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New South Wales 442 class locomotive

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New South Wales 442 class
44231 on a northbound freight train arriving at Casino in 1987
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderAE Goodwin, Auburn (34)
Comeng, Auburn (6)
Serial numberAlco G-6045-01 to G-6045-40
ModelAlco DL-500G
Build date1970–1973
Total produced40
RebuilderUGL Rail, Broadmeadow
Rebuild date2003–2004
Number rebuilt12
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • UICCo-Co
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
LengthOver headstocks:
57 ft 1 in (17.40 m),
Over coupler pulling faces
61 ft 3 in (18.67 m)
Width9 ft 7+1⁄2 in (2.93 m)
Height13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Axle load18 long tons 16 cwt (42,100 lb or 19.1 t)
Loco weight113 long tons 0 cwt (253,100 lb or 114.8 t)
Fuel typeDiesel
Fuel capacity1,200 imp gal
(5,500 L; 1,400 US gal)
Lubricant cap.165 imp gal
(750 L; 198 US gal)
Coolant cap.210 imp gal
(950 L; 250 US gal)
Sandbox cap.20 cu ft (0.57 m3)
Prime moverAs built: Alco 12-251C
GLs: General Electric 7-FDL12
RPM range400–1025
Engine typeFour-stroke V12 diesel
AspirationTurbocharged
Alternator44235–44240: Mitsubishi Alternator
Generator44201–44203: GT 586
44204–44205: AEI 5301
44206–44220: AEI 5302
44221–44234: AEI 5301
Traction motors44201–44220: GE 750
44221–44234: AEI 165
44235–44240: Mitsubishi MB-451-AUR
Cylinders12
Cylinder size9 in × 10.5 in
(229 mm × 267 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed120 km/h (75 mph)
Power outputGross:
2,150 hp (1,600 kW),
For traction:
2,000 hp (1,490 kW)
Tractive effort52,000 lbf (231.31 kN)
at 11.75 mph (18.9 km/h)
Career
OperatorsNSW Department of Railways
Number in class40
Numbers44201-44240
NicknamesJumbos
First run29 March 1971
Preserved44211
Current ownerRail First Asset Management
Qube Logistics
Southern Shorthaul Railroad
Disposition9 operational, 1 preserved, 12 rebuilt, 18 scrapped

The 442 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by AE Goodwin and Comeng, Auburn for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1970 and 1973.

History

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44216 and another haul the northbound Brisbane Limited across the Corinda line at Yeerongpilly in 1987
44208 crossing a 44 & 45 class hauled southbound goods train on the North Coast line in 1987
44240 at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot in 1990

The 442 class were ordered and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways. They were the second generation of Alco units to be built, and were used on both main freight and passenger service in New South Wales. Since entering private ownership they have operated across Australia. They are identical to the South Australian Railways 700 class. They were nicknamed Jumbos, due to their 1971 delivery coinciding with that of Qantas' first Boeing 747s.

Construction

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The 442 class were built from 1971 to replace the 40 class locomotives dating from 1951, as they could not be economically rebuilt to modern standards. Twenty locomotives were initially ordered from AE Goodwin, the contract stipulating that the 40 class be accepted as a trade in, with some parts from the older units used for the new locomotives. The contract was later extended by 20 units.[1]

The first locomotive was completed in October 1970 but was rejected due to rough riding concerns in testing, with five months passing before it was finally accepted after modifications to the bogie design.

After AE Goodwin was placed in administration it was sold to Comeng who completed the last six locomotives with a Mitsubishi alternator in lieu of a generator.[1]

In service

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The 442 class operated mainline services across the state. In 1985, some (including 23-27, 29 & 30) were fitted with V/Line radios to allow them to operate services through to Melbourne.[2][3][4] This ceased in 1987 with those fitted being sent to Melbourne to have the equipment removed.[5]

By the end of their careers, all were based at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot and mainly operated on the North Coast and Main North lines.

Disposal

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Following the delivery of new 82 and 90 class locomotives most were withdrawn in 1994. In December 1994, nineteen were sold at auction:[6]

  • 4 to Silverton Rail all returned to traffic,[7]
  • 2 to Austrac Ready Power leased to BHP, Port Kembla[8]
  • 1 to Australian National with the intention of using as a source of spares to repair fire damaged 702 but the plan was cancelled and both scrapped[1]
  • 12 to Morrison Knudsen Australia who intended to rebuild these locomotives to haul roadrailer trains. It was planned to remove the Alco prime mover and generator, and replace it with a rebuilt EMD 645F 16 cylinder engine mated to an AR10 alternator.[9] To allow this the locomotive frame would be cut in half and a new section 1.5 metres long welded into the middle to lengthen it, and the number 2 end cab would be blanked off, making the locomotive single ended. Preliminary work was carried out for the project before it was cancelled in mid 1995 with 10 of the locomotives scrapped at Morrison Knudsen’s Whyalla plant, but some parts were later used in the RL class project. Two were sold to Silverton Rail and entered service in 1998/99.[9][10]

A locomotive shortage saw six reinstated by FreightCorp in late 1995.[11] After being used as shunters in Sydney, the last were withdrawn in March 1998.[12] One of these (442s1) was earmarked for preservation and placed in the care of the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum.

442s1 at Seymour Loco Depot

Rebirth as JL and GL classes

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In preparation for the sale of FreightCorp, the remaining locomotives were sold to Great Northern Rail Services, Victoria in 2001. Five were overhauled and returned to service as the JL class. All were sold to Railfirst Asset Management, who contracted UGL Rail, Broadmeadow to remanufacture 12 units with refurbished General Electric C30-7A components recovered from withdrawn Conrail locomotives. They were reclassified as the GL class with all completed between June 2003 and October 2004.[1]

This involved the locomotives being stripped to the bare chassis and remanufactured from the ground up, the only equipment retained being the bogies, main frames and fuel tanks. The original Alco 12-251C engines and AEI generators were replaced with fully overhauled GE 7FDL-12 engines and alternators. New cabs with desk-top controls and improved collision protection and bodies that retained a dual-cab configuration were fitted.[1][13] The JLs have since resumed their original numbers with two sold to Southern Shorthaul Railroad.[14][15][16]

The GLs have been leased to a variety of operators including Bowmans Rail, El Zorro, Freight Australia, Freightliner, GrainCorp, Independent Rail of Australia, Pacific National, Aurizon and Qube Logistics. Two were repainted in Freightliner livery in 2010, the remainder have remained in CFCLA's silver and blue livery.[1]

Fleet status

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Some of the locomotives were named after race horses, as shown in the Name column.

Original No Renumbered Name Serial No Completed Current / Last Owner Livery Status
44201 GL105 Let’s Elope G-6045-01 Dec 70 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44202 442s4 -> 44202 G-6045-02 Apr 71 Qube Logistics Qube silver & yellow Operational
44203 442s3 G-6045-03 Apr 71 Qube Logistics Silverton yellow & blue Scrapped
44204 JL401 -> 44204 Paul Fitzgerald G-6045-04 May 71 Southern Shorthaul Railroad SSR yellow & black Operational
44205 G-6045-05 May 71 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44206 JL402 -> 44206 Col Parry G-6045-06 Jul 71 Southern Shorthaul Railroad SSR yellow & black Operational
44207 GL101 Think Big G-6045-07 Jul 71 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Stored
44208 JL403 -> 44208 Mark's Baby. G-6045-08 Aug 71 Manildra Group Manildra Silver and Blue Operational
44209 JL404 -> 44209 Jim's Baby. G-6045-09 Aug 71 Manildra Group Bomaderry Silver and Blue Operational
44210 G-6045-10 Sep 71 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44211 G-6045-11 Sep 71 New South Wales Rail Transport Museum Tuscan Preserved Operational
44212 GL112 Jeune G-6045-12 Oct 71 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44213 G-6045-13 Oct 71 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44214 G-6045-14 Nov 71 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44215 GL110 Tawriffic G-6045-15 Dec 71 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44216 GL102 Sunline G-6045-16 May 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44217 G-6045-17 May 72 Southern Shorthaul Railroad Greentrains green & yellow Operational
44218 GL106 Subzero G-6045-18 Jun 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44219 G-6045-19 Jun 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44220 442s1 >>> 44220 (3/11/2023) G-6045-20 Jun 72 Southern Shorthaul Railroad Greentrains green & yellow Operational
44221 G-6045-21 Jan 72 Australian National Candy Scrapped
44222 GL108 Rain Lover G-6045-22 Mar 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44223 442s5 -> 44223 G-6045-23 Mar 72 Southern Shorthaul Railroad Greentrains green & yellow Operational
44224 G-6045-24 Mar 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44225 G-6045-25 Mar 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44226 442s6 (reverted to 44226 with Candy repaint 2018) G-6045-26 Jun 72 Southern Shorthaul Railroad (on display in Junee) Candy Preserved
44227 G-6045-27 Jul 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44228 GL103 Brew G-6045-28 Jul 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44229 BHP101
GL109		 Just a Dash G-6045-29 Jul 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44230 GL104 Jezabeel G-6045-30 Jul 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44231 G-6045-31 Aug 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44232 JL406
GL111		 Galilee G-6045-32 Sep 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44233 BHP102
GL107		 Rogan Josh G-6045-33 Nov 72 Rail First Asset Management RFAM Operational
44234 G-6045-34 Nov 72 Morrison Knudsen Australia Candy Scrapped
44235 G-6045-35 Mar 73 Silverton Rail Candy Scrapped
44236 G-6045-36 Sep 73 State Rail Authority Candy Scrapped
44237 G-6045-37 Sep 73 Silverton Rail Candy Scrapped
44238 G-6045-38 Sep 73 State Rail Authority Candy Scrapped
44239 G-6045-39 Oct 73 State Rail Authority Candy Scrapped
44240 G-6045-40 Oct 73 State Rail Authority FreightCorp Scrapped

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Oberg, Leon (2010). Locomotives of Australia 1854 to 2010. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 367, 368, 432, 433. ISBN 978-1-921719-01-1.
  2. ^ "Victorian Standard Gauge Report" Railway Digest April 1985 page 105
  3. ^ "Victorian Standard Gauge Report" Railway Digest July 1985 page 201
  4. ^ "Victorian Standard Gauge Report" Railway Digest August 1985 page 237
  5. ^ "Dynon Loco News" Railway Digest September 1987 page 287
  6. ^ "State Rail's Locomotive Auction Results" Railway Digest January 1995 page 36
  7. ^ "Stop Press" Railway Digest December 1995 page 17
  8. ^ "Austrac Ready Power Supplies First Leased Locomotives" Railway Digest July 1995 page 14
  9. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Antony (2000). Morrison Knudsen in Australia. Eveleigh Press. pp. 6–43. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Railway Digest August 1998 page 6
  11. ^ "Rail Authorities Face Loco Shortage" Railway Digest December 1995 page 16
  12. ^ "442 Class" Railway Digest May 1998 page 28
  13. ^ GL Class Locomotive CFCL Australia
  14. ^ JL Class vicrailways
  15. ^ 442 Class Railpage
  16. ^ 442 Class Vicsig
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Media related to New South Wales 442 class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

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