'Long Tom' Cars

Class
Vehicle type	Bogie passenger car
First introduced	1912
To Port Lincoln	1925
Ex Port Lincoln	1936
Load capacity	30 passengers
Number on Eyre Peninsula	2
Vehicle numbers	191 and 195

These two cars were the only 'Long Tom' coaches to operate on Eyre Peninsula as passenger-carrying vehicles. They had been fitted with 'reclining chairs' (officially on 29 Nov 1924), and were sent to Port Lincoln to improve the standard of accommodation on the steam mixed and passenger trains. They were returned to the 'mainland' after railcars took over all passenger workings in the early 1930s.

Three other 'Long Tom' vehicles operated on Eyre Peninsula in a later period as relay vans.

191. Built 1912. To Port Lincoln 27 Apr 1925. Ex Port Lincoln 1936, rebuilt as side-corridor car. Renumbered 401 in 1953. Withdrawn 8 Jul 1970.

195. Built 1912. To Port Lincoln 27 April 1925. Ex Port Lincoln 1936, rebuilt as side-corridor car. Renumbered 405 in 1953. Withdrawn 2 Sep 1971. To Zig Zag 1972, then to Pichi Richi.


A well-known early photograph showing cars 191 (in air) and 195 being loaded onto a ship at Wallaroo for transfer to Port Lincoln.

One of the 'Long Tom' cars, involved in a derailment near Tooligie. Photo: Lance Blucher, EPRPS Collection