NZR DQ class
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| DQ / QR class | |
 DQ 6324 at Palmerston North |
|
| Power type | Diesel-electric |
|---|---|
| Builder | Commonwealth Engineering, New South Wales, Australia |
| Build date | 1967 |
| UIC classification | Co-Co |
| Wheel diameter | 1.250 m |
| Wheelbase | 13.550 m between bogies 2.580 m between axles in each bogie |
| Length | 16.3 m m |
| Total weight | 110 tons |
| Top speed | 80 km/h |
| Power output | 3,780 kW |
| Tractive effort | 1460: 1065 kW 1502: 1230 kW |
| Career | Tranz Rail, TasRail |
| Number in class | 25 (1460: 21 1502: 4) 15 rebuilt as DQ class 7 withdrawn, 3 in service, 15 sold to TasRail (12 DQ / 3 QR). |
| First run | 1964 (QR) 1995 (NZ) |
| Disposition | 3 in service, 7 withdrawn, 15 sold to TasRail |
The Tranz Rail DQ / QR class locomotives are two classes of mainline diesel-electric locomotives in New Zealand and Tasmania, Australia. Originally Queensland Rail 1460 and 1502 class, they were purchased by Tranz Rail in 1995 to be rebuilt, as a cheaper alternative to buying new locomotives. Most of them were rebuilt as the DQ class, with rebuilt cabs and lowered short hoods, with the remainder receiving only minimal alteration before being used as QR trailing locomotives. All were painted in the corporate livery of light blue and yellow before being put into Tranz Rail service.
They were not favoured by their crews due to complaints of rough riding and excessive cab noise. They were also considered unreliable by senior management, and are now mainly used for short-haul runs, such as on the final leg of coal trains from the West Coast between Christchurch and the port of Lyttelton. They are also used as bankers to help trains up the steep grade out of Picton.
In 1998 Tranz Rail began to export locomotives to Tasmania for use on TasRail, then part-owned by Tranz Rail. In total, 12 DQ were exported, along with three unrebuilt QR class.
As of 2007, only three DQ remained in service (all in the South Island); the remaining QR have been sold after lengthy periods of storage at the Hutt Workshops.
[edit] External links
- New Zealand Diesel and Electric Traction - Class DQ
- TasRail - Class DQ
- TasRail - Class QR
- Queensland Rail - Class 1460
- Queensland Rail - Class 1502
[edit] References
- Parsons, David - New Zealand Railway Motive Power 2002 [1]
