Power type Diesel-electric Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | UIC class A1A-A1A | |
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Builder General Motors Canada (original builder)
Clyde Engineering, Australia (re-builder, 80 units)
NZR Hutt Workshops, Lower Hutt, New Zealand (re-builder, 5 units) Build date 1961 – 1967 (as D class)
1978 – 1981 (rebuilt as DC class) Wheel diameter 1.25 metres (4 ft 1 in) | ||
The New Zealand DC class is a class of diesel-electric mainline locomotive on the New Zealand rail network, operated by KiwiRail primarily on freight trains, but also on long-distance KiwiRail Scenic passenger trains. The class was rebuilt from the DA class in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mainly in Australia. After the DA class they were the most numerous class of diesel locomotive on New Zealand's railway network, and remained numerically dominant until the mid-2010s when withdrawals began.
Contents
History
The locomotives started life as DA class, built by General Motors Canada between 1955 and 1967. Between 1978 and 1983, 85 of the later-build DAs were rebuilt as EMD model G22AR, designated as the DC class, with upgraded engines, new cabs and low short hoods of a style similar to the DX class introduced earlier in the 1970s and the DF class being introduced at the time. Five were rebuilt at the Hutt Workshops near Wellington and the other 80 at Clyde Engineering in Australia.
Technical details
Each locomotive has a General Motors 12-645C or 12-645E V12 diesel engine (the same as originally fitted to the DF class) and four traction motors, with an authorised maximum speed of 100 km/h. They are 14 metres long, has a height of 3756 mm (12 ft 4in) and weighs 82 tonnes. They can be readily identified as they are considerably shorter than the DF and DX classes and have their paired headlights arranged horizontally, rather than vertically on the DFs.
The five 49-series Hutt-built DCs originally retained the 12-567 engine, before later receiving the 12-645.
History
The class was initially employed in the North Island, mainly on freight trains but also hauling either carriage trains or depowered 88-seater railcars.
Changes came during the 1980s; the deregulation of land transport saw rail freight volumes decline and the opening of the NIMT electrification saw the locomotive fleet reallocated. These factors saw the withdrawal between 1985 and 1989 of the DJ class and remaining DA class, with the DC class also seeing regular service in the lower South Island as a result.
Auckland Transport service
For several years the class were employed on suburban carriage trains in Auckland. Since 2003 the operation has been run under a service contract by Transdev Auckland and its predecessors, through firstly the former Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and now through the Auckland Council subsidiary Auckland Transport.
Until July 2015 up to 20 DC/DCP locomotives – along with three DFB/T units – were leased to Auckland Transport, operating in push-pull mode with Auckland Transport's ex-BR Mark 2 SA/SD cars. Originally the DC units were configured with a set of 3 SA cars and a SD driving car, but with an increase in rail patronage some longer trains were provided on the Southern and Eastern lines with the addition of a fourth SA car. 17 DC locomotives were painted in MAXX blue livery, with four other units that saw regular service with AT – DC 4104, DC 4260, DC 4346 and DCP 4818 – in KiwiRail livery, along with DC 4594 which was Toll-livered at the time. All locomotives in service with Auckland Transport were fitted with controls for the carriage doors, and later received Electronic Train Protection (ETP) equipment. One of the MAXX painted locomotives, DC 4732, was heavily damaged when it derailed at Westfield as an empty service on 2 March 2014.
Following the availability of sufficient numbers of the AM class EMUs to operate the Auckland network the majority of the diesel locomotives have been returned to KiwiRail, with a number of them being stored at Hutt Workshops.
Current
The class continues to be a major workhorse, operating either as single units or in multiple with other DC units or locomotives from the DBR, DFT, DX or the new DL classes.
The class is occasionally used on KiwiRail Scenics South Island Coastal Pacific, and was used on the North Islands Northern Explorer until being replaced by a DFB/T, DXB or occasionally a DXC unit and on the South Islands on the TranzAlpine until being replaced by two DXC units. A pair of units are also occasionally employed to haul the Capital Connection service.
The Northern Explorer's predecessor, the Overlander, was usually hauled on the northern and southern sections of the North Island Main Trunk by a DC locomotive, and was often used across the central section as well if an EF locomotive was unavailable.
Tranz Metro
The DC class previously hauled Wairarapa Connection services between Masterton and Wellington. The locomotives were allocated on a daily basis, rather than being permanently assigned as is the case in Auckland. In July 2015, the DFB class replaced the DC class hauling the service.
Numbering
Initially the class was numbered sequentially from DC 1551 (the DA class having ended at 1545, the DF class started at 1651). In 1980 the computerised Traffic Management System (TMS) was introduced and the class was renumbered with a four-digit number commencing with '4', with the last digit a check number. The 49 Clyde-built units were renumbered in sequence with DC 1551 becoming DC 4006 and DC 1599 becoming DC 4536, though only the first 31 (up to DC 1581) had entered service by that time. The remaining Clyde builds received TMS numbers through to 4876 as they entered the rebuilding, while DC 1582–1589 entered service with their original 15xx series numbers on the headlight number boards and the later 40xx TMS numbers on the long hood.
Initially the Hutt-built units retained their DA-sequence TMS numbers, as the Railways considered them to be DA locomotives as they retained the 12-567 engine. Eventually this decision was changed and they became DC 4916-DC 4951, with 4882 and 4899 not used to keep them in a separate number sub-series.
Livery
The class were delivered in the International Orange or "Fruit Salad" livery – orange/red, grey, and yellow with large white numbers on the long hood – which was the standard livery for NZ Railways until the late 1980s. The class has since collectively worn almost every other single livery introduced since then, although some examples still wear the original Fruit Salad livery in service today. Liveries worn by the class are:
In addition, DC 4093 wore a special one-off "Kiwi Lager" livery to go with the Kiwi Lager Ski train, and DC 4346 was one of two locomotives to wear a brown with yellow ends "Tasman Forestry" livery.
DCP subclass
The DCP sub-class was established in 2002 to differentiate locomotives owned by Tranz Scenic 2001 Ltd from those owned by Tranz Rail Ltd. The DCP classification was retained on these locomotives after the purchase of Tranz Scenic 2001 by Toll NZ, and continues to be used by KiwiRail. Further units since received the classification, though it then referred to those DC locomotives that were fitted with bogie retention wire ropes to stop the bogies falling off in derailments, rather than locomotives dedicated to passenger workings. The practice of reclassifying has now been abandoned by KiwiRail, though most DCs, including all those used on Auckland commuter services, have received the bogie ropes.
DC Micro
In May, 1988, trials were carried out using GE's BrightStar control system on DC 4588 and DC 4939, which were unsuccessful. In November 1988, DC 4588 was fitted with the Canadian ZTR wheelslip system. The system substantially enhanced traction on the bogies, maximising traction potential. DC 4628 followed in December 1988 and was also a success. Over the next 10 years, 64 DC locomotives had ZTR fitted.
Locolog and Tranzlog
Locolog was an event recorder system similar to a black box on aircraft. It was trialed successfully in 1986 on DC 4070 and DC 4778 before being fitted to all other main-line locomotives. It has since been supplanted by the locally produced Tranzlog system, with both systems having provided significant material to assist in accident investigations.
Fire suppression
In 2014, six of the class were fitted with fire suppression to run passenger services through the 8.8-kilometre (5.5 mi) Rimutaka Tunnel on the Wairarapa Line due to a change in requirements resulting from the Commission of Inquiry in the Pike River Mine disaster. This is being removed from these locomotives in mid-2015 and being reinstalled into DFB class locomotives which are taking over the haulage of these services. Since then, four of the three units have regained fire suppression, along with one which never received the system when they were introduced on the DC class in 2014.
Withdrawals
As of 000000002017-02-01-0000February 2017, 55 units have been withdrawn from service. Ten units were withdrawn as a result of accidents, while a further 37 units were withdrawn on account of being surplus to requirements or poor mechanical condition. One unit, DC 4496, was taken out of service for an experimental rebuild that was later cancelled.
39 of the withdrawn units are in outside storage, with the remainder scrapped. The final withdrawn locomotive, DC 4588, was shipped to Tasmania (along with QR class locomotives) in December 1998 for use on TasRail, then part-owned by Tranz Rail and its parent Wisconsin Central through the Australian Transport Network. The locomotive was purchased outright by TasRail after an initial period used lease, but was placed into storage in October 2002 after suffering an engine problem. In 2005 rebuilding commenced for reinstatement, but the rebuild fell through and the loco was sold for scrap in 2011 at East Tamar Workshops.
Future
In February 2015 KiwiRail issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ) via the Government Electronic Tendering Service (GETS). The RFQ requests pricing for the disposal of a tranche of DC class locomotives, with further tranches of locomotives being released from the fleet over the next two years.
In July 2015 KiwiRail confirmed it had reached agreement with Progress Rail for the disposal of 12 DC locomotives - DCs 4029, 4070, 4133, 4225, 4231, 4352, 4398, 4507, 4542, 4640, 4732, and 4784 - with usable parts likely to be salvaged and the hulks scrapped.