) Engine;d) Torque Converter;e) Final Drive;f) Bogies - numbers 1 and 2;g) Remarks.Later vehicle cards also had "reversing gearbox" and "auxiliary gearbox" columns. Railmotor vehicles involved in collisions include photographs or newspaper clippings attached to their respective history card.Cards from bundles [2] to [9] record the particular sub assembly’s serial number, type, the class of diesel unit the sub assembly or device was fitted to, and service commencement date. Information was then recorded into the following columns:a) Installed in unit number;b) Date into unit;c) Date out of unit;d) Mileage or hours run in each unit;e) Total mileage or hours;f) Reason for removal.A "remarks" column is also provided where miscellaneous information about the sub assembly or device and its specifications were recorded.Many cards include additional information such as the date of manufacture and acquisition of the sub assembly; name of supply company; order number; unit cost; reference numbers to correspondence from the Railway Commissioners and the Chief Mechanical Engineer; type of disposal enacted (conversion to components, destruction or sale); date of disposal. Where applicable cards are in numerical order within each bundle. As the bundles of cards within the series are incomplete it appears the majority of cards have not survived. Custody History:From 1955 until 2000 the State Rail Authority of New South Wales maintained an ‘in house archives’ consisting of the archival records of the Authority, its predecessor agencies and the private railway companies taken over by the government. The date ranges of the records were from 1849 until 2000. When the decision was made to close the ‘State Rail Archives’ the parts of the collection that were required as State archives were transferred to the State Records Authority of NSW. Those record series were incorporated into the State Records series system of archives control and were re-numbered.This series was formerly part of the State Rail Archives collection where it was identified as series R216. It may have been viewed in the State Rail Archives as series R216 and could have been previously cited as such in notes by researchers at State Rail Archives or in publications or unpublished works.