Wickham Type Fours

Wickham Type 4's served on the Commonwealth Railways (South Australia), Silverton Tramway (NSW) , CSR Sugar mills in Queensland on the 2' gauge and the New South Wales Government Railways.They were most prolific with the NSWGR

The above is a Commonwealth Railways (CR) narrow gauge type 4 then in use (1986) on the Pichi Richi Railway in South Australia. CR ran them on both narrow and standard gauge, and also ran a heavier inspection vehicle (Type 18) on standard gauge. The Type 4's were issued with a J.A.P. air cooled engine (~600cc, dry sump, magneto ignition, crank start), but there were not as robust as the Fairmont two stroke engines. Very similar JAP engines, and modern copies, where used and are apparently still used in speedway motorcycles.

Likewise, the Wickham cars themselves were not as robust as the Fairmont units, experiences problems with wheels (many later ran the Fairmont 14" wheel) and wheel bearings (the Type 4's had ball bearings, and were not able to cope with lateral thrust as well as the Fairmont roller bearings). The rear gearbox, with a high-low:forward-reverse function were also prone to stripping.

GMR have a page on the Type Fours. This gives a great background to the NSW experience.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that whilst the J.A.P. was a quality engine, it was difficult to work on, and when not properly tuned a real beast to run. In their later years, the NSWGR had difficulty sourcing big end roller bearings. Cars and parts were moved around to keep the JAP's running.

The NSWGR replaced many with a Wisconsin AELND/S12D single cylinder and a hydraulic drive to minimise this problem. The modification, it has been suggested, was not that successful.See here for some pics of a modified Type 4.

A few (of the SA cars) have been preserved by heritage groups, whilst there are numerous NSWGR cars in private ownership.

Only one of two Type Fours (7137 and 7138) from Western Australia is known to still exist. Records suggest that there were two delivered to the Agent General. They ended up with the WAGR, but could have been built for the Midland Railway.

J.A.P. was the abbreviation for John Allan Prestwich, a British motor manufacturer commonly known for older motor bike motors!

Uploaded April 20 2004 Updated October 1, 2005

© Nic Doncaster