What Locomotive Is That?
Commonwealth Railways
& National Rail
The Commonwealth Railways was established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975. In February 2002, National Rail was sold to a Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings consortium and rebranded Pacific National.
Commonwealth Railways & National Rail Locomotives
CR NSU class Diesel-Electric
The Commonwealth Railways NSU class was a class of diesel-electric locomotives built in 1954 and 1955 by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, England, for the Commonwealth Railways for use on the narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway and North Australia Railway. Initially the fleet worked out of Port Augusta on the narrow gauge. Following the conversion of the Central Australia Railway from Port Augusta to Marree to standard gauge in 1957, two were transferred to the North Australia Railway operating out of Darwin. During the next 17 years locomotives were swapped periodically between the two lines.
Pichi Richi Railway's restored NSU52, crossing Saltia bridge near Quorn in October 2019 in the photo above, is only one of two NSU class locos in operation
In July 1975 all the locomotives were included in the transfer of Commonwealth Railways to Australian National. The NSU fleet remained intact until the Central Australia Railway was superseded by the opening of a new standard-gauge line to Alice Springs in 1980. Two were then transferred to Gladstone for use on the Wilmington line and one to Peterborough for use on the Quorn line. Several others were used by rail retrieval contractors along the Central Australian Railway after it closed. The last was withdrawn in 1987.
C.R. GM class Diesel-Electric
The GM class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Commonwealth Railways in several batches between 1951 and 1967. As at January 2014, some remain in service with Genesee & Wyoming Australia and Southern Shorthaul Railroad. Delivered to operate on the standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway, the first entered service in September 1951. Further orders saw 47 in service by December 1967. They operated on all of Commonwealth Railways's standard gauge lines including those to Broken Hill, Alice Springs, Marree and Adelaide when converted to standard gauge in 1970, 1980 and 1982 respectively.
C.R. CL class Diesel
The CL class is a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Commonwealth Railways in several batches between 1970 and 1972. The class was the last in the world to be built with the Electro-Motive Diesel bulldog nose but differed from previous builds in having a mansard roof.
The first locomotive was completed in January 1970, with two further orders resulting in 17 locomotives being built with the last delivered in October 1972. Their operating sphere was extended through to Perth on Indian Pacific services and for a time in the 1970s they operated through to Lithgow, New South Wales. In July 1975, all were included in the transfer of Commonwealth Railways to Australian National. The CLs began to operate to Alice Springs and Adelaide when these were converted to standard gauge in 1980 and 1983. In 2004, they began to operate to Darwin following this line opening.
C.R. NJ class Diesel
The NJ class are a class of diesel locomotive built in 1971 by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the Commonwealth Railways for use on the Central Australia Railway. In 1969, Commonwealth Railways ordered six single-cab NJ class locomotives from Clyde Engineering for use on the narrow gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Central Australian Railway between Marree and Alice Springs. They hauled freight trains as well as The Ghan passenger train. In July 1975, all were included in the transfer of Commonwealth Railways to Australian National. Following the closure of the Central Australian Railway in December 1980 and their unsuitability for conversion to standard gauge they were transferred by Australian National to the Eyre Peninsula Railway in South Australia.
National Rail NR Class
The NR class is one of, if not the most common and best known diesel locomotives riding the standard gauge rails of Australia today. TThe locos that haul Australia’s luxury interstate passenger trains, The Ghan and Indian Pacific are of the NR class. Introduced in 1996 by National Rail Corporation (hence their class name), 120 of them were built between 1996 and 1998 by A Goninan & Co for National Rail. The locomotives are 3000kw General Electric powered and used on standard gauge Australia wide.
They were introduced in grey and marigold and several were painted into various business units of NRC. Later they wore GSR train liveries (Ghan, Indian Pacific etc) representing the Hook and Pull agreement between the two companies. Great Southern Rail contracted National Rail to haul its services, the first train running with NR77 on 1 November 1997. All were included in the sale of National Rail to Pacific National in February 2002.
In 2002 Pacific National acquired the assets of NRC and commenced to repaint the NR class into their new blue and yellow colours.
C.R. G class
The Commonwealth Railways G class was a class of twenty-six 4-6-0 tender locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways. The class operated between Port Augusta (later, Port Pirie) and Kalgoorlie on the 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Trans-Australian Railway. The first four were built by Clyde Engineering, Sydney and were delivered between March and June 1914. Twelve followed from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, between May and August 1914. A further ten were delivered by the Toowoomba Foundry between June 1916 and October 1917.
When the line opened in October 1917, the G class started hauling goods trains and passenger trains including the Trans-Australian Express (later named the Trans-Australian). Although they proved a reliable locomotive as with their New South Wales counterparts, the high mineral content of the water on the Trans-Australian Railway was a constant impediment. Two were withdrawn in 1925 followed by a third in 1930. In the 1930s, seven were fitted with superheated boilers to replace the saturated examples. One locomotive has been preserved; it is on display at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.
C.R. KA class
The Commonwealth Railways KA class was a class of 2-8-0 tender locomotives of the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. The class operated on the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Trans-Australian Railway. Between September 1918 and June 1920, Commonwealth Railways took delivery of 26 KA class freight locomotives built to the same design as the New South Wales Government Railways' TF class. Most survived until replaced by GM class diesel locomotives with the last withdrawn in September 1952.
C.R. L class
In the late 1940s, the Federal Government placed an order with Clyde Engineering, Granville for fifty 2-8-2 locomotives. The government was able to renegotiate the contract, with only twenty built. Ten were taken by the Commonwealth Railways, even though it already had diesel locomotives on order, with the other ten going to the South Australian Railways as the 740 class. All were officially withdrawn by May 1959. They were scrapped in the mid 1960s with the boilers sold overseas.
C.R. C class
The Commonwealth Railways C class were 4-6-0 passenger locomotives built in 1938 by Walkers Limited, Maryborough, for the Commonwealth Railways, Australia. Following the extension of Commonwealth Railways' standard gauge line from Port Augusta to Port Pirie in 1937, and with increasing loads being hauled on the Trans-Australian Railway, an order was placed with Walkers Limited, Maryborough for eight 4-6-0 passenger locomotives to the same design as the New South Wales Government Railways' C36 class, but with higher capacity tenders.
All were delivered between January and April 1938. The new locomotives were able to shave 10 hours off the journey time of the Trans Australian. Four were converted to burn oil during the 1949 coal strike, being converted back to coal burning after the strike ended.
With the arrival of the GM class diesels, the first was withdrawn in January 1952 and by early 1953 only two remained. The last was withdrawn in September 1957. The locomotives were scrapped, but the tenders were converted into water carriers for use on the Commonwealth Railways weed killer train, still being in use in the early 1980s.
Northern Australian Railway
Nine classes of steam locomotives, totalling 60 individual engines worked on the North Australia Railway during the period of steam operation between 1887 and 1958.
NF 5 is on display at the Pine Creek Railway Museum, Northern Territory.
NF Steam Locomotive
The Narrow Gauge (3ft 6in) "NF" were originally South Australian Railways "W" class locomotives, being transferred to Northern Australian Railway in 1910. With a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, these locomotives were not all identical in weight and capacity. Built by Beyer Peacock, Manchester, England, they were introduced in November 1911. NF 2 was transferred to the Northern Territory Museum, Darwin, in June 1974. It was used in the feature film "We of the Never Never" (1981). NF 5 is on display at the Pine Creek Railway Museum, Northern Territory.
Sandfly NA 1 Steam Locomotive
The Sandfly was the first locomotive to operate on the Palmerston (Darwin) to Pine Creek Railway (North Australia Railway) in 1887 and was also the longest serving locomotive operating on the NAR with a career spanning 63 years. It was one of eight (Class 4-10½) industrial locomotives supplied by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, USA to Newell & Co of Melbourne, Australia between 1884 and 1891. The primary role of the Sandfly was to provide motive power and haul track components from the Stokes Hill wharf to the railway yards and beyond as line construction progressed. The Sandfly is currently on public display on the Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin.