C Set Train

1986-1987 Goninan Chopper Cars

The C Set Chopper cars were constructed by Goninan in 1986 and 1987 by A Goninan & Co. at Broadmeadow. 56 carriages were built, numbered C3581-C3608 and T4247-T4274. They were in regular service from July 25, 1986 until February 26, 2021.

Retirement

In 2017, the first C set was retired due to faults with ATP systems which were installed as a trial. These systems however were taken out of the set and reinstalled in K96, which has had no issues with them.

In 2020, C4 and C10 both had incidents in 2 carriages of their sets. The 2 operational condition cars from C4 and the operational condition cars from C10 were coupled together into set C10.

Following this, the remaining C sets were progressively retired from service, starting with C12 and C13, then C14.

On February 25, C1 was uncoupled from C11 and coupled with C5, which has with C3 prior to the reshuffle. These sets were coupled together as they were to be the standby set, which will be mentioned later on.

C1 and C5 ran the final timetabled C set on February 26, 2021 on run 27-M to Campbelltown via Sydenham. However, due to delays on the day, C7 and C10 were deployed to fill in for an unavailable Waratah A Set on run 90, resulting in the final service on that day being operated by these sets instead.

Chopper to the Summit Tour

On March 6, 2021, the Sydney Electric Train Society (SETS) held a farewell tour on a C set. The train consisted of C1 and C5, and operated to Mount Victoria, followed by a trip to Fairfield, then to Hawkesbury River, with one final trip back to Strathfield.

Transfers and Scrapping

There were 5 C set scrap transfers and 1 transfer for a road haul. As of July 13, 2021, all 38 scrapped carriages were scrapped by Sell and Parker. The carriages and their transfer runs are listed below:

T191 - February 8, 2021
C3603, T4269, T4261, C3595 (C2), C3594, T4255, T4260, C3589 (C4/C10)

T191 - March 18, 2021
T4250, C3600 (C11) C3601, T4267, T4257, C3591 (C14) C3592, T4247 (C8) T4258, C3606 (C11)

These cars were scrapped in late April 2021, the final one remaining there was C3603 off of C2.

Reuse of C Set Parts

There are a few instances of parts that have been stripped from retired C sets being installed in K sets. One example is K86 which has a C set brake installed on one of its carriages. Additionally, the trial equipment from C2 was installed onto K96, which remains in use as an ATP Equipment Test Set to this day.