Commonwealth Engineering
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 | |
_at_Comeng,_Granville_1964.jpg) Commonwealth Railways carbon steel sleeper cars at the Comeng Granville workshops | |
| Industry | Engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 |
| Defunct | 1990 |
| Fate | Acquired by ABB Transportation |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | |
| Products | Railway rolling stock |
| Parent | Australian National Industries |
Commonwealth Engineering, often shortened to Com-Eng, later known as Comeng [/ˈkɒmɛndʒ/ KOM-enj], was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams.
History
[edit]Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engineering, was founded in 1921, in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown, as a body builder for custom motor cars. It went bankrupt in the Great Depression, and was reformed as Waddingtons Body Works and the main factory was moved to Granville, after a fire in the main workshop. The Government of Australia took control of the company during World War II as the company was in serious financial difficulties but had many government orders in its books. The government purchased a controlling stake in the company in 1946 and changed the name to Commonwealth Engineering.[1]
In 1949 a factory was established in Rocklea, Queensland. This was followed in 1952 by a plant in Bassendean, Western Australia and in 1954 by another in Dandenong, Victoria. Another factory was established in Braemar, NSW in 1973, as Mittagong Engineering.[2] This was established not only to take some of the workload off the Granville plant but to potentially replace it.
In June 1957, the government sold its shares. In November 1982 Comeng was taken over by Australian National Industries.[citation needed]
The Granville factory closed in 1989 and has been demolished.[citation needed] The site, which was situated between the Great Western Highway and Main Western railway line west of Duck River, has been replaced with new developments including high-rise housing and light industries.[citation needed]
In 1990, the Dandenong plant was sold to ABB (later Bombardier Transportation, now Alstom),[3][4] while the Bassendean facility was sold to A Goninan & Co.
Buses
[edit]_bus_1877_(GSU_378)_1947_Albion_Venturer_CX19_Comeng,_2009_Glasgow_Vintage_Vehicle_Trust_open_day.jpg)
Australian Capital Territory
[edit]- 60 Canberra Bus Service AEC Reliance 470s
- 30 Canberra Bus Service AEC Swift 505s
New South Wales
[edit]Victoria
[edit]- 50 AEC Regal IIIs
Western Australia
[edit]Leyland OPSU1/1s
Diesel locomotives
[edit]
New South Wales
[edit]- 8 BHP Port Kembla D1 class diesel locomotives
- 6 442 class diesel locomotives
- 10 70 class diesel hydraulic locomotives
- 50 80 class diesel electric locomotives
- 15 XPT power cars
Queensland
[edit]- 1 Mount Isa Mines 302 class diesel-hydraulic locomotive
- 1 Mount Isa Mines 305 class diesel-hydraulic locomotive
- 7 DL class locomotives for Innisfail Tramway operations
Western Australia
[edit].JPG)
- 1 MRWA E class locomotive
- 10 WAGR B class locomotives
- 11 Westrail N class diesel locomotives
- Alco 636 M636 diesel locomotives for Hamersley Iron
- 21 Alco 636 diesel locomotives for Mount Newman Mining
- 12 Alco 636 diesel locomotives for Robe River Mining
Electric locomotives
[edit]New South Wales
[edit]Queensland
[edit]- 18 3100 class electric locomotive
- 68 3200 class electric locomotive
Diesel multiple units
[edit]
New South Wales
[edit]Queensland
[edit]South Australia
[edit]Western Australia
[edit]Tasmania
[edit]- 6 Tasmanian Government Railways DP class railcars
India
[edit]- Numerous diesel railcars for Indian Railways[5]
Electric multiple units
[edit]
New South Wales
[edit]- 80 W set Sydney suburban carriages
- 80 U set Intercity carriages
- 359 S set Sydney suburban carriages
- 246 V set Intercity carriages
- 11 Skitube electric carriages
Victoria
[edit]
Carriages
[edit]
Commonwealth Railways
[edit]Long Island Rail Road
[edit]- 10 C1 bilevel cars (design only; built by Tokyu Car Corporation)
New South Wales
[edit]Queensland
[edit]Trams and light rail
[edit]
New South Wales
[edit]Victoria
[edit]Hong Kong
[edit]- 70 MTR Phase I Light Rail Vehicles 1988
References
[edit]- ↑ Dunn 2006.
- ↑ Dunn 2010.
- ↑ "Here & There". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin (633). Australian Railway History: 176. July 1990.
- ↑ "ASEA Brown Boveri". Continental Railway Journal (84): 451. December 1990.
- ↑ The Indian Railcar Contract Adam, Eric Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December 1989 pp285-291
Bibliography
[edit]- Dunn, John (2006). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 1: 1921-1955. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 1877058424.
- Dunn, John (2008). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 2: 1955-1966. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1877058738.
- Dunn, John (2010). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 3: 1967-1977. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781877058905.
- Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 4: 1977-1985. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781922013514.
- Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 5: 1985–1990. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-922013-52-1.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Commonwealth Engineering at Wikimedia Commons
- Engineering companies of Australia
- Defunct locomotive manufacturers of Australia
- Defunct rolling stock manufacturers of Australia
- Australian companies established in 1921
- Australian companies disestablished in 1990
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1921
- Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1990
- Former Commonwealth Government-owned companies of Australia
