Walker railmotor

The final fleet included 13x 102 hp (76 kW) engine/driving units 1-13RM and 16x 153 hp (114 kW) engine/driving units 20-35RM which looked similar; these shared 27x trailing units each mounted on only one bogie, and attached semi-permanently to the associated motor unit, leaving one motor unit of each type spare. The trailing units were not identified normally when in service, but some correspondence notes individual identities No.100 to No.111 (or No.101 to No.112[4]) and No.220 to No.234. This was marked on a small plate on the passenger/driver door of cabs.

The passenger units were all identical with room for 18 1st class and 22 2nd class seated passengers plus 2 tons luggage, except for 100, 104 and 220, which had 18+27 seats and room for only 1.27 tons of luggage; their tare weight was a ton less than the rest of the fleet.

Newsrail April 1982 records the small-van units as "11, 12 and 20", and coupled to 3RM as of 8 June 1976, and 31RM as of 1 January 1977.[5]

Separate to the paired units, railmotors 80-92RM consisted of two driving/sitting units, one either side of the power unit that gave its identity to the full consist. Originally, 80-91RM were in service and 92RM was spare without attached driving/passenger units.

One unit in each pair was fitted with seating for 38 1st class passengers, and the other had 56 2nd class passengers, for a total of 94 seats. Each was also capable of holding a single ton of luggage, the train crew only were permitted to walk through the centre motor unit engine room.

Unlike the 120 hp (89 kW) and 153 hp (114 kW) variants, the driving/passenger units of the 280 hp (209 kW) series were classed A880-A891 for the 1st class units, and B880-B891 for the 2nd class units. While possible, there's no reason to assume that the sets were broken up or shuffled around, besides the central motor section.

To go with the Walker railmotors, sixteen trailer cars were built. The first were delivered as class RMT, numbers 50 and 51; they were reclassed to MT in 1949, and further deliveries brought the class up to 64MT.

Each was mounted on two bogies with no driving stands, so they required a runaround at terminal stations. Stylistically, they matched the 102 hp (76 kW) and 153 hp (114 kW) railcars, and were a little shorter than the 280 hp (209 kW) type.

Each trailer had capacity for 16 1st, 22 ^2nd seated passengers and 2 tons of luggage, except 55MT fitted with 38 2nd-class seats instead of a mixture.

Like the motors, these trailers were not fitted with standard couplings so special arrangements had to be made when it was necessary to move one of the trailers with a normal locomotive.

Each unit was originally painted in all-over royal blue, with silver roofs, striping and highlighting. After the first of the B class diesels was delivered, the Walkers then in service were repainted, with gold replacing the silver. Over time, the roofs were repainted blue to hide grime, and the logos and striping were made simpler. To improve visibility at level crossings, the cars had thin orange stripes added in the 1950s, followed by a wide orange "dayglo" band over the top of the yellow stripe below window level. Dayglo was designed to look fairly normal in daylight, but to become reflective at night. These stripes were removed from 1968.

A number of internal themes were used, with some cars having ivory ceilings and green and brown walls; others had blue ceilings with brown walls. All cars were fitted with seats upholstered in brown leather.

By 1963, the Walkers had settled into a pattern with a number of routes.

The 102 hp Walkers typically ran between:

• Morwell - Mirboo North
• Ararat - Hamilton
• Swan Hill - Piangil
• Castlemaine - Maryborough
• Benalla - Yarrawonga
• Ballarat - Ararat
• Nyora - Wonthaggi
• Horsham - Goroke
• Kerang - Koondrook
• Ouyen - Pinnaroo and
• Numurkah - Cobram

The 153 hp Walkers typically ran between:

• Traralgon - Maffra
• Ballarat - Linton
• Echuca - Balranald
• Ararat - Hamilton
• Frankston - Mornington
• Ballarat - Ballan
• Bendigo - Deniliquin
• Echuca - Kyabram "School Train", with three trailers.
• Lilydale - Healesville
• Melbourne - Seymour
• Dimboola - Serviceton
• Bendigo - Cohuna
• Wallan - Heathcote
• Lilydale - Warburton and
• Melbourne - Mansfield

The 280 hp Walkers typically ran between:

• Ararat - Portland
• Melbourne - Werribee
• Melbourne - Leongatha
• Melbourne - Daylesford
• Melbourne - Woomelang
• Melbourne - Wonthaggi and
• Geelong - Ballarat
• Frankston - Stony Point

Some of these rosters required multiple units.

Walker Railcar at Romsey

35RM with unit no.224 was the first to be scrapped, on Thursday 15 October 1970. Scrapping then continued at a fairly easy pace until 1977, when VicRail decreed that branch lines in general were to be closed, rendering the units without a purpose. As such, 102 hp overhauls were stopped, with failed units being held awaiting scrapping instead. The same procedure applied to 153 hp and 280 hp units from April the next year.

4RM was the last 102 hp unit in service, withdrawn in December 1978; it survived longer because its engine unit had been replaced with a General Motors unit at some stage in its life, permitting a 50 mph maximum speed and allowing it to closer match the timetables applicable to the higher-horsepower units.

Withdrawals of the larger units accelerated, and by the end of 1979 only 22, 32, 82, 85 and 91RM were still in service. The latter two of that list were withdrawn next; 85RM suffered a bearing failure and continued on to Ballarat North Workshops on one engine; however, its body condition was deemed too poor to be worth repairing, so it was transferred to Newport Workshops and was stored there. 82RM was the last of the 280 hp units to go, after running an 8:00 Melbourne to Woodend and return trip on 17 September 1980.

32RM ran with 56MT through to November 1980, when the engine was withdrawn on account of a much needed overhaul (which was never completed by VicRail). 22RM and 64MT stayed in service, usually running the 9:11 am Melbourne to Leongatha and return trip on weekdays, occasionally forming a Sunbury trip or two after arriving back in Melbourne. On Saturdays the unit pair would run on the Werribee shuttles, and occasionally to either Bacchus Marsh or Seymour as railmotor shortages dictated. but eventually, the gearbox failed and the unit was withdrawn following its return from Leongatha on 1 April 1981.

Weico has produced whitemetal kits for the 102 hp and 153 hp Walker Railmotors and trailers.

In 2011, Precision Scale Models released a range of Walker 102 hp and 153 hp railmotors in brass, styled for eras 1950-1955 in blue and silver, 1955-1965 in blue and gold with gold roof, and 1965-1980 in blue and gold with blue roof.[8][9] The models were priced at around $1,095 each, and fitted with fully lit, populated interiors and DCC. Trailers were available in packs with 153 hp railmotors, for a total of $1,695. It is known that the series included 102 hp Motor 4RM in blue/gold with gold roof.

Trainbuilder announced a series of brass 102 hp and 153 hp Walker railmotors, to retail at $1175 per Railmotor, or $1695 each for Railmotor plus trailer. Numbers include 1RM or 21RM+50MT with silver roof; 4RM, 7RM, 22RM+52MT, 25RM, 29RM, 31RM, 32RM+56MT with yellow roof, and 6RM, 10RM, 11RM, 23RM+61MT, 27RM, 30RM, 30RM+62MT, 32RM, 33RM, 34RM with blue roof. The range does not include motors 20, 24, 26, 28, 35RM or trailers 51, 53-55, 57-60, 63 or 64MT.[10]

Auscision Models released plastic ready-to-run models of the 280 hp Walker in August 2013.,[11][12] retailing for $395.00 each. Models included 86RM in blue and silver; 84RM in blue and gold with gold roof, and 82RM, 88RM and 91RM in era-appropriate variants of blue and yellow with blue roof.