South Australian Railways Redhen railcar

Class of Australian railcar / diesel multiple unit

The Redhen railcars (originally, Red Hen) was the nickname given to the 300 and 400 classes of diesel hydraulic railcars designed by the South Australian Railways and built at its Islington Railway Workshops between 1955 and 1971. The railcars, which operated in Adelaide suburban service until 1996, remain a nostalgic part of South Australian memory. Some continue to be operated by the SteamRanger Heritage Railway, the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide and other railway preservation entities.

When first introduced, all the 300 class Redhens were formed as 3 car consists, comprising an 820 or 860 class trailer sandwiched between two powered 300 class railcars. In peak hours, two sets were coupled together to form 6 car trains. On rare occasions, at times of heavy traffic demand, trains of Redhens could be up to nine cars long. Instead of building trailer cars to work with the 300 class cars, the South Australian Railways chose to convert existing rolling stock. To operate with 300 to 347, five 800 class and nineteen 850 class carriages were converted, becoming the 860 class. These steel cars had been built at Islington Railway Workshops between 1944 and 1946 as part of a plan to electrify Adelaide's suburban railways. The exercise was not successful and no more were modified. The Superchooks saw only limited passenger service and often 2301 2302 was sandwiched in between two 400 class Redhens. They were withdrawn in 1992.

All thirteen of the 820 class trailers were retired by December 1976. The corresponding 300 class Redhens were then coupled to a 400 class railcar to form 2 car trains (designated 300/400 class). In 1987/88 the State Transport Authority introduced the first of its new fleet of 3000 class railcars, which were intended to replace the Redhens. As more 3000 class were delivered through the early 1990s, mass withdrawals of Redhens commenced and they were gradually restricted to operating only during weekday peak hours. This was especially the case when driver only operation (DOO) was introduced in the early 1990s. The manual sliding doors made Redhens unsuitable for DOO and guards had to be retained to supervise passenger boarding and alighting. By January 1996, only 16 remained in service, confined to peak hour Gawler, Outer Harbor and Tonsley services. The last Redhens in service were 428 and 436.

The first Redhens to be preserved were 303, 328, 329, 333, 338, 354, and trailers 877 and 881 which were moved to the Barossa Valley Junction Motel at Tanunda in 1986. 329 and 354 were moved to Blewitt Springs, now used as accommodation known as "redhens". 333 went to the Two Wells area, while trailer car 877 was moved to Hallett and currently serves as accommodation for hikers on the Heysen Trail.

The Superchook set consisting of 2301, 2501 and 2302 were moved to The South Gippsland Tourist Railway (SGR) in Victoria in 1994 and operated there for a few years. In 1995, railcars 311, 366, 373, 402, 416, and 436 were also moved to the SGR. In December 1999, railcars 436, 366, 373, 2302, trailer 2501, 2301 and 416 were transferred from storage at Nyora to Bendigo for a new tourist operation named Centrail, while 311 and 402 remained at the SGR operating services. 436 was stripped of parts and scrapped, having suffered an arson attack during its time at Bendigo. 366 was moved back to Bendigo in 2015. Upon closure of the SGR in 2016, 311 and 402 were originally given to Mornington Railway, but they changed hands again in August 2020, when they were privately acquired with the intention to restore them in South Australia. The full set was last used in 2006 for the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Adelaide Port Adelaide line, with 875 returning to display afterwards. 321 and 400 were used for shuttles from the museum to Adelaide Railway Station from 2013 to 2015. They have since been restricted to running on the NRM's 1 km portion of track due to the high cost of getting them accredited for running on the Adelaide Metro rail network. 875 was given to SteamRanger due to a loss of space in the museum caused by the impending extension of Adelaide Metro rail services to the site.

SteamRanger Heritage Railway restored trailer car 824 in 1985, and it was joined by railcar 412 in 1995. The transfer movement of 412 from SteamRanger's Dry Creek depot to their Goolwa depot became the last passenger train to operate between Adelaide and Victor Harbor. SteamRanger took delivery of ex Limestone Coast Railway railcars 334, 405, and 424 in 2014, as well as trailer 820 which was damaged by fire as a result of an arson attack, destroying everything but the frame and bogies. 820 has since been delivered to Strathalbyn where it remains stored. The LCR railcars and trailers were previously stored in the roundhouse at Mount Gambier. SteamRanger did not get steel trailer 874 from the LCR, which was instead scrapped. In February 2019 however, they received steel trailer 875 from the NRM, and it entered service in late 2023. In May 2023, Steamranger's 4 car Redhen set consisting of 428 824 334 & 412 derailed between Victor Harbour and Port Elliott, later in June 428 was involved in a level crossing accident at Middleton, with visible damage to the front of the railcar. 424 re entered service later that year.