WAGR L class (diesel)
| Western Australian Government Railways L class | |
|---|---|
|
L3117 at Forrestfield in December 2012 | |
| Type and origin | |
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
| Builder |
Clyde Engineering Granville: L251-L273 Eagle Farm:L274-L277 |
| Model | Electro Motive Diesel GT26CW |
| Build date | 1967-73 |
| Total produced | 27 |
| Specifications | |
| AAR wheel arr. | C-C |
| UIC classification | Co-Co, Co′Co′ |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Length | 19.36 m (63 ft 6 in) |
| Axle load | 22.5 t (22.1 long tons; 24.8 short tons) |
| Locomotive weight | 137 t (135 long tons; 151 short tons) |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Prime mover | Electro Motive Diesel 16-645E3 |
| Aspiration | Turbocharged |
| Generator | Electro Motive Diesel AR10A4 |
| Traction motors | Electro Motive Diesel D77 |
| Performance figures | |
| Maximum speed | 137 km/h (85 mph) |
| Power output | 2,240 kW (3,000 hp) |
| Tractive effort | 298 kN (67,000 lbf) |
| Career | |
| Operator(s) | Western Australian Government Railways |
| Number in class | 27 |
| Number(s) | L251–L277 |
| First run | October 1967 |
| Current owner |
Aurizon Australian Locolease Pacific National |
| Disposition | 13 in service, 13 stored, 1 scrapped |
The L class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville and Eagle Farm for the Western Australian Government Railways between 1967 and 1973.
History
With the 657-kilometre (408 mi) Eastern Goldfields Railway between Perth and Kalgoorlie being converted to standard gauge, the Western Australian Government Railways started to take delivery of 23 Electro Motive Diesel GT26CW locomotives from Clyde Engineering in October 1967.[1] The design was based on the Electro-Motive Diesel EMD SD40 reduced in height to fit within the Australian loading gauge. At the time they were comfortably the largest and heaviest diesel locomotive operated by a government operator.[2]
All were delivered from Sydney via Melbourne and Adelaide, necessitating them being placed on broad gauge bogies for the journey between Dynon and Port Pirie.[2]
They entered service hauling iron ore trains in Koolyanobbing and the Indian Pacific. However they were quickly removed from passenger trains after it was realised the damage they could cause to the track at higher speeds.[2]
In 1972 Comalco purchased two locomotives of the same design for use on its 19.5-kilometre (12.1 mi) line at its bauxite mine in Weipa. These were built with an extra 11 tonnes (11 long tons; 12 short tons) of ballast for increased adhesion. In 1973 the Western Australian Government Railways took delivery of a further two, funded by Western Mining Corporation as part of the building of a nickel mine at Mount Windarra. All four were built by Clyde Engineering's Eagle Farm factory.[2]
In 1984 three were leased to V/Line to haul services on the standard gauge Melbourne to Albury line.[3] One even operated through to Sydney in May 1984.[4]
In 1994 following the purchase of GML10, Comalco's R1001 was sent to Clyde Engineering, Kelso for overhaul.[5] Upon its return in August 1994 R1002 was sold to Westrail and placed in service as LW276.[2]
Following the delivery of the Q class locomotives in 1997 many were withdrawn with those remaining in service relegated to trailing locomotive status.[6]
In July 1998, seven were sold to Australian Transport Network. After being overhauled by National Railway Equipment Company, Whyalla, four were placed in service by ATN Access hauling grain trains in southern New South Wales and Victoria. Three were included in the sale of Australian Transport Network to Pacific National in February 2004 while the fourth along with the three unused examples along with one of the operational units were sold to Rail Technical Services, Dynon who resold them to QR National subsidiaries Interail and Australian Railroad Group for use in New South Wales.[2]
The remainder were included in the sale of Westrail to Australian Railroad Group in December 2000. All were included in the sale of Australian Railroad Group's Western Australian operations to QR National in June 2006.
All of the locomotives now under the control of Aurizon have been renumbered as the 3100 class.[7][8][9][10] Those fitted with Q-Tron traction control have had the LQ prefix applied, those with ZTR traction control LZ. Some were transferred to New South Wales to haul trains from the Manildra Group's flour mills at Gunnedah, Manildra and Narrandera to Bomaderry from 2003 until 2008.[2]
In 2011 Comalco sold R1001 to Australian Locolease who placed it in service as L277 and leased it to El Zorro to operate grains trains in Victoria.
Class list
As at October 2014, 13 remained in service with Aurizon in Western Australia, 13 were in store and one had been scrapped.[11]
| Serial number |
In service | Original number | Renumbered | Name | Operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67-541 | Oct 1967 | L251 | - | Thunderbird 1 | Pacific National | Stored Werris Creek |
| 67-542 | Nov 1967 | L252 | 3101 | Kurra Kurraka | Aurizon | Rebuilt, Stored Goulburn |
| 67-543 | Dec 1967 | L253 | LZ3119 | Aurizon | Rebuilt, Stored Avon Yard | |
| 67-544 | Jan 1968 | L254 | - | Enterprise NCC 1701 | Pacific National | Stored Cardiff Locomotive Workshops |
| 67-545 | Feb 1968 | L255 | LZ3105 | Aurizon | Rebuilt, Stored Avon Yard | |
| 67-546 | Mar 1968 | L256 | 3106 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 68-547 | Mar 1968 | L257 | 3102 | Wagiman | Aurizon | Rebuilt, Stored Forrestfield |
| 68-548 | Mar 1968 | L258 | 3107 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 68-549 | Apr 1968 | L259 | LZ3103 | Aboriginal Stockman | Aurizon | Rebuilt |
| 68-550 | May 1968 | L260 | L3108 | Aurizon | ||
| 68-551 | Aug 1968 | L261 | LZ3109 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 68-552 | Aug 1968 | L262 | L3110 | Aurizon | ||
| 68-553 | Oct 1968 | L263 | 3111 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 68-554 | Oct 1968 | L264 | LZ3112 | Aurizon | ||
| 68-555 | Oct 1968 | L265 | LQ3121 | Shoalhaven | Aurizon | |
| 68-556 | Oct 1968 | L266 | L3113 | Aurizon | Stored Avon Yard | |
| 68-557 | Nov 1968 | L267 | LZ3114 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 68-617 | Dec 1968 | L268 | L3115 | Aurizon | ||
| 68-618 | Jan 1969 | L269 | Westrail | Withdrawn May 1995, scrapped Feb 1996 | ||
| 68-619 | Mar 1969 | L270 | - | Red Dwarf | Pacific National | Stored Werris Creek |
| 69-620 | Apr 1969 | L271 | LQ3122 | John Douglas Kerr - Historian | Aurizon | Stored Goulburn |
| 69-621 | May 1969 | L272 | L3116 | Aurizon | Stored Avon Yard | |
| 69-622 | Jun 1969 | L273 | 3104 | Purnu | Rebuilt, Stored Goulburn | |
| 72-7xx | Jan 1972 |
R1001 | L277 | Australian Locolease | ex Comalco, Weipa Stored South Dynon Locomotive Depot | |
| 72-753 | Jan 1972 |
R1002 | LW276, LZ3120 | Aurizon | Rebuilt as Westrail LW276, ex Comalco, Weipa, Stored Avon Yard | |
| 73-779 | Sep 1973 | L274 | 3117 | Aurizon | Rebuilt | |
| 73-780 | Oct 1973 | L275 | L3118 | Aurizon | ||
References
- ↑ "20 Years Ago" Railway Digest October 1987 page 332
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1850s-2010s. Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 346–348. ISBN 9781921719011.
- ↑ "Locomotives and Traffic" Railway Digest January 1985 page 12
- ↑ Railway Digest July 1984 page 247
- ↑ Railway Digest September 1994 page 8
- ↑ "The L Class Locomotives of WA" Railway Digest August 2000 page 18
- ↑ L Class (WAGR) Railpage
- ↑ LQ Class Railpage
- ↑ LZ Class Railpage
- ↑ L Class Vicsig
- ↑ "Australia Wide Fleet List" Motive Power issue 96 November 2014 pages 65, 69
- Gunzburg, Adrian (1968). WAGR Locomotives 1940–1968. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society (Western Australian Division). pp. 45–46, 50. OCLC 219836193.
External links
Media related to WAGR L class (diesel) at Wikimedia Commons
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
