Australian National AN class

Clyde Engineering

Industry	Locomotive manufacturing
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Somerton , Australia
Products	Diesel-electric locomotives

The AN class consists of diesel-electric locomotives manufactured by Clyde Engineering at Somerton for the Australian National Railways Commission during the period of 1992 to 1993.

Introduction to service and operating history

Initially, the AN class was deployed on Australian National's standard gauge routes, operating between Broken Hill, Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Perth. After Australian National's interstate services were transferred in 1995, all units were leased to the newly established National Rail Corporation.

In January 1996, AN10 was lost in the Hines Hill train collision. The remaining ten locomotives were officially sold to National Rail in November 1997. Following Pacific National's acquisition of National Rail in February 2002, ownership of these units transferred accordingly. Starting in 2004, the AN class also began servicing the newly inaugurated Darwin line for The Ghan passenger service, with AN3 notably donning The Ghan's distinctive livery from 2004 until 2014.

Future

As of January 2023, the AN class primarily functions as trailing locomotives on Intermodal and Steel freight services connecting Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney. They have frequently been utilized as secondary power on steel haulage across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. Due to elevated maintenance expenses and recurring mechanical faults, most units are stored in Melbourne, with speculation about their possible relocation to Werris Creek in New South Wales.

By 17 February 2023, all locomotives except for AN1 (stationed at Port Augusta) were placed in storage at South Dynon.

In December 2023, a limited reactivation occurred: AN1 was operational between Port Augusta and Spotswood, while AN3 and AN8 were also present at Spotswood.

In September 2024, AN3 and AN8 were moved to Port Augusta for storage purposes. Currently, AN1 remains the sole operational unit; AN8 is expected to be scrapped, whereas there is a potential plan to reactivate AN3 by utilizing components from AN8.

Fleet status

Key:	Active	Stored	Preserved	Refurbished	Under maintenance	Decommissioned

Locomotive	Serial no	Completed	Owner	Livery	Status
AN1	92-1297	1992	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Operational.
AN2	92-1298	1992	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last service on 23/12/2022.
AN3	92-1299	1992	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Operational.
AN4	93-1300	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last run on 11/01/2023.
AN5	93-1301	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last operation on 02/02/2023.
AN6	93-1302	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last use on 12/01/2023.
AN7	93-1303	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last active on 15/01/2023.
AN8	93-1304	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Operational.
AN9	93-1305	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last run on 11/01/2023.
AN10	93-1306	1993	National Rail Corporation	Australian National green & yellow	Decommissioned due to accident damage.
AN11	93-1307	1993	Pacific National	Pacific National blue & yellow	Stored; last operation on 17/01/2023.