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 Candy coloured 7318 shunts Grafton yard in January 1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 73 class is a diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by Walkers Limited, Maryborough for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1970 and 1973.
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The 73 class is a diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by Walkers Limited, Maryborough for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1970 and 1973.
The New South Wales Department of Railways placed an order in October 1969 with Walkers Limited, Maryborough for 20 B-B shunting locomotives. [1] These were the only New South Wales locomotives to be built in Queensland. [2]
The first unit was delivered in October 1970. When the whole of the first order had arrived, all steam shunting on the North Coast line and the Sydney Metropolitan area, as well as at Goulburn had been replaced. In July 1971 a further 30 units were ordered. The last of these arrived in March 1973 and this brought to an end all remaining steam shunting operations in New South Wales. [1]
The New South Wales Department of Railways purchased the class mainly for shunting and their prohibition from mainline use was 'officially' due to the lack of vigilance controls. However, despite its absence, the class was still seen on many suburban trip workings and when mainline operation was a necessity, there seemed to be no hesitation to use them.
One advantage a diesel-hydraulic locomotive has over a diesel-electric variety is its ability to negotiate up to 300mm of water over the tracks. Big floods in March 1976 gave 7323 an opportunity to show off its swimming ability when water covered the line near Bourke and this locomotive was used on a couple of freight trains and a ballast train from Nyngan to Bourke and return. At least two other occasions when their water resistance was put to use was Menindee in 1976 and Hexham in 1977.
Multiple unit operation was common, although the flood event at Hexham is the only known occurrence of triple-heading. A number of units were fitted with exhaust gas scrubbers for use on Eastern Suburbs Railway construction in the 1970s. [3]
As an example of the spread of the members of the class throughout the system, the fleet was allocated as follows as at 30 August 1977:
| Depot | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Eveleigh | 7301–7314, 7317, 7321, 7339–7345 |
| Goulburn | 7315, 7316 |
| Cootamundra | 7319 |
| Junee | 7320 (actually working at Albury) |
| Lithgow | 7326 |
| Orange | 7322 |
| Dubbo | 7323, 7324 |
| Parkes | 7325 |
| Broadmeadow | 7327–7338 |
| South Grafton | 7318 |
| Werris Creek | 7346 (actually working at West Tamworth), 7347 |
| Yeerongpilly | 7348–7350 |
With a reduction in locomotive hauled passenger trains and the closure of a number of yards, withdrawals began in February 1987. [4] By October 1991 only three remained in service with FreightCorp. [5] One was repainted into CountryLink livery for use as a depot shunter at the XPT Service Centre.
Disposals commenced in 1990 with three sold to the Canberra Railway Museum. [6] Four were sold to the Manildra Group in 1991. [7] Many were sold to Queensland sugar cane companies for conversion to 610 mm (2 ft) gauge. [8] A number have also been preserved. [9] [10] [11]
7301 & 7344 were placed on RailCorp's Heritage & Conservation Register. [12] [13] 7301 was subsequently scrapped in January 2014. [14] [15]
The following are held by recognised preservation organisations:
The following units were sold for further commercial operation, some being converted to 610 mm (2 ft):
Queensland Railways DH class
Victorian Railways Y class (diesel)
The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. The type is unusual in that it can operate from the Southern Region's 650/750 V DC third-rail or an on-board diesel engine to allow it to operate on non-electrified routes. This makes it very versatile, although the diesel engine produces less power than is available from the third-rail supply so the locomotives are rarely operated outside of the former Southern Region of British Rail. Following the withdrawal and scrapping of the more powerful Class 74 electro-diesels in 1977, the Class 73 was unique on the British railway network until the introduction of the Class 88 electro-diesels in 2017. Ten locomotives have been scrapped.
The F Class are a class of diesel locomotive shunters built by Dick Kerr Works for the Victorian Railways between 1951 and 1953. They are similar to the British Rail Class 11 and NS Class 600 shunting locomotives also built by English Electric during this period, but modified for use on the VR's 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge.
East Coast Heritage Rail is a not for profit company limited by guarantee formed in June 1985 as 3801 Limited to operate steam locomotive 3801 and its associated rolling stock. The company operated heritage train tours from 1986 until 2017, with operations recommencing in February 2019 under the new brand, East Coast Heritage Rail.
The 45 class are a class of diesel-electric locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1962 and 1964.
The New South Wales 42 class was a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the New South Wales Department of Railways in 1955/56.
The 421 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Department of Railways New South Wales in 1965/66. These mainline locomotives were a follow on from the 42 class. The 421s retained the classic bulldog nose as with the other Clyde built GM and S locomotives at one end, but featured a flat-cab at the other end. In this respect, they are unique amongst bulldog nose locomotives in the world.
The 48 Class is a class of diesel locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1959 and 1970. Once the most ubiquitous locomotive in New South Wales, Australia, It is based on Alco frames and prime movers, using General Electric electrical equipment. The South Australian Railways 830 and Silverton Rail 48s classes are of a very similar design.
The A class are a class of diesel locomotives rebuilt from Victorian Railways B class locomotives by Clyde Engineering, Rosewater in South Australia for V/Line in 1984–1985.
The DRC was a class of railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways on its country rail network in Victoria, Australia. The cars were built by Tulloch Limited in New South Wales, and featured aluminium and steel construction, air-conditioning, and twin diesel engines with hydraulic transmissions.
The C Class are a class of diesel locomotive built by Clyde Engineering, Rosewater for the Victorian Railways in 1977–1978.
The GT46C is a model of diesel-electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering using Electro-Motive Diesel components. A number of Australian rail freight operators purchased them from 1997: Westrail as the Q class, FreightLink as the FQ class, and Freight Australia as the single-locomotive V class. As of 2022, all 24 locomotives were owned by Aurizon following its purchase of certain One Rail Australia assets in July 2022.
The X class are a class of mainline diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville and Rosewater for the Victorian Railways between 1966 and 1976.
The CL class is a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Commonwealth Railways in several batches between 1970 and 1972. The class was the last in the world to be built with the Electro-Motive Diesel bulldog nose but differed from previous builds in having a mansard roof.
The 43 class were a class of Australian diesel locomotives built by A Goninan & Co, Broadmeadow for the New South Wales Department of Railways in 1956–1957.
The L Class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville and Eagle Farm, and Commonwealth Engineering, Rocklea for the Western Australian Government Railways between 1967 and 1973.
Tulloch Limited was an Australian engineering and railway rolling stock manufacturer, located at Rhodes, New South Wales.
The DH class was a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives built by Walkers Limited, Maryborough for Queensland Railways between 1966 and 1974.
The Rail Motor Society, based at Paterson, New South Wales, is a community owned collection of preserved self-propelled railway vehicles and equipment from the former New South Wales Government Railways. The items in its collection date from 1923 through to 1972.
In 2013, Transport Heritage NSW was established by the Government of New South Wales to manage the State’s rail heritage collection and provide support to the broader transport heritage sector in NSW following an independent review.
The Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre is located at the heritage-listed former railway workshops in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, on the Main Southern railway line. Now a museum, it is also known as the Goulburn Rail Workshop and Goulburn Roundhouse. The workshops were added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The workshops were saved from demolition by the Goulburn Locomotive Roundhouse Preservation Society and is now a museum open to the public with large collection of rolling stock and various exhibits, as well as privately owned locomotives and carriages with some commercial repair work happening on site.
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