The NZR DC class locomotive is the most common class of locomotive currently in operation on the New Zealand rail network. Primarily employed to haul freight trains operated by Toll Rail, the class is also used for long-distance passenger trains operated by Tranz Scenic and suburban passenger trains operated by Tranz Metro in Wellington and Veolia in Auckland.

History

They started life as members of the since-withdrawn DA diesel-electric locomotive class, built by General Motors Canada. Between 1978 and 1983 the locomotives were rebuilt to EMD G22AR specifications as the DC class, with a new cab and new diesel engines. Five were reconstructed at Hutt Workshops near Wellington, the other 80 at Clyde Engineering Australia. Only three (out of five) of the Hutt rebuilt locomotives are in service as at March 2008.

In December 1998, DC 4588 was shipped to Tasmania for use on the then Tranz Rail related company TasRail. The locomotive was originally leased by TasRail, but has since been sold to that firm.

Technical Details

Each DC locomotive has a General Motors 12-645C V12 diesel engine and four traction motors, allowing the locomotive to haul a train at a maximum speed of 100 km/h. The locomotive is 14 metres long and weighs 82 tonnes.

The DC locomotives are numbered 4006 to 4951. Most are painted in the "Bumble-Bee" livery, with some in "MAXX Blue" or other liveries.

Locomotive height 3756mm (12ft 4in)

DCP Subclass

A subclass of the DC class, the DCP class, was established to differenciate the locomotives designed for passenger service from those designed for freight service. The DCPs were designed for Tranz Scenic's long-distance passenger trains including the Overlander, the TranzCoastal and the TranzAlpine. Some were also used by Tranz Metro for its Wairarapa services. The 'P' in DCP stands for Passenger, thus it was normally only used on Passenger services.

Toll later decided to drop the DCP prefix, and instead use the standard DC prefix for all locomotives in this class. For example all locomotives, except for one, leased to Veolia's for their suburban passenger train service has the DC prefix. Many services operated by TranzScenic's long-distance services are operated by locomotives with a DC prefix with some DCP locomotives still in service. Dropping the DCP prefix will make it easier for Toll to manage their fleet by allocating all locomotives from a common pool.

List of locomotives in this class

Most of these locomotives are used by Toll Rail for their freight services. 1 locomotive (DC 4588) has been sold to TasRail. In-service dates are noted for the time the locomotives were rebuilt.

However approximately 14 locomotives have been leased to Veolia via the Auckland Regional Council subsidiary ARTA) for their locomotive-hauled carriage trains. The Auckland suburban network run by Veolia uses DC class locomotives owned by Toll NZ, operating in push-pull mode with sets of 2-3 SA cars and an SD driving car (all ex British Rail Mark 2 carriages rebuilt for suburban service) owned by ARTA.

In popular culture

• DC 4346 (then DC 1582) was seen in the 1981 film Goodbye Pork Pie, towing a westbound freight train over the Midland Line. Attached to the train was the boxcar in which Gerry, John, and the yellow Mini were hiding.
• DC 4202 was used in the filming of the penulimate scene of the 1982 film Smash Palace. The locomotive was hauling an up North Island Main Trunk freight train, which almost crashed into a Model T Ford containing Al Shaw and policeman Ray Foley. At the last second, the train changes onto a passing loop, missing them competely.

References

External links

• New Zealand Diesel and Electric Traction - Class DC
• Rail Tasmania information - Class DC
• New Zealand DC Class Locomotives