The NZR DSB class locomotive is a type of shunting locomotive introduced to New Zealand's national rail network in 1954 by New Zealand Railways (NZR).

Introduction

In 1950, NZR placed an order for 25 D^SB shunting locomotives. They were built by the Drewry Car Co. between 1954 and 1956. The first three D^SB class locomotives were commissioned in August 1954. The D^SB are a larger and more powerful locomotive than the D^S and D^SA classes and were used all over

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. A second batch of three locomotives built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was introduced in 1967. The Drewry type B-2 had a cover-plate over the locomotive's

jackshaft A jackshaft, also called a ''countershaft'', is a common mechanical design component used to transfer or synchronize rotational force in a machine. A jackshaft is often just a short stub with supporting bearings on the ends and two pulleys, gear ...

to prevent staff from being caught by the jackshaft while riding on the cab steps. By the end of their lives, 12 DSBs were repainted in the "''International Orange''" livery.

Withdrawal

In line with NZR's policy of rationalising locomotive classes, the DSB class was entirely withdrawn by the end of the 1980s. As of July 2014 only one has been preserved, DSB313 was purchased in January 1991 by the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust for shunting at their Parnell depot.

Introduction

Withdrawal

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography