New Zealand DQ and QR class locomotives

DQ / QR class

250px DQ 6324 at Palmerston North

Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Clyde Engineering, Eagle Farm, Australia Model Electro-Motive Diesel G22C Build date 1996-99 Rebuilder Hutt Workshops Number rebuilt 16 (DQ), 6 (QR)

Specifications UIC class Co-Co Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Wheelbase 13.55 m (44 ft 5 in) between bogies 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) between axles in each bogie Length 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in) Loco weight 92 tonnes (91 long tons; 101 short tons) Fuel type Diesel Prime mover Electro-Motive Diesel 645E Engine type V12 2 stroke diesel Generator Electro-Motive Diesel D25 or D32T Traction motors Electro-Motive Diesel D29 Cylinders 12

Performance figures Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph) Power output 1,120 kW (1,500 hp) Tractive effort 1460: 1,065 kW (1,428 hp) 1502: 1,230 kW (1,650 hp)

Career Operators Tranz Rail, RRL Grindrod, TasRail Number in class 25 (1460: 21 1502: 4) 16 rebuilt as DQ class, 6 as QR class, 3 spares only First run January 1996 - May 1998 Last run March 2013 Retired August 1998 - March 2013 Withdrawn August 1998 - March 2013 Current owner RRL Grindrod TasRail Disposition 16 in service, 8 stored, 1 scrapped

The DQ and QR class were a class of diesel locomotives in New Zealand and Tasmania, Australia. Originally built by Clyde Engineering in the 1960s as Queensland Rail 1460 and 1502 class locomotives, they were purchased by Tranz Rail in 1995 to be rebuilt, as a cheaper alternative to buying new locomotives.

Introduction

TasRail DQ class leads two D class at Glenorchy, Tasmania in February 2010

File:Tasrail west coast1.jpg

TasRail 2011 after a derailment on the Melba Line in April 2009

In 1995, Tranz Rail purchased twenty-one 1460 and four 1502 class locomotives with the intention of rebuilding them for service in New Zealand. Seven 1460 and one 1502 class were shipped to Auckland in early 1998 and hauled to Hutt Workshops in Wellington. Two more batches followed, one on the inter-island rail ferry MV Aratika returning from Brisbane after a heavy engineering inspection.

Tranz Rail split them into two classes. The DQ class were rebuilt with a new cab and low nose and painted in the standard 'Cato Blue' scheme, with dynamic brakes, a computerised control system and rebuilt engine. The QR class were overhauled with auto-transition couplings and repainted in a variant of the 'Cato Blue' livery, these were only used as trailing locomotives as they were not fitted with the safety equipment required to lead trains.

The first locomotive outshopped was ex 1521 in October 1996 as DQ15215, a temporary number that combined the Queensland number with a TMS check digit, it was soon renumbered as DQ 6007 and nicknamed Platypus . Those rebuilt from 1502 class locomotives received 60xx numbers and those from 1460 class received 63xx numbers. This was done to differentiate the different power output of class members. 6007 had a horizontal mounted headlight and numbers below the headlight assembly on the front wall of the cab: the rest had vertical mounted headlights and numbers on either side of the headlight assembly.

The first QR class entered service in October 1997. Three (1499-1501) were not rebuilt but used as sources of spare parts at Hutt Workshops.

Service

DQ 6007 remained in captive service around Wellington for a few months in 1996-97 on shakedown before it was assigned to freight services throughout the lower North Island. Another six DQ and seven QR class followed.

Initially they were not preferred by locomotive crews due to excessive cab noise levels and emissions into the cab. Tranz Rail made modifications to DQ 6324 that reduced the noise level to that acceptable to the Rail & Maritime Transport Union, and also diesel fumes from entering the cab.

During this period, the classes were largely assigned to freight trains. However, DQ 6007 made several appearances on the Capital Connection and Wairarapa Connection long-distance suburban trains in 1996-97 during its shakedown period. On similarly rare occasions a DQ appeared on the Overlander, at least as far as Palmerston North.

It was soon discovered that the DQ class were not particularly reliable. Generator failures were particularly common, and so they were removed from long-distance operations to less-demanding short-haul runs, such as between Middleton Yard in Christchurch and the port of Lyttelton on the final leg of coal trains from the West Coast, and on the Ohai Branch line to and from Invercargill, hauling containerized coal trains. Several were also used as bankers to help trains up the gradients from Dunedin, and later up the 1 in 37 (2.7 %) gradient out of Picton.

Exports to Tasmania

To alleviate a locomotive shortage at TasRail, which had been purchased by Tranz Rail and its parent company Wisconsin Central in November 1997, a further eight 1460 class were rebuilt at Hutt Workshops and transferred along with Tranz Rail's DQs 6007, 6353 and 6330, and QR 3032. All were repainted in the new red and yellow TasRail livery and renumbered as the DQ2000 class.

They were tested on the North Island Main Trunk, receiving temporary TMS numbers that might have become permanent had they remained in New Zealand. The first two were loaded on the MV Polar Queen in mid-1998 with the last arriving in 1999, along with four other ex-Tranz Rail locomotives and two rebuilt ex Westrail D class locomotives.

QR class 2056, 2062 and 2102 were also sent to Tasmania. All were later purchased by TasRail, retaining their Tranz Rail Cato Blue livery. In 2013 the QR class were stored at East Tamar Locomotive Depot in a stripped state.

The DQ class has not been overly reliable in Tasmania either, although de-rating the prime movers resulted in slightly better reliability. Some have been refurbished by TasRail receiving its new charcoal grey and yellow livery.

Withdrawal in New Zealand

Following the sale of 15 locomotives to TasRail, Tranz Rail retained DQs 6324, 6347, 6376 and 6382 and QRs 2027, 2079 and 2085. In mid-July 1999 the three QR class were withdrawn and placed in storage at Hutt Workshops, while the four DQ class were transferred to the South Island where they were used for banking service and Lyttelton coal shuttles (usually in pairs) between Middleton and Lyttelton. 6324 and 6382 were withdrawn in 2002 and stored at Hillside Workshops and stripped of its six traction motors and 6324 was stored at Linwood while the two serviceable pair (6347 and 6376) were rostered on coal dumps between Middleton and Lyttelton. In 2005 the three QR class were sold to the National Railway Equipment Company and shipped to Mount Vernon, Illinois, where they remain minus a number of components. In the same year the two DQ's in storage were transferred to Hutt Workshops and returned to service with 6324 in the Toll Rail "Corn-Cob" livery.

In June 2011 DQ 6376 was damaged when it and leading unit DFT 7117 collided with a slip at Claverly, south of Kaikoura. It was taken to Hutt Workshops and not returned to service, instead becoming a source of spare parts. In February 2013 DQ 6324 had worn its wheelsets down to the point where they needed to be replaced, and was taken out of traffic and laid up at Hutt Workshops.

In February 2013 KiwiRail put all four up for sale. In March 2013 6347 and 6382 were withdrawn from service and laid up at Middleton. In April 2013 both were hauled from Middleton to Auckland and shipped to South Africa. They were rebuilt in South Africa by RRL Grindrod for use in Mozambique. 6324 and 6376 along with spares inventory were sold to National Railway Equipment Company. In July 2013 they hauled from Hutt Workshops to Auckland and shipped to South Africa on 4 August the same year to join 6347 and 6382 for RRL Grindrod.

File:Tasrail-2002-20151117-001.jpg

DQ 6013/2002 in Tasmania in 2015.

Class register

Key:	In service	On lease	Out of service	Preserved	Overhaul/Repair	Scrapped

QR no	TMS no	TasRail/RRL Gridrod no	Introduced	Location	Current livery	Status/Notes
1460	DQ 6382	RRL22-01	May 1998	Mozambique	RRL Grindrod red	Withdrawn March 2013, shipped to South Africa May 2013, operating in Mozambique.
1462	QR 2027		October 1997	Illinois	Tranz Rail Blue	Stored, Mount Vernon, Illinois
1465	DQ 6416	DQ2006	February 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Sold to TasRail
1466	QR 2033	DQ2010	February 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Sold to TasRail
1467	DQ 6376	RRL22-03	May 1998	Mozambique	RRL Grindrod red	Withdrawn after hitting a slip in Kaikoura June 2011, sold to National Railway Equipment Company, shipped August 2013 to Durban, South Africa. In service in Mozambique, February, 2014.
1468	DQ 6330	DQ2005	December 1997	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1472	DQ 6353	DQ2008	April 1998	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Sold to TasRail
1473	DQ 6324	RRL22-04	September 1997	Mozambique	Toll Rail "Corn Cob"	Sold to National Railway Equipment Company, shipped August 2013 to Durban, South Africa. In service in Mozambique, June, 2014.
1475	QR 2056		September 1997	Tasmania	Tasrail Blue	Sold to TasRail, withdrawn
1477	QR 2062		October 1997	Tasmania	Tasrail Blue	Sold to TasRail, withdrawn
1481	DQ 6347	RRL22-02	February 1998	Mozambique	RRL Grindrod red	Withdrawn March 2013, shipped to South Africa May 2013, operating in Mozambique.
1485	DQ 6399	DQ2007	February 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1488	QR 2079		November 1997	Illinois	Tranz Rail Blue	Stored, Mount Vernon, Illinois
1489	QR 2085		December 1998	Illinois	Tranz Rail Blue	Stored, Mount Vernon, Illinois
1491		DQ2009	September 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1493	QR 2102		November 1997	Tasmania		Sold to TasRail, withdrawn
1495		DQ2011	September 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1497		DQ2012	September 1999	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Sold to TasRail
1499				Hutt Workshops	Queensland Rail	Reduced to frame only. Stored and since scrapped at Hutt Workshops
1500				Illinois	Queensland Rail	Stored, Mount Vernon, Illinois
1501				Illinois	Queensland Rail	Stored, Mount Vernon, Illinois
1502	QR3032	DQ2004	December 1997	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1508	DQ 6036	DQ2003	1997	Tasmania	Tasrail Red	Sold to TasRail
1521	DQ 6007	DQ2001	21 January 1996	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Formerly DQ 15215, sold to TasRail, rebuilt 2010. It was named Platypus in Tranz Rail service.
1522	DQ 6013	DQ2002	1997	Tasmania	Tasrail grey & yellow	Sold to TasRail

External links

• http://www.railsoc.org.nz/pub/books.htm Parsons, David - New Zealand Railway Motive Power 2002