South Australian Railways steel carriage stock
| South Australian Railways steel country passenger cars | |
|---|---|
Former SAR steel car 700BK as preserved by Steamrail Victoria | |
| In service | 1936-1998 (1970s-present day with heritage operators) |
| Manufacturer | South Australian Railways |
| Built at | Islington Railway Workshops |
| Constructed | 1936-1942 |
| Operators | South Australian Railways, V/Line, various heritage operators |
| Specifications | |
| Doors | Manual swing, 2 per side |
| Articulated sections | Rubber corridor connectors |
| Maximum speed | 115 km/h (71 mph) |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Between 1936 and 1942, South Australian Railways built 36 steel carriages at its Islington Railway Workshops. All were painted cream and green being repainted maroon and silver in the 1960s. Aside from a few written off after accidents, all passed to Australian National in March 1978.
In the early 1980s, 14 were sold to SteamAge to operate charther services out of Melbourne. In 1987, these were sold to Australian Vintage Travel and converted to standard gauge for use on the Southern Cross Express luxury train in New South Wales. After this ceased, the carriages were sold to Northern Rivers Railroad for use on its Ritz Rail tourist train on the Murwillumbah line. They were stored at Junee Locomotive Depot before moving to Casino in October 1996.
A few remained in service when Australian National's passenger operations were sold to Great Southern Rail in November 1997. Four were passed to West Coast Railway in 1994. Others were sold to SteamRanger. Today many are owned by Steamrail Victoria.
Some sources list the twenty-three 800, 850 and 860 class carriages as part of this fleet, but those are covered on the suburban trailers page.