Australian Railway Historical Society
(ACT Division)

General Correspondence: P.O. Box 1615, Queanbeyan NSW 2620

Street Address: Queanbeyan Railway Station, Henderson Rd, Queanbeyan

Office Hours: Mon-Fri: 10am-3pm

Bookings Phone: (02) 6284 2790 Facsimile: (02) 6284 2791

Rail Motor Rides

Travel aboard a railway veteran

Fyshwick timetable

Monthly rail motor runs from the Canberra Railway Museum platform at Kingston to Fyshwick give you a taste of what travel on our longer-distance rail motor trips are like.

These short trips operate on the last Sunday of most months, at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, starting at the Museum platform. Just turn up, and - if you need to await a trip - take in some of the Museum highlights. Within a short time, you will be welcomed on board the 'Tin Hare'.

Your ride to Fyshwick and return will take about 15 minutes. The fare for this run is $4 per person (2008 price). If you would also like to browse museum exhibits, a separate entry charge applies - see our museum page.

2008 departures:

Sunday, September 28: Museum → Fyshwick & return

Sunday, October 26: Museum → Fyshwick & return

Sunday, November 30: Museum → Fyshwick & return

Other rail motor trips

A 'Tin Hare' rail motor also provides other services in the Canberra region. See:

School Holiday Rail Motor (Canberra – Bungendore, next school holidays)

Some rail motor history

'Tin Hare' is the nick-name given to the wooden-bodied rail cars introduced on the New South Wales Railways in the 1920s at around the same time that many greyhound tracks were converting to mechanical hares.

To the railway crews and passengers alike, these fast-running, self-propelled trains were the next fastest thing to the greyhound racing hares.

The name stuck with them throughout their 50 years of railway service.

A more official name for these rail cars is CPH rail motor, or 42 foot rail motors. Between December 1923 and 1930, there were 37 CPH rail motors built. There are probably now about 10 in running condition throughout NSW and the ACT.

'Tin Hares' have windows at the ends of the car which give passengers a driver's-eye view of the scenery ahead of the carriage. They have good old-fashioned cow-catchers and (for most of their working lives), roof-mounted radiators which give them their distinctive quaint appearance.

The side windows open wide, providing that nostalgic fresh air cooling.

The Society operates two of these 165hp rail motors - CPH 27 spent part of its service life operating between Cootamundra and Tumut, while CPH 37 was often the rail motor used between Moss Vale and Wollongong.