Railways and Tramways of Australia

The comet

 

The Silver City Comet entered service between Parkes and Broken Hill on 27 September 1937.

 

Broken Hill in western New South Wales became known as the ‘silver city’ because of its large deposits of silver, lead and zinc, the world’s largest. A fast new train to Broken Hill was therefore named the Silver City Comet.

 

Several innovations came with the introduction of the Silver City Comet. It was the first use of diesel propulsion by the New South Wales Railways, using two 330-horsepower (246-kW) eight-cylinder diesel engines manufactured by Harland and Wolff. While existing rail motors featured engines on board the passenger carriages, the Silver City Comet had a power van with a driving cab at each end – effectively a locomotive – but dedicated to only ever hauling a single train.

 

The Silver City Comet carriages were the first in New South Wales to be air-conditioned. (Victorian Railways had introduced Australia’s first fully air-conditioned train to Mildura in July 1937.) Air-conditioning was particularly suited to the hot climate of western New South Wales where the train operated.

 

The maximum speed of the first two power cars was 80 miles per hour (129 km/h), a substantial increase over existing train services between Parkes and Broken Hill. Later power cars had a different gear ratio that restricted them to a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (113 km/h).

 

On its first passenger run the Silver City Comet reached a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Over the 72 miles (116 km) between Menindee and Broken Hill the journey time was 27 minutes less than scheduled. There was considerable praise, particularly regarding the train’s air-conditioning and the absence of dust.

 

After more than half a century of service the Silver City Comet was withdrawn in November 1989.

 

Bibliography

D Cooke, Railmotors and XPTs, Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW Division), Sydney, 1984.

I Dunn, ‘Silver City Comet’, In Australian Diesel Scene 2, Eveleigh Press, Sydney, 1994, pp 6–55.

New South Wales Railways, Introducing for the first time diesel trains, trial run souvenir booklet, 7 July 1937.

RG Preston, Time of the passenger train, second division, Eveleigh Press, Sydney, 2004.

‘Silver City Comet arrives: fast run from Menindee’, Barrier Miner, 28 September 1937, p 4.