This article lists the

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

that have operated or are operating on

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

Classification

Locomotives were classified by

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...

, motive power, function and power (or model number) in a four- or five-letter code. The first letter denotes the track gauge. The second letter denotes motive power (diesel or electric), and the third letter denotes use (goods, passenger, mixed or shunting). The fourth letter denotes a locomotive's chronological model number. In 2002, a new classification system was adopted. For newer diesel locomotives, the fourth letter denotes their

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

range. Not all diesel locomotives were reclassified, and the fourth letter continues to denotes their model number. A locomotive may have a fifth letter, generally denoting a technical variant, subclass or subtype: a variation in the basic model or series, or a different motor or manufacturer. Under the new system, the fifth letter further refines horsepower in 100-hp increments: ''A'' for 100 hp, ''B'' for 200 hp, ''C'' for 300 hp and so on. A WDP-3A is a locomotive, and a WDM-3F is . The system does not apply to steam locomotives, which are no longer used on main lines. They retain their original class names, such as M- or WP-class.

Syntax

* First letter (gauge): ** W –

Broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

(wide) – ** Y –

Metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

(

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

) – ** Z –

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

** N – narrow (toy) gauge * Second letter (motive power): ** D – Diesel ** C – DC electric (DC

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

) ** A – AC electric (AC overhead line) ** CA – DC and AC (AC or DC overhead line); CA is considered one letter ** B – Battery (rare) * Third letter (job type): ** G –

Goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tran ...

** P – Passenger ** M – Mixed (goods and passenger) ** S – Shunting (switching) ** U –

Multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...

(

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

) ** R –

Railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

In WDM 3A, W denotes broad gauge; D denotes diesel power; M denotes mixed use (goods and passenger service), and 3A denotes (3,000 + 100). In

WAP 5 The Indian locomotive class WAP-5 is the name of a class of "High Speed" electric locomotives produced and used by Indian Railways. The first 10 locomotives were imported from ABB in Switzerland in 1995. They are supposed to be a variant of th ...

, W is broad gauge; A is AC electric; P is passenger service, and 5 indicates that the locomotive is the fifth model used.

Broad-gauge locomotives

Broad-gauge diesel classification codes are: * WDM – Wide diesel mixed * WDP – Wide diesel passenger * WDG – Wide diesel goods * WDS – Wide diesel shunter

Mixed class (WDM series)

Passenger class (WDP series)

Goods class (WDG series)

Shunter class (WDS series)

Meter-gauge locomotives

Metre-gauge diesel classification code is: * YDM - Metre gauge diesel mixed

Mixed class (YDM series)

Narrow-gauge locomotives

Narrow-gauge diesel classification codes are: * ZDM - Narrow gauge 2 ft 6 in diesel mixed * NDM - Narrow gauge 2 ft diesel mixed

Mixed class (ZDM series)

Mixed class (NDM series)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Broad gauge locomotives of India , state=collapsed Diesel locomotives of India Railway locomotive-related lists 5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives Indian railway-related lists