The Diesel Traction Group (DTG) is the
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
-based operator of a fleet of ex-
New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...
s. The fleet represents a full collection of
New Zealand locomotive classes built by the
English Electric
N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail)
The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...
Company and is a historically significant collection of early New Zealand diesel traction. All of the DTG's locomotives are owned by individual members through the sale of shareholdings.
History
The DTG was formed in September 1983 to preserve one of the
DG class locomotives that were being withdrawn from service at the time. D
G 772 (TMS DG 2255) was purchased from NZR and moved to
Ferrymead
Ferrymead is a suburb south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the main thoroughfare for reaching the eastern sea suburbs such as Sumner, as well as home to a number of cliff-top residences and businesses along the estuary front. After t ...
on 17 October 1983. During 1984, the DTG investigated purchasing a second DG, this time one of the ten that were fitted with a new cab during their last major overhaul in the early 1980s, but the proposal did not proceed.
In 1988, D
G 772 was upgraded to mainline mechanical certification condition, repainted in its original colour scheme and used in the
Ferrymead 125
The Ferrymead 125 celebration was an event to celebrate 125 years of Rail transport in New Zealand. The event was held over a week from 17 to 24 October 1988, with trains running in, and to and from Christchurch.
Excursions
The first excursion du ...
celebrations, including a mainline excursion to
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
. Further mainline charters to Dunedin, Clyde and Arthurs Pass followed.
The Group's second locomotive was Drewry T
R 22 (TMS TR 91), one of the early designs of the
TR class which entered service in 1939. It was offered for sale by tender and was delivered to Ferrymead in July 1985 without an engine or transmission. These vital items of equipment were purchased separately from NZR stores the following year and after installation into the locomotive, it was recommissioned into service a year after its arrival. T
R 22 was then placed on lease to the Ferrymead Railway as a light shunter and was later sold to the railway's operators.
In November 1987, the Group's members purchased two
DE class locomotives, D
E's 511 and 512 (TMS DE 1412 and DE 1429), from Dunedin where they had been recently withdrawn from shunting duties. They were delivered to Ferrymead with other rolling stock the same month. D
E 511 was repainted in the original colours and certified to mainline mechanical standard for participation in the
Ferrymead 125
The Ferrymead 125 celebration was an event to celebrate 125 years of Rail transport in New Zealand. The event was held over a week from 17 to 24 October 1988, with trains running in, and to and from Christchurch.
Excursions
The first excursion du ...
event the following year, which included shared operation of the Springfield excursion with D
G 772. Following this, D
E 511 is now undergoing repairs after being in storage. DE 1429 retained its latter-day TMS number and colours in preservation and had its engine overhauled in 1989–1990. It is currently on loan to the
Weka Pass Railway
The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12.8 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated socie ...
.
In 1989, the DTG purchased
DI class locomotive D
I 1102 (TMS DI 1820), along with a number of spare parts and a complete diesel engine from class leader D
I 1100 (TMS DI 1808), which was then being scrapped at
Hutt Workshops
The Hutt Railway Workshops is a major railway engineering facility in the Lower Hutt suburb of Gracefield in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island. It is state-owned enterprise KiwiRail's only workshops, and was opened in 1930. ...
. Following the completion of D
G 772 in 2009, the DTG has turned their attention to restoring this locomotive to working order for use on the main line. It is now undergoing testing and certification for mainline running.
In 2009, the DTG was named as the custodians of
FRONZ's English Electric
DF class locomotive, D
F 1501, after it was removed from its plinth in Auckland at the request of the site owners, scrap dealer Sims PMI. The locomotive was towed south in January 2009, and the DTG have stated their intention is to restore D
F 1501 to working order at some time in the future. At present, the locomotive is receiving preventative maintenance and will be displayed in the National Railway Museum of New Zealand.
Location
The DTG is based at
Ferrymead Heritage Park
Ferrymead Heritage Park is a museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, housing groups with historical themes, mainly transport related. Formerly known as Ferrymead Historic Park, it was founded in 1964 by groups, local government bodies and other i ...
, and their locomotives are used on passenger trains and heavy shunting services on the Ferrymead Railway. In the past, the group's locomotives have also ventured out onto other heritage/tourist railways and charters on the
national rail network
In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. F ...
or visited other heritage railways. The DTG is a member of the
Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand
The Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand Incorporated (known by its acronym FRONZ) represents the interests of the heritage and tourist rail industry in New Zealand.
Membership
Our 70 members, range from commercial full-time operato ...
.
DTG Fleet
Locomotives
Wagons
The DTG also possesses a small collection of five ex-NZR goods wagons, several of which are loaned by the Rail Heritage Trust.
See also
*
Railway preservation in New Zealand
Preserved C class Silver_Stream_Railway.html"_;"title="steam_locomotive_#132_on_the_heritage_Silver_Stream_Railway">steam_locomotive_#132_on_the_heritage_Silver_Stream_Railway,_6_March_2002.
Railway_preservation_in_New_Zealand_is_the_preservatio ...
References
External links
Diesel Traction Group
{{NZR Heritage
Rail transport in Christchurch
Organisations based in Christchurch