Commonwealth Engineering

Commonwealth Engineering was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams.

"Comeng" redirects here. For the train model used in Melbourne, see Comeng (train).

Commonwealth Engineering
IndustryEngineering
Founded1921
Defunct1990
Headquarters
Granville
Number of locations
Dandenong
Rocklea
Bassendean
ProductsRailway rolling stock
ParentAustralian National Industries

History
Preserved former Sydney Albion Venturer in Glasgow in October 2009
Preserved Mount Newman Mining MLW M636 diesel locomotive in April 2012
FreightCorp 8606 at Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum in March 2011
TransAdelaide 2000 class railcar at Woodlands Park in April 2007
Westrail's The Australind at Claisebrook in April 2002
CityRail V set at Central in December 2007
Connex Melbourne Comeng in December 2005
CountryLink RUB carriage at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot in December 2012
Z class Melbourne tram 168 at Preston Workshops in August 2007
Hong Kong Light Rail Phase I LRV in February 2009

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 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 (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng).[1]

In 1949 a factory was established in Rocklea, Queensland. This was followed in 1952 a plant in Bassendean, Western Australia and in 1954 by another in Dandenong, Victoria. In June 1957, the government sold its shares. In November 1982 Comeng was taken over by Australian National Industries.

The Granville factory closed in 1989 and has been demolished. The site, which sat between the Great Western Highway and Main Western railway line west of Duck River, has been replaced with new developments that include high rise housing and light industry.

The Dandenong plant was sold in 1990 to ABB Transportation and is now operated by Bombardier Transportation while the Bassendean facility was sold to A Goninan & Co.

The history of Comeng has been published by John Dunn:

  • Volume 1, 1921 – 1955 published in 2006[1]
  • Volume 2, 1955 – 1966 published in 2008[2]
  • Volume 3, 1967 – 1977 published in 2010[3]
  • Volume 4, 1977 – 1985 published in 2013[4]
  • Volume 5, 1985 – 1990 published posthumously in November 2013[5][6]

Products

Commonwealth Engineering's products included:

Buses

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Victoria
  • 50 AEC Regal IIIs

Western Australia

Leyland OPSU1/1s

Diesel locomotives

New South Wales

Queensland
  • 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

Electric locomotives

New South Wales

Diesel multiple units

New South Wales

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

India
  • Diesel railcars for Indian Railways[7]

Electric multiple units

New South Wales

Victoria

Carriages

Commonwealth Railways

Long Island Rail Road

New South Wales

Queensland

Trams

New South Wales

Victoria

Hong Kong

References
  1. Dunn, John (2006). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 1: 1921-1955. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 1877058424.
  2. Dunn, John (2008). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 2: 1955-1966. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 1877058734.
  3. Dunn, John (2010). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 3: 1967-1977. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781877058905.
  4. Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 4: 1977-1985. Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781922013514.
  5. Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering. Volume 5: 1985–1990. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-922013-52-1.
  6. "John Dunn Obituary". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. The Indian Railcar Contract Adam, Eric Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December 1989 pp285-291

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