Sydney Trains C set

C Set
C Set at Campsie station
Upper deck after Citydecker refurbishment
In service	1986-present
Manufacturer	A Goninan & Co
Built at	Broadmeadow
Constructed	1986/87
Refurbishment	late 1990s
Number built	56 carriages
Formation	4 car sets
Fleet numbers	C3581-C3608, T4247-T4274
Capacity	104 in power cars, 115 in trailer cars
Operator(s)	Sydney Trains
Depot(s)	Flemington
Line(s) served	T2 Airport & South T3 Bankstown T5 Cumberand T6 Carlingford T7 Olympic
Specifications
Car length	20.39 m (66 ft 11 in)
Width	3.04 m (10 ft 0 in)
Height	4.37 m (14 ft 4 in)
Weight	52 t (51 long tons; 57 short tons)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The C sets are a class of electric multiple unit train operated by Sydney Trains in New South Wales, Australia. The carriages are of stainless steel, double deck construction.

The C sets were a follow-on from the K sets. They were built as an interim measure due to the lateness of the Tangara program. They were the first Sydney suburban trains to be fitted with chopper control, which gives the train smoother acceleration. Gate turn-off thyristors were used to control power to the traction motors, hence allowing for smoother acceleration. Following the success of the implementation of chopper control, these features were later installed on the Tangara and later V set carriages.

The C set carriages were also the first on the suburban network to feature fixed seating (originally covered with fabric, since replaced with vinyl). This proved to be unpopular, but nevertheless, fixed seating was later used on the suburban Tangara cars. These cars also featured push-button doors requiring passengers to activate, to increase air-conditioning efficiency. These proved unpopular and the push-buttons on the doors were removed.

The C set is distinguished externally by a fibreglass molding mounted on the front of the power carriage. It was originally in the State Rail Authority white with orange and red candy livery stripes on the lower portion. C3596 was the only power car to have its Candy-liveried front repainted in CityRail blue and yellow prior to its Citydecker refurbishment in 1998. The chopper cars are amongst the heaviest in the suburban fleet, with the power cars weighing 52 tonnes.

The order was for 56 cars:

The first set entered service in July 1986 operating out of Mortdale Maintenance Depot, some were delivered to Hornsby Maintenance Depot, but by December 1988 all were operating out of Punchbowl Maintenance Depot as sets K40-K51.