CityRail C set

C Set
C Set 13 speeding past Bardwell Park station
Upper deck of a C set
In service	1986 – present
Manufacturer	A Goninan & Co.
Constructed	1986–1987
Number built	56 carriages, 14 sets
Formation	4, 6 and 8 car (two 4 car sets)
Capacity	876 seated (8 car set - 104 in driving cars, 115 in trailer cars)
Operator	RailCorp as the product group CityRail
Specifications
Car length	20.385 m (66 ft 11 in)
Width	3.036 m (10 ft 0 in)
Height	4.368 m (14 ft 4 in)
Weight	43 tonnes
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The C set is a class of electric multiple unit operated by CityRail in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The C set carriages were built in 1986-87 by A Goninan & Co., and were ordered due to delays in the design work of the Tangara project. The carriage design is based on the K sets.

Design

The C set is a stainless steel double deck train which operates on CityRail's suburban routes. These were the first suburban trains in the CityRail fleet to be fitted with chopper control (hence the 'C' set designation), which gives the train smoother acceleration. Gate turn-off thyristors were used to control power to the traction motors, hence allowing for smoother acceleration. Following the success of the implementation of chopper control, these features were later installed on the Tangara and later V set cars. These were the first cars to have an electronic destination display board, replacing the old red-and-white line lights.

These carriages were also the first on the suburban network to feature fixed seating (originally was fabric, but has since been replaced with vinyl). This proved to be unpopular, but despite this fixed seating was also used on the suburban Tangara cars. These cars also featured manually-opening doors, as it was feared that frequent stopping would cause the loss of air-conditioning efficiency. These concerns turned out to have no effect, and the push-buttons on the doors have since been removed.

The C set is distinguished externally by a fibreglass molding mounted on the front of the motor carriage. This fibreglass molding was originally white with orange and red stripes on the lower portion, known as the candy livery of the State Rail Authority. Car C3596 was the only motor car to have its Candy stripes on its front repainted CityRail blue and yellow prior to its "Citydecker" refurbishment in 1998. The chopper cars are amongst the heaviest in the suburban fleet, with the motor cars weighing 52 tonnes.

The electrical and physical similarities between these cars and the Tangara cars can be attributed to the design process. The C sets were ordered to fill a rollingstock shortage while the Tangara fleet was still under development. As a result, the C sets served as a test platform for many of the new technologies and features introduced in the Tangaras.

Delivery

The order was for 56 cars:

Motor Cars - C3581-C3608

Trailer Cars - T4247-T4274

These were split into 14 4-car trains.

In service

The chopper cars were originally known as the K sets and for a while when they entered service originally, they ran together with the earlier force-ventilated cars (then known as R set). This however caused problems as force-ventilated cars were fitted with camshaft control and this caused some "jerking" while the train was accelerating.

When the CityRail fleet was reorganised in the 1990s, the R set designation was given to the older non air-conditioned six-car sets, while the force-ventilated cars were given the K set designation. In turn, the chopper cars were remarshalled into six-car sets and was given the C set target. From 2001, the C sets were once again operating as 4 and 8 car sets. Since late 2006, a 6 car C Set has been operation. This is due to car T4262 being seriously damaged by an arson attack at Villawood in October 2006 and has now returned to service.

As of October 2005, all C-Sets are operating on Sector 2 and maintained at Flemington maintenance depot (as indicated by the blue target plate). C sets operate on the following lines:

• Bankstown Line: Town Hall to Lidcombe / Liverpool
• Inner West Line: Museum to Liverpool via Regents Park
• Airport and East Hills Lines: Town Hall to Macarthur via Airport
• South Line: Museum to Campbelltown via Granville
• Olympic Park Line: Lidcombe / Olympic Park
• Cumberland Line: Blacktown to Campbelltown
• Carlingford Line : Clyde to Carlingford

Image Gallery

• 

  The C-Set piloted fixed seating, which was implemented in suburban Tangaras.

• 

  The Vestibule

• 

  Stairs leading to upper and lower decks from the vestibule

See also

• CityRail

External links

• CityRail
• C set technical drawings and specifications

Further reading

Beckhaus, John; Halgren, Stephen (2007), Sydney's Electric Trains, Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division, ISBN 978 0 9757870 8 3