2393 - PHA class power van

PHA class power van

Built: 1984

Builder: A Goninan & Co.

Current status: Static display

The PHA power vans were introduced in 1984, as a replacement for the 1949-built PHS power vans on long-distance, air-conditioned trains in New South Wales, primarily on the North Coast Line. Like the 1960s-era Southern Aurora cars, they were built from stainless steel.

The PHA vans were used mainly with the steel-bodied HUB/RUB air-conditioned cars of the late 1940s, but were often in the company of fellow stainless-steel FAM sleeping cars. They were a common sight on the Brisbane Express and Gold Coast Motorail, but were also seen on the Canberra Express on occasion.

The PHA power vans consist of three sections: a large luggage compartment, a kitchenette/sitting room with toilet facilities for the guard, and a generator room equipped with three diesel generators.

The generators were originally all supercharged Detroit V8s, with No 1 and 2 engines being replaced in 1996 with Cummins turbo charged 6 cylinder engines. The Detroit produced 125kW while the Cummins were capable of 65 kW each - each Cummins was capable of supplying a 14 car air-conditioned train, with the other two generator sets as backup supplies. When the Southern Aurora commenced operation in 1962 it made use of the smaller two engined PHN power vans.