New South Wales 86 class locomotive
| Industry | Railway locomotive manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Granville, New South Wales , Australia |
The 86 class represents a fleet of electric locomotives manufactured by Comeng in Granville, New South Wales, specifically for the State Rail Authority of New South Wales.
History
Initially, the 86 class serviced both passenger and freight routes to Lithgow along the Main Western line and to Wyong on the Main Northern line. Their operational range expanded to include Newcastle as of June 1984 and later extended to Port Kembla in January 1986 following the electrification of the Illawarra line.
Delivering a one-hour power output rated at 4,400 horsepower (hp), the 86 class held the distinction of being Australia's most powerful locomotive during its era. Although they are no longer regularly deployed, these locomotives remain among the highest-powered units in the nation. Nonetheless, they were often considered less capable compared to the Metropolitan-Vickers-constructed 46 class from the late 1950s.
The final locomotive produced, number 8650, was configured as a Bo-Bo-Bo experimental unit and underwent extensive periods of maintenance.
Between 1994 and 1995, all units were repainted by A Goninan & Co in Taree into Freight Rail’s (later known as FreightCorp) blue livery. By October 1997, 18 locomotives had been withdrawn due to frame cracking issues. As electric locomotive demand decreased, National Rail preferred through haulage operations, which led FreightCorp to discontinue use of the 86 class on Main Northern line routes from March 1998 onward. The remaining locomotives primarily handled coal transport between Lithgow and Port Kembla until their final withdrawal in June 2002.
In 2002, most units were sold to Silverton Rail and relocated to Broken Hill. Subsequently, in February 2006, ownership transferred to Allco Finance Group, with many units dismantled and some resold. Four locomotives—8601, 8609, 8622, and 8644—were leased back to RailCorp in 2004 for infrastructure tasks related to the Bondi Junction turnback project.
Status
| Number | Owner | Location | Status | Livery | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8601 | Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum | Dorrigo | Static Display | FreightCorp Blue | |
| 8602 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8603 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8604 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8605 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8606 | Sydney Electric Train Society | Enfield | Operational | FreightCorp Blue | |
| 8607 | Privately Owned | Canberra | Stored | FreightCorp Blue | |
| 8608 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8609 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8610 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue | |||
| 8611 | Scrapped | FreightCorp Blue |