Following the success of the 600/700
railcar sets of 1949-50, a modified version was designed to begin the dieselisation
of the Newcastle suburban services. The new units were designated
the 620 class. As suburban trains, units 621/721 to 625/725 were
built as all Second class units and coded NPF/NTF. Units 626/726
to 629/729 were intended for longer distance services and included a first
class section in the trailer car, which was therefore coded NTC.
Two further sets, 630/730 and 631/731, intended for outer Sydney suburban
working, also included the NTC composite trailer. The first six of
these sets had rectangular windows in the passenger doors, as did trailer
car 627. Motor car 627 and all cars in the remainder of these sets,
plus those in subsequent orders, which brought the total up to eighteen
sets, had circular ‘porthole’ windows in the passenger doors. The
Eureka
model therefore represents the 621/721 to 626/726 group, which entered
service between September 1961 and September 1962.
They were originally turned out in a light
Indian red, commonly (but erroneously) referred to as Tuscan red.
There was buff lining on the metal bands above and below the windows, as
well as decorative line work at the front, which carried around onto the
lower body panels. The roof was metallic silver/grey and the undergear
was black. The gutter strip was painted black and the pilot silver.
‘Car 1’ was painted near the doors of the motor car and ‘Car 2’ on the
trailer. The car numbers were painted in standard NSWGR shaded lettering
on the outside end doors, and code, car number, smoking or non-smoking
designation and class designation were placed on each side. Handrails
were polished aluminium, except for those on the car ends, which were painted
in the body colour.
Between 1969 and 1971, the all Second class
NTF trailers were converted to composite NTC type, and about this time
the paint scheme was simplified slightly by omitting the buff line above
the windows. The car numbers in the set were omitted, with simply
the word ‘Car’ beside each door, along with a bracket into which a painted
‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, etc. could be slotted.
From the early 1970s, a deeper shade of
Indian red may have been used. In the same period, the designation
‘Economy’ replaced ‘Second’, but only on composite cars. All Economy
cars bore no class markings. Thus, the 620 Power cars lacked class
markings, while the 720 Trailer car was marked ‘First’ at the outer end
and ‘Economy’ at the inner end. Photographic evidence indicates that
some power cars, however, did have ‘Economy’ markings at both ends.
From 1980, four of the 620/720 sets were
painted in the ‘Reverse’ livery with yellow ends, simplified lining and
the darker Indian red body colour. As with the earlier Indian red
scheme the trailer car was labelled ‘First’ and ‘Economy’. Of the
group modelled by Eureka, 623/723 lacked the broad yellow stripe
along the bottom of the lower side panels, while 625/725 had the stripe,
therefore Eureka will be modelling 625/725.
In 1982, a bright, new colour scheme was
introduced for locomotives and passenger rolling stock system wide.
The ‘Candy’ scheme consisted of a bright red body, with broad white and
orange stripes along the lower body side, a thin yellow stripe separating
the red from the orange, a bright silver roof and pilot, and black along
the bottom of the lower panels and on the undergear. All handrails
and lettering were white. Most, if not all, of the sets were repainted
in this scheme.
Until this time, the cars were basically
unmodified in their external appearance, although various internal and
mechanical changes were made over the years including the fitting of dual
beam headlights. One later modification, which did affect the appearance,
was the fitting of reinforced glass windscreens which projected beyond
the body line (the ‘Bug-Eyes’), however this variation will not be included
in this run.
