WAGR D class (diesel)

Clyde Engineering
Industry	Locomotive manufacturing
Headquarters	Granville, Australia
Products	Diesel locomotives

The D/DA class diesel locomotives were manufactured by Clyde Engineering at their Granville facility for the Western Australian Government Railways during the period of 1971 to 1972.

History

Initially, five D class units were commissioned to manage bauxite transport duties. Subsequently, seven DA class locomotives were produced; these lacked dynamic brakes and were lighter by approximately 12 tonnes.

In August 1998, units D1564 and D1565 were sold to Tranz Rail, where they underwent cab reconstruction at Hutt Workshops. They commenced operations with TasRail in June 2001, renumbered as 2020 and 2021. The updated cab design bore resemblance to that of the DXR8007. Meanwhile, in September 1998, unit D1563 was shipped to Chile for refurbishment and subsequent service with the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia.

Following the divestment of Westrail in October 2000, the remaining nine locomotives were transferred to the Australian Railroad Group. Upon the division of this group in June 2006, DA 1577 was assigned to Genesee & Wyoming Australia alongside the South Australian operations, while the other eight units were allocated to QR National for use within Western Australia. In January 2015, locomotives D1562 and DAZ1902-06 were exported to South Africa, acquired by APEX Industrial.

TasRail D class

The pair of D class locomotives originally acquired by Tranz Rail in 1998 underwent rebuilding at Hutt Workshops as a cost-efficient alternative to purchasing new equipment. Post-reconstruction, they were transferred to ATN Tasrail, an enterprise partly owned by Tranz Rail.

The refurbishment introduced a universal cab style featuring a lower short hood and an angular silhouette, akin to the design on Tranz Rail’s DXR 8007. These locomotives received a Wisconsin Central Maroon paint scheme and were renumbered from their original series (156X) to the 202X range, maintaining consistency with their Western Australian numbering.

They arrived at Bell Bay on 15 June 2001. Initially lacking traction motors after rebuilding, surplus English Electric EE548 motors were fitted at East Tamar Workshops. The locomotives entered service shortly thereafter; however, due to numerous traction motor malfunctions, these components were replaced with second-hand General Motors motors in 2009.

Currently owned by Watco Australia, both D class units are undergoing overhaul processes.

Withdrawals and disposal

With the arrival of the TR class, these locomotives were retired by mid-2014. They were stored at East Tamar Workshops until sold to Watco Australia in 2017 for deployment on infrastructure trains. D 2020 was shipped from Burnie on 5 May 2017 aboard the Toll vessel Victorian Reliance, followed by unit 2021 on 13 May aboard the Tasmanian Achiever. Both underwent refurbishment at Bendigo Workshops, Victoria, before being delivered to Perth in January 2018. They continue operating under their original WAGR numbers and are classified as DR.

Class list (D)

Key:	In Service	Withdrawn	Preserved	Converted	Unknown	Scrapped

Serial Number	Date Built	Original Road Number	Renumbered As	Current/Last Owner	Status
70-723	February 1971	D1561	-	Aurizon	Scrapped (September 2011)
70-724	1971	D1562	-	Rovos Rail	Active on Rovos Rail's Pretoria–Dar es Salaam route.
70-725	May 1971	D1563	2001	Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia	Exported to Chile
70-726	June 1971	D1564	2020 (TasRail), DR1564 (Watco)	Watco Australia	Rebuilt by Tranz Rail prior to service with TasRail.
70-727	July 1971	D1565	2021 (TasRail), DR1565 (Watco)	Watco Australia	Rebuilt by Tranz Rail prior to service with TasRail.

Class list (DA)

Legend:	Currently Active	Decommissioned	Preserved Units	Modified	Status Uncertain	Dismantled

External links

Gallery and History of Western Australian Railways & Stations

Serial Number	Construction Date	Initial Road Number	Updated Number	Owner	Current Condition
72-758	April 1972	DA1571	DAZ1901	Aurizon	bgcolor=#FF6600 \|Stored at Forrestfield
72-759	1972	DA1572	DAZ1902	APEX Industrial	Shipped to South Africa
72-760	1972	DA1573	DAZ1903	APEX Industrial	Shipped to South Africa
72-761	1972	DA1574	DAZ1904	APEX Industrial	Shipped to South Africa
72-762	1972	DA1575	DAZ1905	APEX Industrial	Shipped to South Africa