The 49 class are a class of diesel locomotives built by

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

, Granville for the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Department of Railways between 1960 and 1964.

History

The 49 class was ordered in three batches each of six locomotives. They entered service in the Western Region of New South Wales and hauled trains on all branchlines as well as mainlines west of Lithgow. They periodically travelled as far a field as Moree in the north-west and

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

in the south-west.49 Class – 1960
Trackside 2012 Between July and November 1989, the whole class was transferred to

Delec Locomotive Depot Delec Locomotive Depot was an Australian locomotive depot purpose built for the servicing of diesel and electric locomotives by the New South Wales Government Railways opening in 1958. Its name is a portmanteau of the locomotive types it serviced. ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. As well as metropolitan trip workings they were used on coal trains to Tahmoor on the

Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

. In January 1994, they began to operate on the

Illawarra line The South Coast Railway (also known as the Illawarra Railway) is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra a ...

Bombo Bombo may refer to: Music * ''Bombo'' (musical), a 1921 Broadway production starring Al Jolson * "Bombo" (song), by Norwegian singer Adelén *Bombo criollo or just bombo, a family of Latin American drums *Bombo legüero, an Argentine drum *An 18th ...

on ballast trains. In June 1994, the

Manildra Group The Manildra Group is an Australian agribusiness based in Sydney. It was formed in 1952 when Jack Honan purchased a flour mill in Manildra. In 1966 a starch and gluten plant was established in Auburn. In the early 1970s, further starch plants ope ...

leased 4907 from

FreightCorp FreightCorp (formally the ''Freight Rail Corporation'') was a railway operator owned by the Government of New South Wales responsible for intrastate and some interstate rail cargo handling from its creation in January 1989 until it was privatis ...

for use at its

Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultur ...

mill. Later in 1994, Manildra purchased 4907 along with 4913 and had them rebuilt by

, Kelso with lower No.1 ends, the second being for use at their

Manildra Manildra is a small town located halfway between Orange and Parkes in Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the , Manildra had a population of 464. Industries Located on the banks of Mandagery Creek in the heart of a farming community ...

mill. To haul infrastructure trains in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

during the Melbourne-Adelaide railway standard gauge conversion project, 4903, 4912 and 4916 were leased to

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

in late 1994. In February 1995, the remaining examples still in service with FreightCorp were withdrawn. Most were returned to traffic later in 1995 before again being withdrawn in July 1997. In April 1998, 4910 was leased for seven months to Northern Rivers Railroad hauling services between Grafton and

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-eas ...

. By 1999, the 49s had begun to be sold with 3801 Limited, Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia,

Consolidated Rail Leasing Consolidated Rail Leasing is an Australian locomotive and rolling stock leasing company. It was formed in 2012 as a subsidiary of Southern Shorthaul Railroad. It was formerly known as BRM Leasing. In February 2013, the operational fleet consi ...

, Patrick Portlink and

Southern Shorthaul Railroad Southern Shorthaul Railroad is an Australian rail freight services operator in New South Wales and Victoria. The company also provides workshop services, such as rolling stock manufacturing and wagon and locomotive maintenance. History Sout ...

among those to have operated them, with many having had more than one owner post FreightCorp. Northern Rivers Railroad purchased a number, although none entered service. They were either resold or stripped for spares with the bogies off some used to regauge

Queensland Railways 1502 class The 1502 class was a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Eagle Farm, Queensland, Eagle Farm for Queensland Railways between 1967 and 1969. History The 1502 class was an evolution of the Queensland Railways 1460 class, 1460 c ...

locomotives when converted to the 423 class. Today a number remain in use with Consolidated Rail Leasing, Manildra Group and Southern Shorthaul Railroad.49 Class
Railpage Preserved examples are currently operated by the

Lachlan Valley Railway The Lachlan Valley Railway Society is an Australian rail preservation society based in the New South Wales Central Western town of Cowra. It was established in 1974 to preserve and operate former New South Wales Government Railways locomotives ...

and the

NSW Rail Museum The NSW Rail Museum is the main railway museum in New South Wales, Australia. A division of Transport Heritage NSW, it was previously known as the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM), Rail Heritage Centre and Trainworks. Transport H ...

History

Status Table

References

Further reading