In January 1963 Commonwealth Railways placed an order with Commonwealth Engineering, Granville for 24 air-conditioned carbon steel carriages.[1] [2]
These standard-gauge carriages were purchased for use on the Trans-Australian Railway between Port Pirie and Kalgoorlie, and on The Ghan from Port Pirie to Marree.[1]
At 22.92m (75.2feet), they were the longest passenger cars in Australia. They were Commonwealth Railways' first Australian-built standard-gauge carriages, their predecessors having been manufactured in Europe or Japan.[1]
In July 1975, all were included in the transfer of Commonwealth Railways assets to the Australian National Railways Commission.
Subsequently, some were converted to crew cars for use on Trans-Australian Railway freight trains; others were sold to the Australian Rail Track Corporation; still others were scrapped.