The 47 class are a class of diesel-electric locomotives built by A Goninan & Co for the

Public Transport Commission The Public Transport Commission (PTC) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for the provision of rail, bus and ferry services in New South Wales, Australia from October 1972 until June 1980. Upon dissolution, responsi ...

in 1972–1973.

History

Twenty were ordered from A Goninan & Co with the first delivered in July 1972. After undergoing acceptance trials, the first entered service in September 1972 with the last delivered in May 1973. Originally intended for use hauling coal services in the Hunter Valley, they were allocated to Bathurst to operate services in the state's west from Lithgow to Euabalong West, Bourke and Cootamundra and all branches in between. Their excellent ride qualities saw them find favour with crews, although they did suffer from overheating with one destroyed by fire in April 1974 and another in a collision in March 1977."The 47 class locomotives of NSW" ''Railway Digest'' December 1999 page 32 In January 1981, it was decided to transfer the class to Broadmeadow to take up the duties they had originally been built for being used to haul coal services from Belmont,

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

, Lambton and Pelton. They also saw use on services to

Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had ...

, Tamworth and Moree. They continued to return to Bathurst Workshops for overhaul. A downturn in traffic as a result of a drought saw them placed in store at

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

in 1982/83 before all were reactivated in 1984 resuming duties out of Broadmeadow. In 1987, 4719 was withdrawn from service and stored at Bathurst Workshops as a source parts to keep sister units working, being joined by 4715 in November 1988. In 1989, both were moved from to Cardiff Workshops to be rebuilt as HTV2000, a Heavy Test Vehicle. Despite their favouritism with crews, their high maintenance costs saw them selected for withdrawal in 1989 with only six in service or under repair by November 1989 with the last being taken out of service in December 1990. In 1990, 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 ...

purchased 47s 01 and 08 followed in February 1994 by 02, 03, 07 and 16. A later purchase was 4717. These were used to operate wheat services in the

Cowra Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

region in 1993/94. In June 1999, they commenced operating trip working services between

Port Botany Port Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Port Botany is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Port Bo ...

and the Cooks River container terminal in Sydney for Lachlan Valley Rail Freight"LVR Commences Sydney Freight Operations" ''Railway Digest'' July 1999 page 12 followed in July 1999 by a service between Cooks River and Carrington for R&H Transport Services. As of July 2019, 3 Lachlan Valley Railway units remain in service, primarily operating AK Car test trains for ARTC. In March 2022, 4717 was cut up for scrap.

History

Fleet status

References

Further reading