Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT Division)

Sitting / Buffet Car RDH 2236

RDH 2236 was built by Tulloch Ltd of Rhodes, NSW, as a RBH first class steel bodied sitting car with a buffet compartment. The body shell was completed in July 1947 and then delivered to Eveleigh Carriage Works, where it was fitted out to enter service on 30 April 1948. It was placed in Set 116, the first of four 7-car autocoupled sets, and allocated to the Newcastle Express. Originally the seating accommodation was for 23 passengers in an open saloon with a centre aisle. Seats were arranged two on one side and one on the other. There was also a compartment seating six, and this was usually reserved for Circuit Court judges or groups seeking privacy. The remainder of the carriage was occupied by the buffet area which was used to prepare food delivered to passengers at their seats. Early in 1964, the saloon seating was changed to 2+2 seats, taking passenger accomodation to a total of 36. RBH 2236 was converted and recoded to RDH in April 1979 when the six-seat compartment was eliminated, the buffet/staff amenities area extended, and daynighter seating introduced. The car saw service on many trains, including the Newcastle Express, Central West Express, North Coast Daylight Express, Intercapital Daylight, Indian Pacific and Canberra Monaro Express. The car was withdrawn from service in February 1990. Prior to its purchase by the ARHS (ACT) in 2005, the carriage had been used as a storeroom on a south coast property. It was bought to provide parts to help with restoration of another Tulloch-built car, BDS 2226.

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