New South Wales 442 class locomotive

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

New South Wales 442 class
44231 on a northbound freight train arriving at Casino in 1987
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder AE Goodwin, Auburn (34) Comeng, Auburn (6) Serial number Alco G-6045-01 to G-6045-40 Model Alco DL-500G Build date 1970-1973 Total produced 40 Rebuilder UGL Rail, Broadmeadow Rebuild date 2003-2004 Number rebuilt 12
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Co-Co Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge Wheel diameter 40 in (1,016 mm) Length Over headstocks: 57 ft 1 in (17.40 m), Over coupler pulling faces 61 ft 3 in (18.67 m) Width 9 ft 7 ^1⁄2 in (2.93 m) Height 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m) Axle load 18 long tons 16 cwt (42,100 lb or 19.1 t) Loco weight 113 long tons 0 cwt (253,100 lb or 114.8 t) Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 1,200 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 m^3) Prime mover As built: Alco 12-251C GLs: General Electric 7-FDL12 RPM range 400-1025 Engine type Four-stroke V12 diesel Aspiration Turbocharged Alternator 44235–44240: Mitsubishi Alternator Generator 44201–44203: GT 586 44204–44205: AEI 5301 44206–44220: AEI 5302 44221–44234: AEI 5301 Traction motors 44201–44220: GE 750 44221–44234: AEI 165 44235–44240: Mitsubishi MB-451-AUR Cylinders 12 Cylinder size 9 in × 10.5 in (229 mm × 267 mm)
Performance figures Maximum speed 120 km/h (75 mph) Power output Gross: 2,150 hp (1,600 kW), For traction: 2,000 hp (1,490 kW) Tractive effort 52,000 lbf (231.31 kN) at 11.75 mph (18.9 km/h)
Career Operators New South Wales Government Railways Number in class 40 Numbers 44201-44240 Nicknames Jumbos First run 29 March 1971 Preserved 44211 Current owner CFCL Australia Qube Logistics Southern Shorthaul Railroad Disposition 9 operational, 1 preserved, 12 rebuilt, 18 scrapped

History

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

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

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

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 (44211) 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

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 Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia, 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

Original No	Renumbered	Name	Serial No	Completed	Current / Last Owner	Livery	Status
44201	GL105	Let’s Elope	G-6045-01	Dec 70	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44202	442s4		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	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		G-6045-06	Jul 71	Southern Shorthaul Railroad	SSR yellow & black	Operational
44207	GL101	Think Big	G-6045-07	Jul 71	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44208	JL403 Now 2018 44208	Mark's Baby.	G-6045-08	Aug 71	Manildra Group Manildra	Silver and Blue	Operational
44209	JL404 Now 2018 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	CFCL Australia	Freightliner
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	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44216	GL102	Sunline	G-6045-16	May 72	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44217	442s2		G-6045-17	May 72	Southern Shorthaul Railroad	Greentrains green & yellow	Operational
44218	GL106	Subzero	G-6045-18	Jun 72	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44219			G-6045-19	Jun 72	Morrison Knudsen Australia	Candy	Scrapped
44220	442s1		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	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44223	442s5		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	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44229	BHP101 GL109	Just a Dash	G-6045-29	Jul 72	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44230	GL104	Jezabeel	G-6045-30	Jul 72	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
44231			G-6045-31	Aug 72	Morrison Knudsen Australia	Candy	Scrapped
44232	JL406 GL111	Galilee	G-6045-32	Sep 72	CFCL Australia	Freightliner
44233	BHP102 GL107	Rogan Josh	G-6045-33	Nov 72	CFCL Australia	CFCLA
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

1. 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. Fitzgerald, Antony (2000). Morrison Knudsen in Australia. Australian Diesel Scene 4. Eveleigh Press. pp. 6–43.
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

External links

Media related to New South Wales 442 class locomotives at Wikimedia Commons