The J class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Granville, for the Western Australian Government Railways in 1966.

History

The J class entered service between July and October 1966 to provide as

shunters A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually mov ...

for the Eastern Goldfields Railway from Perth to

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

that was being

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to standard gauge. They were a development of the

Victorian Railways Y class The Victorian Railways Y class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives. The Y class was an example of the new policy of standard design principles being adopted by the railways of the time. The original pattern locomotive (an 0-6-0 tender engin ...

. J101 was scrapped in July 1986 with the remaining four sold in 1995 to Great Northern Rail Services and moved to South Dynon Locomotive Depot. They operated freight transfer and infrastructure trains under contract to National Rail. Following the cessation of Great Northern Rail Services in 2004, the 4 units were split up. J102 & J103 were sold to CFCLA and stayed in Melbourne. These 2 units were hired to Southern Shorthaul Railroad for use as terminal shunters and infrastructure workings. J102 & J103 were purchased by SCT Logistics for use as shunters at their various terminals. J104 & J105 were sold to Freightlink, renumbered to FJ104 & FJ105, and moved to the Northern Territory as terminal shunters in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. They were transferred to

Genesee & Wyoming Australia One Rail Australia is an Australian rail freight operator company. Founded by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. in 1997 as Australian Southern Railroad, and later renamed Genesee & Wyoming Australia, it was renamed One Rail Australia in February 2020 aft ...

following its acquisition of Freightlink.J Class
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References

{{WAGR Locomotives, state=collapsed Bo-Bo locomotives Clyde Engineering locomotives Diesel locomotives of Western Australia Railway locomotives introduced in 1966 Standard gauge locomotives of Australia Diesel-electric locomotives of Australia