Taitset
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[EARLY VIDEO] Consists & Car Types
🕑 Added 2024-06-23 09:10:06 +0000 UTCHi everyone! This video is a bit of a dive into the different types of carriage used within Melbourne suburban trains, and how we ended up with the standard sets of cars we use today. A lot of this is stuff that enthusiasts will already know, but I've tried to make it a bit more aimed at explaining the basic concepts of multiple unit operation to a more general audience. Simultaneously, it's also extremely nerdy and detailed. I think I was inspired towards making this a couple of years ago when I was walking along with my dad, he saw a 6 car X'trap and said "hey look, that train is two trains stuck together." It's one of those things that I've always thought is obvious, but not necessarily to the casual observer. This video contains some new 'small train' graphics which Alexander and I have whipped up using various methods.
Hope you enjoy it!
![[EARLY VIDEO] Consists & Car Types](https://img10.patrefans.com/storage/11/bx/xu/563145-019e8a7f-6cf2-76b3-ba95-bfddc35695cf.jpg)
Comments
Taitset
Interesting! From what I can tell the flyover was built some time in the early 60s, but the triple track beyond East Camberwell wasn't done until 1971, so it would have made sense for all Ringwood trains to use 2/3 at Camberwell, leaving 1 for the shuttle. Just not as convenient for passengers!
Taitset
Happy birthday!
Alex Elliott
What a fantastically informative video to drop the night before my birthday. You've made my week. Well done Martin!
Bryan A.
... I seem to remember that in the 60's at Camberwell, Platform 1 was used exclusively for the old Alamein Tait set running both Up and Down. This meant you had to use the footbridge if you came Down on a Lilydale or Belgrave train from the city and wanted to use the Alamein line... Maybe the Down flyover hadn't been built yet?
Taitset
Thankyou! The parcels vans were CM, 'C' being the standard code for guards van more broadly across the VR. I've never actually seen one of their timetables, but they were known for very fast running.
Bryan A.
Excellent work, Martin, fascinating! I never realised we had "D" cars on the Tait sets! What was the designation of the wacky Parcels cars that used to streak about? I'm guessing they had their own timetables slid into the overall nightmare but their dwell times seemed to vary as well as not necessarily stopping all stations...
Taitset
That is a really excellent memory! I explained all this to my partner while putting this video together, I'll have to ask her about it in a few years time and see if she remembers. :)
Taitset
Ah interesting, that's a pretty unusual way of doing it!
Matt Austin
Thank you Martin, this is exactly my brand of nerdery! Given that my knowledge stopped when I moved to NSW in 1996, it's fascinating to see what has changed ; I appreciate the chance to get a better understanding of how things have changed in the intervening years. No matter what new developments take place, the Tait will always remain the best train in the world! When I was working to complete the Team-ALCO Tait pack for MS Train Sim in 2010, my then 15 year old stepdaughter watched with amused interest. Poor kid, she suffered through my explanation of block and unit operation. I thought nothing of it until I bought an Auscision seven-car Tait set in 2022 and she asked me if I was going to take three of them off after the morning peak! That's some memory!
Bec O'Neill
A great watch - almost all that info was new to me and having grown up in Sydney it was nice to have some content from there. If my memory serves me well, interurban services to Newcastle used to divide at Gosford with the front four being express and the rear stopping all stations. I never caught that service so I’d be keen to know how efficient the process was. I always enjoyed hearing the lengthy announcement explaining the process at Hornsby
Charles
deliciously nerdy. thanks for another brilliant explainer! smashing that replay button.
