A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SYDNEY SUBURBAN ELECTRIC ROLLINGSTOCK with references to the Minimodels suburban HO scale models.

The carriages are divided into two main groups- motors and trailers and these may be subdivided again into wooden and steel motors and wooden and steel trailers. The trailers can be further divided into those with driver’s compartments and those without.
On the 1st March 1926 the first electric train ran between Sydney and Oatley and the service for sometime thereafter was partly electric and partly steam until sufficient stock was equipped to give a full electric service. In the early days of electrification some motor cars were not fitted with control gear (or driver’s compartments) and this was responsible for certain restrictions in marshalling, inasmuch as such cars could only be placed in the centre of the train. They were known as “non-control” cars and their numbers were prefixed by the letter “N”. Wooden non-control cars were numbered N3501 onwards and steel, N3601 onwards.
Wooden and steel motors with control compartments were numbered C3000 onwards and C3101 onwards respectively, and this explains why the letter “C” precedes the number on a motor car, instead of the more obvious and orthodox “M”.

Wooden Motors. (Minimodels will be producing these cars in late 2010) - known as Bradfield Motor cars.

Steel Motor Cars
LEEDS FORGE CARS (Original Suburban cars built by Minimodels in the 80s and a second batch in the 90s) – these coaches were first built by the Leeds Forge Co. of Leeds, England in 1924 who contributed 50 cars which are numbered C3101 – C3150.

“CLYDE” TYPE “STANDARD” POWER-CARS C3251 – 3440 (The latest batch of Minimodels suburban cars received in January 2010) - These cars were constructed during 1928-29 to cater for extensions to Sydney’s electrified suburban network, which by 1929 had reached Parramatta, Milsons Point to Hornsby via North Shore, Hornsby via Strathfield, Liverpool via Granville & Regents Park, Bankstown via Sydenham and the Illawarra line to The National Park. They were divided into two contract groups:
C3251 – 3300 Built at Walsh Island Dockyard, Newcastle
C3301 – 3440 Built at Clyde Engineering Co. Granville

TULLOCH 1940 CARS (Minimodels will be producing these cars in model form in late 2010) - The 1940 cars built by Tulloch Phoenix Ironworks Pty Ltd, Rhodes in 1940.
· C3453 – 3476 (23 cars)
The 1940 cars were built with inferior quality steel due to premium steel used for the
Second World War effort. These cars were prone to rust in later years, especially on the lower half of the exterior roofs, which received additional sheathing.

TULLOCH 1950 CARS (Produced by Minimodels in December 2008) - These cars were built to cater for increased capacity of Sydney’s electric suburban fleet. One notable feature is the large entrance vestibules and longitudinal seating in the end compartments to cater for more peak-hour standees.
As a result, the main saloon of theTulloch single-deck cars has one less window compared to the Standard cars’ main saloon (six windows as opposed to seven).

1950 cars built by Tulloch Ltd, Rhodes between 1950 & 1957
C3477 – 3479 (3 cars) Small guard’s compartment like 1940 power-cars, built in 1950.
C3480 – 3526 (46 cars) Large guard’s compartment
T4567 – 4671 (105 cars)
D4057 – 4060 (4 cars) Converted from trailer cars T4571, 4578, 4591 & 4593 in 1967.
Renumbered to D4675 – 4678 in 1976.

The above information was compiled from Notes by Roy Howarth and Articles by Mr.L.A.Clark with much thanks.