New Zealand DSJ class locomotive
The New Zealand DSJ class is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive used on the New Zealand rail network. The class has a very similar overall design to the DSG class, but is instead single-engined, has a cab that is offset from the centre and is both shorter and lighter than its twin-engined counterpart.
| New Zealand DSJ class | |||||||||||||
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 DSJ4004 in Picton, April 2012. | |||||||||||||
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Introduction
The first DSJ was assembled in Japan by Toshiba Heavy Industries in 1983 and arrived in New Zealand in 1984.[1] Toshiba are the same company who built the EO class electric locomotives. The remaining four were assembled at the former Addington Workshops in Christchurch,[2] and entered service from 1984 to 1985.[1]
With only five members in this class, it represents one of the smallest contingents of shunt locomotives in current use.
In service
The locomotives have spent most of their time in use at the Te Rapa Marshalling Yard and Picton, and have ventured elsewhere on the network from time to time, including Ahuriri in Napier.[2]
Accidents
On the afternoon of 1 September 2021, DSJ4004[3] and a wagon went off the end of the rail ferry linkspan at Picton and into the harbour.[4] The wagon and locomotive were retrieved from the harbour on 2 and 3 September 2021 respectively. No one was injured during the incident. Due to the cost of repairing the flooded locomotive, DSJ4004 was written off and became a parts donor for the remainder of the fleet.[5]
References
- "DSJ Toshiba, Addington, 1984". New Zealand Railways Rolling Stock Lists. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- Parsons 2002, p. 18.
- "KiwiRail retrieves locomotive from bottom of Picton harbour". Stuff. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- "'Shunter locomotive' and railway wagon plunge into Picton harbour". September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- Eder, Jennifer (12 October 2021). "Locomotive's swim in Picton harbour proves fatal for ageing engine". Stuff. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Further reading
- Parsons, David (2002). New Zealand Railway Motive Power 2002. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-908573-78-3. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
