NZR RM class (88 seater)
| NZR RM class Articulated 88-Seater | |
|---|---|
88-Seater railcar RM 114 at Kaikōura Railway Station during the 1960s. | |
| In service | 6 April 1955 – 22 May 1978 |
| Manufacturer | Drewry Car Co, England |
| Built at | Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co, Smethwick, UK |
| Entered service | 1955–1958 |
| Scrapped | 1978 |
| Number built | 35 |
| Number in service | 0 |
| Number scrapped | 33.5 |
| Formation | No 1 end (36 passengers & luggage compartment) articulated over a Jacobs bogie with No 2 end (52 passengers) |
| Fleet numbers | RM 100 – RM 134 |
| Capacity | 88 passengers |
| Operators | New Zealand Railways |
| Lines served | Many main and branch lines |
| Specifications | |
| Train length | 105 ft (32.00 m) total |
| Width | 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) |
| Maximum speed | 65 mph (105 km/h) |
| Weight | 63.1 long tons (64.1 t; 70.7 short tons) |
| Prime mover(s) | Two Fiat 700.040, six cylinder, horizontal underfloor, 1500 rpm naturally aspirated |
| Power output | 420 hp (310 kW) total (original) 370 hp (280 kW) (derated) |
| Transmission | Wilson 5-speed gearbox (per engine) |
| UIC classification | Bo–2–Bo |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
The NZR RM class 88-Seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classified them as RM (Rail Motor), the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were the most numerous railcars in NZR service. Their purchase and introduction saw the demise of steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains, and was part of a deliberate effort to modernise NZR passenger services at a time of increasing competition from private motor vehicles. Being diesel powered and lighter the railcars were less expensive to operate and able to maintain quicker timetables, although they became plagued with mechanical and electrical problems, with a number of the classes eventually being turned into depowered locomotive-hauled carriages and reclassified as the AC class "Grassgrubs".