Our fleet 

 Dg 772

Dg 772, later numbered DG 2255, was the first locomotive purchased by the Diesel Traction Group after being formed in September 1983 to preserve one of the Dg class members that were being withdrawn from New Zealand Railways service at the time. The locomotive was moved to its new home on the 17th October 1983 at Ferrymead. In 1988, the group upgraded the locomotive to work heritage excursions on the mainline and was repainted in its original NZR red and yellow whisker stripe livery and re-numbered to its old NZR running number being Dg 772.

Its first excursion that year was part of the Ferrymead 125 celebrations in Christchurch which saw it head to Springfield in tandem with our other locomotive De 511, the Dg also ran further charters to Dunedin, Clyde (for the closure of the Otago Central Railway beyond Middlemarch) & Arthur’s Pass on the TranzAlpine route. 772 visited our friends at the Weka Pass Railway for the first time in 1995, to cover for one of their Dg class locomotives that was out of service for repairs.

After returning home to Ferrymead, the locomotive was placed into storage for many years, until 2002 when it was decided to overhaul the locomotive to the current NRSS standards for network operation. Involved in this work was converting the Westinghouse brake system from the A7EL, to the more modern 26L style system, to make the locomotive more operation-friendly for KiwiRail locomotive engineers, ditch lights, a VHF radio and event recorder were also installed.

The overhaul was completed in 2009, and the locomotive was transferred to Waipara for break in testing at the Weka Pass Railway. Dg 772 was successfully signed off and registered to run on the KiwiRail network in September that year and participated in the Middlemarch Rail Festival during Labour Weekend on the Taieri Gorge Railway. The locomotive has since traveled much of the South Island rail network, running excursions to Timaru, Kaikoura, Arthur’s Pass, Dunedin, Middlemarch & Invercargill, and has visited the Weka Pass Railway a number of times over the years since returning to service. With the recent completion of locomotive Di 1102 in 2018, the Di & the Dg make a great, ideal pair of locomotives to hire out for running excursions on the KiwiRail network. 772 currently remains at Ferrymead, but requires an engine overhaul & various engineering tasks to return the locomotive to the national network.

 Di 1102 

• Built: 1966, English Electric Company Ltd at Rocklea Works, Queensland, Australia. 

• Wheel Arrangement: Co - Co 

• Weight: 64 tonnes

• Maximum Speed: 97kmh

• Fuel Capacity: 500 imp gallons (2,300 Litres) 

• Traction Motors: Six EE540/1A

• Continuous Tractive Effort: 132kN

• Diesel Engine: English Electric 6CSRKT Mark 2

• Turbocharged and Intercooled Four Stroke, 6 cylinder, four valves per cylinder, 10 inch bore, 12 inch stroke. 92 litre (5615 Cubic Inches) total capacity.

• RPM Range: 450 - 850rpm 

• Power Output: 1012HP 

• Withdrawn: 1989

Di 1102, was one of five of its very small class built by the Australian branch of the English Electric Co. in Rocklea Works, Brisbane for the New Zealand Railways. The class was to be the prototype for a lightweight diesel electric locomotive to run not only on main lines, but also on lightly laid branchlines, more so in the South Island. However, the introduction of the 64 members of the Mitsubishi Dj class in 1968 took over this role and as a result the Di class remained as a small group of 5.

1102 and its class mates operated all over the country during their working lives, they worked over the East Coast Main Trunk in the Bay of Plenty from 1969 until 1978 when the Kaimai tunnel was opened. Subsequently they were transferred to the Dunedin area to work the Makareao stone trains and work over the Otago Central Branch and down to Invercargill. The class ended up finishing their days in the Wellington & Napier areas, with 1102, now carrying its TMS identity of 1820 being the last withdrawn in May 1989.

DI 1820 was purchased by the group in 1990, and was finally transferred to our site at Ferrymead in September 1992. Attention to the locomotive’s long restoration project began in 2009 following the recent completion of Dg 772, with the aim to restore it to network standards. With the locomotive found to be in a very run-down state, and having been involved in a couple of major accidents during its NZR career, this has had to be the most extensive locomotive restoration project we have undertaken in all our years in existence. In October 2017, the locomotive was fired up & moved under its own power for the first time in almost 30 years, and so began the next year of finishing up the restoration project.

The locomotive was recommissioned during Easter weekend 2018 on the Ferrymead Railway, wearing its original ‘out of the box’ colors from 1966 and re-numbered back to 1102. In July that year, it was sent up to the Weka Pass Railway at Waipara to test out the locomotive’s performance hauling a variety of loads and was signed off and registered to work on the national network in September, marking the completion of its 9 year restoration.

In October 2018, it made its mainline debut in preservation with Dg 772 hauling Steam Incorporated’s “Southern Diesel Railtour” that traveled from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass, Oamaru, Dunedin, Middlemarch & Invercargill which coincided with Dunedin Railways’ 50th birthday celebrations of the Dj class. As of August 2023, Di 1102 has done over 5000km’s since being restored, and is now on lease to the Weka Pass Railway at Waipara, the locomotive is also currently awaiting engineering work that is required to return the locomotive to the national network. Once re-certified, Di 1102 will continue to be based at Waipara and be available for mainline charters & excursions!

De’s 511 & 512

• Built: 1951, English Electric Company Ltd, Preston, England. 

• Wheel Arrangement: Bo - Bo 

• Weight: 51.6 tonnes

• Maximum Speed: 89kmh

• Fuel Capacity: 300 imp gallons (1,400 Litres)

• Traction Motors: Four EE 521A 

• Continuous Tractive Effort: 54kN

• Diesel Engine: English Electric 6SRKT Mark 2

• Turbocharged Four Stroke, 6 cylinder, four valves per cylinder. 10 inch bore, 12 inch stroke. 92 litre (5615 Cubic Inches)  total capacity.

• RPM Range: 450 - 750rpm 

• Power Output: 660HP 

• Withdrawn: 1987

The 15 members of the De class were New Zealand’s first diesel electric locomotive, and were designed for heavy shunting in busy marshaling yards, mainly in the North Island although they were useful at hauling local passenger trains. Some of the class made it across Cook Strait down to Dunedin & Invercargill during their later years of service before being withdrawn in the late 1980’s. DE’s 1412 & 1429 were two that made it to the South Island before finishing their railway careers in Dunedin, when they were both purchased by the group and transferred to Ferrymead in November 1987.

1412 was immediately restored to a mechanical standard to operate on the mainline and repainted in its original NZR red & yellow stripe & diamond livery, carrying its original road number De 511. The locomotive was completed in time to operate a mainline excursion to Springfield in October 1988 with Dg 772, as part of the Ferrymead 125 celebrations and continued to see use on the Ferrymead Railway until 1995 when it was parked up and stored unoperational for many years.

Going back in time to 1989, our second DE, no. 1429 (512) underwent an engine overhaul and was completed in 1990 and re-painted in its modern ‘International Orange’ color scheme and remained holding its TMS number. 1429 continued to work as our main work-horse at Ferrymead for many years and was a popular addition to the passenger train roster. The locomotive also visited the Weka Pass Railway in 2001 to participate in the Waipara Vintage Festival that year.

Fast forward to September 2015, and the Weka Pass Railway approached us to negotiate an agreement to lease the DE off us to utilise as their main shunting and works-train locomotive, due to their Dsa locomotive being out of action. So it was arranged, 1429 was towed to Waipara and has since remained there to this day being a very useful asset to the railway, and occasionally being used on photographer’s specials and passenger trains.

Back at Ferrymead, De 511 remained as it did since 1995, stored under cover and unserviceable, this was until

Christmas time in 2017 when Peter Weir, our youngest member of the group investigated into the possibility of getting 511 operational again, as it was found to be in fairly good condition. From there, Pete has spent an incredible amount of hours overhauling 511, to bring the loco back to life once again.

During November 2018 he achieved a major milestone when the locomotive was fired up for the first time in over 20 years, from then he continued to tidy up the locomotive and was successfully repainted over the summer of 2019/2020, now wearing yellow wasp stripes on the head stocks. De 511 is now back in service operating on the Ferrymead Railway as our main work-horse locomotive for passenger, shunting and work train duties. It received an engine overhaul in 2022 and continues to operate at Ferrymead Heritage Park. 

In 2022 DE 1429 was repainted into the NZR red livery with that iconic De yellow diamond & stripe and renumbered to De 512. It remains leased to the Weka Pass Railway and can be seen cheerfully hauling passenger trains from time to time.

De’s 511 & 512 were re-engined in the early 1980’s with overhauled Diesel Engines reclaimed from scrapped Dg locomotives, making both these locomotives unique.

df 1501

• Built: 1954, by English Electric Company Ltd at Dick, Kerr works,  Preston England

• Wheel arrangement: 2 Co - Co 2 

• Weight: 107 tonnes 

• Maximum Speed: 97kmh

• Fuel Capacity: 600 imp gallons (2,700 Litres)

• Traction Motors: Six EE 525/2A

• Continuous Tractive Effort: 180kN 

• Diesel Engine: English Electric  12SVT Mark 2

• Turbocharged Four Stroke, 12 cylinder, four valves per cylinder. 10 inch bore, 12 inch stroke. 185 litre (11290 Cubic Inches) total capacity.

• RPM Range: 450 - 850rpm  

• Power Output: 1500HP

• Withdrawn: 1975

The Df class was New Zealand’s first batch of diesel electric locomotives designed for mainline duties and were used to haul heavy goods trains in the North Island. Originally 31 locomotives were ordered, however because of delays in delivery, only 10 Df’s were built, with 42 Dg locomotives ordered instead of the remaining 21. The Df class made rare visits to the South Island during their railway careers, when they would be programmed in for overhaul at Hillside workshops in Dunedin. Although they didn’t operate to and from the islands, the class worked out of Dunedin working shunts to Port Chalmers & Mosgiel as part of their post-overhaul tests before returning to the North Island.

Df 1501 was the first of the class to enter service, and the last to be withdrawn in 1975, a proposal to operate the fleet on the Main South Line between Oamaru & Dunedin never eventuated. 1501, being the only survivor of the fleet was donated to the Federation of Rail Organisations of New Zealand and placed outside Sim Pacific Metals Limited, Auckland on static display where it sat for many years out in the open, under a limited shelter where it progressively deteriorated over the years.

In 2007,an agreement was reached with the DTG to be the main guardians of the locomotive. In August 2008, 1501 was lifted off site where it had sat for 30 years for assessment at Westfield loco depot, before the big move in January 2009 when members of the group looked after the locomotive on its 3 day 1,100km trip to Christchurch and eventually to our site at Ferrymead.

Work started unofficially on the locomotive in 2014, but following the return to service of Di 1102 & De 511 during 2018 - 2020, our main focus has turned to Df 1501 and remains our long-term restoration goal. In June 2019, it was decided that the locomotive would be gifted to the group from FRONZ and since then, is now under full ownership with the Diesel Traction Group. 

The project to restore Df 1501 to operate on the NATIONAL network will be the biggest task to be undertaken by the Diesel traction group during its entire EXISTENCE. as well as many man hours required, we need the SUFFICIENT funds to help get the project underway.

you can help donate via our givealittle page by clicking here, any donation, no matter how big or small is greatly APPRECIATEd.

If you want to get PRACTICAL and become INVOLVED with the restoration of Df 1501, you can also become a FINANCIAL member of the DTG by clicking here.

Thank you for supporting our group!