Subscribe to download
Goldfields Railway Pullman Heavyweight (Observation Coach)

Here is the 2nd of two Goldfields coaches I've made. This one is the best alternative to car-van AL 1759 that I could think of.

AL 1759 is one of the coaches based in Waihi. The term 'car-van' is pretty much what we say in New Zealand instead of 'brake-coach'. A 'car-van' is a passenger coach that has a guard's compartment at one end.

The coach that inspired this observation car was built in the South Island, more specifically at NZR's Addington Workshops in 1931. Unlike the wooden-body coaches with open ends, AL 1759 is a 50 foot steel coach with enclosed ends.

AL 1759 was originally built as a normal passenger coach, and was used in its original form up until 1970. In that year, 1759 was re-built as a car-van and put back into service. The coach was retired in 1986, and intially displayed at the Oriental Markets in Auckland.

In 1990, AL 1759 left Auckland in favour of a new home in Waihi. Today the coach is still based on the railway, but I don't know how often it is used in passenger service.

My recommended formation for the Goldfields train in Rolling Line is thus:

DSG 3059
Open Wagon (Long)
Pullman Heavyweight (Sleeper)
Pullman Heavyweight (Observation)
Open Wagon (short)

This is meant to replicate the formation I saw on the railway one day in July 2017. On that day, the actual formation was

Baguley-Drewry 0-4-0 No. 3650
A 1358 (open-air coach)
A 1288 (wheelchair coach)
AL 1751 (car-van)
UG 79 (bike wagon)