New South Wales 421 class locomotive

New South Wales 421 class

42107 in Northern Rivers Railroad livery at Somerton in November 2007

Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Clyde Engineering, Granville Serial number 65-468, 66-469 to 66-477 Model Electro-Motive Diesel AJ16C Build date 1965/66 Total produced 10

Specifications UIC class Co-Co Gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Wheel diameter 40 in (1,016 mm) Length Over headstocks: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m), Over coupler pulling faces: 62 ft 0 ^3⁄4 in (18.92 m) Width 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) Height 13 ft 10 ^1⁄2 in (4.23 m) Axle load 18 long tons 0 cwt (40,300 lb or 18.3 t) Loco weight 108 long tons 0 cwt (241,900 lb or 109.7 t) Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 1,200 imp gal (5,500 l; 1,400 US gal) Lubricant cap 166 imp gal (750 l; 199 US gal) Coolant cap 175 imp gal (800 l; 210 US gal) Sandbox cap 12 cu ft (0.34 m^3) Prime mover EMD 16-567C RPM range 275-835 Engine type Two-stroke V16 diesel Aspiration Roots blower Generator EMD D32F Traction motors 6 x EMD D67 Cylinders 16 Cylinder size 8.5 in × 10 in (216 mm × 254 mm)

Performance figures Maximum speed 71 mph (114 km/h) Power output Gross: 1,800 hp (1,340 kW), For traction: 1,800 hp (1,340 kW) Tractive effort Continuous: 70,900 lbf (315.38 kN) at 6.9 mph (11.1 km/h)

Career Operators New South Wales Government Railways First run December 1965 Preserved 42101, 42102 Current owner Aurizon Disposition 1 in service, 2 preserved, 4 stored, 3 scrapped

The 421 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the New South Wales Government Railways 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.

History

The 421 class initially entered service on the Main South line before being transferred to Bathurst in 1970 to operate services on the Main Western line between Lithgow and Broken Hill including the new Indian Pacific service. However due to their poor ride quality, they were returned to the Main South. In 1982, they were briefly used on through services to Melbourne.^[1]

All 10 were withdrawn from service in December 1986 and January 1987 and put in store at Junee Locomotive Depot, even though some had only recently been overhauled.^[2] In June 1989 two were moved to Cardiff Locomotive Workshops.^[3] One was resurrected from July 1989 until January 1990 before most were offered for sale in 1990.^[4][5]

Four locomotives were purchased by Northern Rivers Railroad.^[6] After undergoing some restoration work at Junee, in October 1996 they worked to their new base at Casino where the work was completed ready for the commencement of operations in October 1997.^[7] Northern Rivers Railroad used them to haul the Ritz Rail tourist rail service from Casino to Murwillumbah on the Murwillumbah line and various freight and infrastructure trains on the North Coast line as a sub-contractor to FreightCorp. Northern Rivers Railroad purchased 42106 from a private owner, and moved it from storage at the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum, Thirlmere to Casino in September 1998.^[8]

All were included in the sale to Interail to QR National in March 2002,^[9][10] who regularly operated them as far south as Melbourne. Three were withdrawn and placed in store in January 2013 with one remaining in service.

Two have been preserved. In December 2009 42101 was transferred from the Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre to Eveleigh Railway Workshops for restoration by 3801 Limited.^[11] After being fitted with refurbished traction motors at Chullora Railway Workshops in October 2011, it returned to Eveleigh to be restored back to operational condition in March 2012.^[12] It undertook its first trials on Cowan Bank on the evening of 25 October 2014 and was repainted in its original indian red livery by UGL Rail, Auburn in January 2015.^[13]

In January 2011, 42102 moved from storage on Kooragang Island to the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum.^[14][15]

Status Table

As at October 2014, one remained in service with Aurizon, with four in store, two preserved and three scrapped.^[16]

NSW No	Serial No	Entered Service	Current/Last Owner	Livery	Status
42101	65-468	22 Dec 1965	Privately owned	Indian Red	Preserved operational Eveleigh Railway Workshops
42102	66-469	24 Jan 1966	Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum	SRA Candy	Stored
42103	66-470	15 Feb 1966	Aurizon	Aurizon Yellow	Operational
42104	66-471	28 Feb 1966	-	-	Scrapped
42105	66-472	15 Mar 1966	Aurizon	NRR Rainbow	Stored Goulburn
42106	66-473	14 Apr 1966	Aurizon	SRA Candy	Under overhaul
42107	66-474	12 May 1966	Aurizon	NRR Rainbow	Operational
42108	66-475	3 May 1966	-	-	Scrapped
42109	66-476	6 Jul 1966	Aurizon	NRR Rainbow	Stored Casino
42110	66-477	25 Jul 1966	-	-	Scrapped

References

1. Bromby, Robin (1988). Australian Rail Annual 1988. Sutherland: Sherborne Sutherland Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 1 86275 004 1.
2. "Locomotives & Traffic 421 Class Report" Railway Digest February 1987 page 47
3. "Locomotives and Traffic 421 Class" Railway Digest August 1989 page 276
4. "42107" Railway Digest March 1990 page 106
5. "Locos for sale" Railway Digest July 1990 page 239
6. "Locomotives and Traffic 421 Class" Railway Digest December 1990 page 439
7. "The Northern Rivers Railroad" Railway Digest December 1996 page 28
8. "Motive Power 42106" Railway Digest November 1998 page 41
9. "QR moves into NSW with Northern Rivers Railroad buy" Rail Express 12 March 2002
10. "QR National push" WorldCargo News March 2002
11. Train Alteration Advice No: TAA 0818-2009 Australian Rail Track Corporation
12. TOC Waiver RailCorp 19 March 2012
13. Friends of 42101 Facebook page
14. 42102 Vicsig
15. 421 Class Railpage
16. "Australia Wide Fleet List 2014" Motive Power issue 96 November 2014 page 64

Further reading

• New South Wales Rail System Locomotives. Sydney: Archives Section, State Rail Authority of New South Wales. 1984.

External links

• Media related to New South Wales 421 class locomotive at Wikimedia Commons
• Flickr gallery