| Q class / FQ class / V Class | |
|---|---|
| Q4018 in the Goldfields, Western Australia | |
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
| Builder | Clyde Engineering: Bassendean, Kelso EDI Rail: Port Augusta |
| Model | GT46C |
| Total produced | 24 |
| UIC classification | Co-Co |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Length | 22 m (72 ft) |
| Locomotive weight | 134 tonnes |
| Engine type | EMD 16-710G3B-ES |
| Generator | EMD AR11 PBEH |
| Traction motors | 6x EMD D87BTRL |
| Top speed | 115 km/h (71 mph) |
| Power output | 3,100 kW (4,200 hp) |
| Career | Westrail/Australian Railroad Group, FreightLink, Freight Australia/Pacific National |
| Class | Q class / FQ class / V Class |
| Number | Q301-Q319 (4001-4019), FQ01-FQ04, V544 |
| Delivered | July 2002 |
| Current owner | Australian Railroad Group, Freightlink, Pacific National |
The GT46C is a model of high-horsepower mainline diesel electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering / EDI Rail using Electro-Motive Diesel components. Entering service from 1997 for a number of Australian rail freight operators, those built for Westrail are known as the Q class, those for FreightLink are the FQ class and a single unit for Freight Australia is the V class.
Westrail
Nineteen locomotives were built for Westrail and delivered between 1997 and 1998 as the Q class, the Q-class 4-6-2T steam locomotive of the 1890s being the first to use the name. Used on standard gauge services in Western Australia, they are now operated by Australian Railroad Group who have renumbered them as the 4000 class.[1]
Freightlink
Four additional locomotives entered service in 2003 for FreightLink, built at Port Augusta for use on the Adelaide-Darwin railway. The first two units were painted in Indigenous Australian liveries, the other two are in FreightLink red.[2][3]
Freight Australia
The single unit owned by Freight Australia (now Pacific National) was purchased in 2002 to replace two G class locomotives that were written-off in 1999,[4] EDI Rail offering the company an extension of the GT46C order. The locomotive was duly constructed, and delivered to Freight Australia in early 2002. It entered service numbered V544 and was named for former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer.[5] The locomotive initially operated standard gauge interstate freight duties, primarily the SCT Logistics service from Melbourne to Perth. Since late 2007 it has been moved onto the Leigh Creek to Port Augusta coal train in South Australia, servicing the Playford B and Northern power stations.[6] It is rumoured that this move was effected due to V544's frequent reliability issues - on the Leigh Creek-Port Augusta run the locomotive is close to service centres at Port Augusta and Dry Creek, as opposed to being a large distance from help on the mostly single-track line to Perth.
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