// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs New South Wales U set a classroom? No, it's just a state of learning.

U set
Set U2 at an unknown date
Interior of trailer car TF6007
Stock type	Electric Multiple Unit
In service	15 September 1958 – 1 November 1996
Manufacturer	Commonwealth Engineering
Built at	Granville
Constructed	1957–1960
Entered service	September 1958 – March 1960
Number built	40 motor cars 20 trailer cars 20 non-smoking trailer cars
Number preserved	60 carriages (as of 2017)
Number scrapped	20 carriages
Successor	G set V set
Formation	4 car sets (6, 8 and 10 Car sets in peak hours)
Fleet numbers	CF 5001–40 TF 6001–20 ETB 6021–40
Operators	New South Wales Government Railways Public Transport Commission State Rail Authority CityRail
Depot	Flemington Maintenance Depot
Lines served	Blue Mountains Newcastle Illawarra
Specifications
Car length	20.57 m (67 ft 5+7⁄8 in)
Width	2,950 mm (9 ft 8+1⁄8 in)
Height	3,920 mm (12 ft 10+3⁄8 in)
Doors	2 manual swinging doors on each side at each end of the carriage
Maximum speed	70 mph (113 km/h)
Weight	49 long tons 8 cwt (110,700 lb or 50.2 t)
Traction system	4 Metropolitan-Vickers MV222 series-wound DC traction motors per motor coach, each rated at 180 hp, semi-automatic electro-pneumatic resistance control.
Transmission	74:17 Gear ratio. Helical gears. Wheel diameter 36 inch (914mm)
Power supply	120vDC
Electric system	1,500 V DC catenary
Current collection	Single-pan diamond pantograph
Braking systems	Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co electro-pneumatic and automatic air brakes, brake blocks active on all wheels
Coupling system	automatic coupling
Multiple working	MU capable in various formations
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The U sets are a class of electric multiple unit (EMU) that were operated by the New South Wales Government Railways and its successors between September 1958 and November 1996. They were colloquially nicknamed "U Boats" after the German Submarine of the same name.

Development and delivery

The New South Wales Government Railways began planning the electrification of the Main Western line over the Blue Mountains from 1949, and with that plan in full swing by the early 1950s, called tenders for 80 cars (40 motor, 20 trailer and 20 first with buffet trailer), with the contract being awarded to Commonwealth Engineering, Granville, in 1954. The cars were fitted with two lavatorial facilities and an Ice box that dispensed Iced water.

Electric traction equipment was supplied by the Metropolitan-Vickers, Manchester and were the final electric trains in New South Wales to have their tractive power supplied from them before they liquidated in 1960.

However, before construction began the order was amended with the twenty planned first with buffet cars built as full first class seating cars, after a review of the New South Wales Government Railways conducted by American firm Ebasco Services Incorporated in the mid-1950s who recommended the change.

Had the change not been approved, these cars were going to be numbered RT6601–RT6620. These carriages would instead become first class carriages, which were given a doorway in the saloon to create both smoking and non-smoking compartment inside the carriages.

The U sets were a bit different compared to the suburban single decked trains that were delivered at the same time. They were the first EMUs in NSW to feature stainless-steel construction using technology from the Budd Company, improving train acceleration and giving the trains lower maintenance costs and a longer usable life. Additionally, they were slightly thinner than their suburban counterparts and were fitted with single reflective headlights. The U Sets started to be delivered from June 1957.

The cars were numbered as:

Total	Type	Numbers	Notes
40	2nd class motor cars	CF5001–CF5040
20	1st class trailer cars	ETB6021–ETB6040	Became normal trailers in 1974
20	2nd class trailer cars	TF6001–TF6020

In service

The first U set service with "The Fish" headboard in 1958

The first appearance took place on 22 June 1957 when cars TF6006-TF6009 were hauled by electric locomotive 4612 as part of the first official electric train to travel on the newly electrified Blue Mountains line. Normal services began on 15 September 1958 with set U1 (CF5007, TF6008, ETB6021, TF6016, CF5008, CF5005, ETB6022, TF6009 and CF5006), and all were in service by March 1960.

The U sets initially entered revenue service on 15 September 1958 this being a Sydney Terminal to Mount Victoria service which was then known as "The Fish" which first served as a nine car set but eventually was increased to ten cars for future services. Most services were made up of 4 car sets but some were 6–8 cars set during peak hours.

In 1961, a U set trailer was borrowed for the Canberra Monaro Express and Goulburn Day Train that was taken by two 1100 class railcars and was sandwiched in-between the two diesel railcar carriages. This was due to the urgency of needing new carriages for the service that they were taking and at the time only had two motor cars. This U set car would be put back into regular service with its counterparts when the 1100 trailer was built.

CF5003 with the original brown and green interior

CF5021 with a two-tone green interior

The U sets initially operated on the Main Western line as far as Bowenfels which was the limit of the electrified system at the time. This was cut back to Lithgow in 1974. As the electrified network expanded they began to operate to Gosford (23 January 1960), Wyong (April 1982), Newcastle (June 1984), Port Kembla (February 1986) and Dapto (January 1993). The U sets were supplemented by V set double deck sets from 1970.

Bob Heffron (left), Then-premier of New South Wales and Railway Commissioner Neil McCusker with a U Set at Sydney Central railway station for the inauguration of electric services to Gosford on 23 January 1960.

First class travel was abolished on 1 September 1974. This saw the removal of the word "Second" on all carriages and also allowed non-first class passengers to enjoy the benefits of non-smoking carriages for the first time.

From the mid-1970s many had their original lift-up windows replaced by Beclawat sliding windows. The interiors were originally in brown and green, but some would receive two-tone green interior repaints. The headlights would also be replaced with twin beam headlights and the original Dorman Long pantographs changed to Airmate types.

Between 1973 and 1993, some carriages were damaged in accidents beyond repair and scrapped.

Accident	Date	Carriage (s)	Aftermath
Burned while at Gosford	11 January 1973	CF5034 and ETB6033	Both cars scrapped in 1976
Damaged in Flemington shunting mishap	March 1978	CF5038 and TF6018	Both cars scrapped in August 1981
Damaged at Gosford	11 January 1982	CF5016	Scrapped on site
Damaged in Flemington shunting mishap	27 October 1983	CF5002	Scrapped at Elcar works, Chullora
Damaged in Flemington shunting mishap	25 December 1989	CF5009	Scrapped on site in May 1990
Collision with electric locomotives 8627 and 8612 at Lithgow	22 July 1993	CF5032	Scrapped on site

Official withdrawal of the sets began in 1994 as new Tangara G sets began replacing them. The first Tangara G sets entered service in June 1994 and as they were progressively put into service through to late 1995 the U sets were progressively withdrawn.

The final run of the U sets on the Main Western Line for Blue Mountains services was in late February 1996 after which they only performed revenue services on the Northern Line between Sydney and Newcastle. The very last U sets were withdrawn in early November 1996.

The final revenue service performed by a U set was on Friday afternoon 1 November 1996 – a four car set operating a Newcastle to Sydney service. The final passenger service was on set "U3" (CF5008, TF6004, TF6020 and CF5022).

The final U set to run under its own power was a Sydney Electric Train Society (SETS) Farewell tour two days later on Sunday, 3 November, 1996, performed by an eight car set targeted "U1" (CF5005, ETB6040, TF6005, CF5037, CF5019, TF6010, ETB6031 and CF5011). Many carriages would be scrapped following withdrawal, although a number of carriages have been preserved.

Preservation

Surviving motor carriage CF5003 at on display at the Junee Roundhouse Museum In 2011

In 1995, SETS would make a recommendation to CityRail for the preservation of five cars (three motor carriages and two trailers) to run for tours on their behalf. Three motor carriages that were recommended were class leader CF5001, CF5007 and CF5035, the latter of which was damaged in a collision and needed repair. This process would be prolonged by many carriages having cracks found in the under frames.

However in the end, of the three motor carriages originally recommended, only one, CF5035, was selected, with the other two motor cars being CF5015 and CF5017. The two trailers would end up being TF6013 and ETB6029. These five carriages would remain in SETS care until 1997, when SETS went on to pursue owning their own rolling stock, leaving some members who had left to form Historic Electric Traction (HET) to take up the mantel.

These carriages are planned to return into charter traffic as set "U2" bridging the gap between the target numbers of heritage suburban sets F1 and W3. Valley Heights Railway Depot and Museum has custody of ETB6039 on static display.

The Richmond Vale Railway Museum enquired eight trailer carriages. These were ETB6026, TF6001, TF6002, TF6008, TF6009, TF6011, TF6012, and TF6019. In 2017, ETB6026, TF6001 and TF6002 were damaged by bush fires which resulted in the museum's closure. The rest of their U set carriages remain in storage. All of these cars became part of the state owned heritage collection following the formation of Transport Heritage NSW in 2013.

In 1998, the Hunter Valley Railway Trust (HVRT) were sold five cars including CF5001. The others were CF5011, ETB6023, ETB6032 and CF5005. All but CF5001 were scrapped in 2013.

ETB6039 on static display at the Valley Heights Railway Museum in 2026

SETS owns six carriages with an extra five not considered part of their collection. They own motor carriages CF5003, CF5021 and CF5022 with trailers TF6010 and ETB6037 which were all purchased on 9 September 1998.

These five were stored at Goulburn before they were displaced with most ending up on an unknown property. In 2013, They purchased CF5001 off of HVRT to save the carriage from being scrapped with the rest of the formers carriages along with 46 class electric locomotive 4627.

CF5003 and CF5021 remained at Hornsby until 2009 when they went on display at the Junee Roundhouse Museum before 17 June 2018, when along with locomotives 4615 and 8606 were transferred to Lithgow by Locomotive 8230. The rest of SETS U set fleet are stored on an unknown property in Rothbury. The Glenreagh Mountain Railway has cars ETB6031, ETB6035, TF6004, TF6005 and TF6014 which were all used as steam locomotive hauled carriage stock.

The surviving carriages are as follows:

Number	Location	Owner	Status	Notes
CF5001	Rothbury, NSW	SETS	Stored	Missing traction motors
CF5003	Lithgow, NSW	SETS	Stored
CF5015	Redfern, NSW	Sydney Trains/Transport Heritage NSW	Under restoration
CF5017	Redfern, NSW	Sydney Trains/Transport Heritage NSW	Under restoration
CF5021	Lithgow, NSW	SETS	Stored
CF5022	Rothbury, NSW	SETS	Stored	On the final revenue U set service
CF5035	Redfern, NSW	Sydney Trains/Transport Heritage NSW	Under restoration
ETB6029	Redfern, NSW	Sydney Trains/Transport Heritage NSW	Under restoration
ETB6031	Dorrigo, NSW	The Glenreagh Mountain Railway	Stored
ETB6035	Dorrigo, NSW	The Glenreagh Mountain Railway	Stored
ETB6037	Rothbury, NSW	SETS	Stored
ETB6039	Valley Heights, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Static display	Only trailer carriage on static display
TF6004	Dorrigo, NSW	The Glenreagh Mountain Railway	Stored	On the final revenue U set service
TF6005	Dorrigo, NSW	The Glenreagh Mountain Railway	Stored
TF6008	Richmond, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Stored
TF6009	Richmond, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Stored
TF6010	Rothbury, NSW	SETS	Stored
TF6011	Richmond, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Stored
TF6012	Richmond, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Stored
TF6013	Redfern, NSW	Sydney Trains/Transport Heritage NSW	Under restoration
TF6014	Dorrigo, NSW	The Glenreagh Mountain Railway	Stored
TF6019	Richmond, NSW	Transport Heritage NSW	Stored

In Popular Culture and Privately owned carriages

• Some carriages were modified for usage in the 1999 SCI-FI film The Matrix where they are used by the protagonist Neo to run over his adversary Agent Smith. These carriages still retained their City Rail logo but the power carriage in the set, CF5025, was given lighting reminiscent of the Brown Line (CTA) used in Chicago, Illinois.
• Trailer TF6011 was featured in numerous scenes of Like Minds (2005).
• A preserved U set carriage appeared in Guy Sebastian's "Standing with You" music video in 2020.

On 24 November 1998, five carriages were purchased by members of the Sydney Electric Train Society. All five cars are stored at Molong. These were motor cars CF5006, CF5010 and CF5027 with trailers TF6006 and ETB6038. 31 other cars including ETB6034 have been purchased for private usage. Motor carriages CF5004 and CF5024 remain coupled together and stored at the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum.

Car Number	Date Sold	Original Location	Current Location	Owner	Notes
CF5004	?	Unknown	Dorrigo, NSW	Keith Jones	missing pantograph
CF5006	24/11/1998	Goulburn, NSW	Molong, NSW	SETS (private ownership)	Sold by Cataract Scout Park at public auction
CF5007	?	Unknown	Trangie, NSW	Tandarra Caravan Park
CF5010	24/11/1998	Goulburn, NSW	Molong, NSW	SETS (private ownership)	Sold by Cataract Scout Park at public auction
CF5012	?	Unknown	Hovells Creek, NSW	Unknown
CF5020	?	Unknown	Bilpin, NSW	Unknown
CF5024	?	Unknown	Dorrigo, NSW	Keith Jones
CF5027	24/11/1998	Goulburn, NSW	Molong, NSW	SETS (private ownership)	Sold by Cataract Scout Park at public auction
CF5029	?	Unknown	Hovells Creek, NSW	Unknown
CF5039	?	Unknown	Nimmitabel, NSW	Unknown
CF5040	?	Unknown	Charlton, VC	Unknown
ETB6034	?	Unknown	Kandos, NSW	Kandos Public School
ETB6038	24/11/1998	Goulburn, NSW	Molong, NSW	SETS (private ownership)	Sold by Cataract Scout Park at public auction, only carriage of the five to retain its original lift up windows.
TF6006	24/11/1998	Goulburn, NSW	Molong, NSW	SETS (private ownership)	Sold by Cataract Scout Park at public auction

External links

• SETS article on the U sets
• Media related to U sets at Wikimedia Commons