Other Privately Operated Locomotives
I have included all the currently operating locomotive classes, as
well as many other mainline classes.I won't include many of the smaller
industrial locomotives, to save space, as there are so many of them.
Where there is no official class number, I have substituted the
number of the first loco. A "#" indicates that the locomotive does not
have a number.
There are other private railway operators in Australia outside of
the mining
industry, perhaps the main difference being that few of them have their
own
networks - most operate over government (or now in some cases
ex-government) networks.
Asia-Pacifc Transport (Freightlink)
Asia-Pacific Transport (APT) are the freight operators on the
Alice Springs-Darwin line.
They are a consortium made up of KBR, Barclay Mowlem, John Holland
Group, Macmahon Holdings, and ARG.
All six locos are in Freghtlink livery.
Junee Railway Workshops (Austrac)
Junee Railway Workshops is the new name for Austrac (Australian
Traction Corporation). Currently, it just refurbishes locos at Junee,
and also plans to establish a branch line loco pool in Junee.
In the past, Austrac ran its own trains in southwestern NSW, and
from Sydney to Melbourne; however, in October 2002, Austrac switched to
leasing only.
Australian Transport Network
ATN have made their first move on to the mainland by hauling grain.
They are using these locos to haul grain from Dimboola (Victoria) and
the Riverina of NSW to Melbourne and Port Kembla.
They ceased operations for a while due to the drought, but are now
running again. In early 2004 they were bought by Pacific National.
L254 is in ATN livery, while L251 and L270 are in PacNat livery.
Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (CFCLA)
The Australian subsidiary of CFCL hires both locomotives and
rollingstock out to operators. Their first locos were the EL class,
however, they have bought more recently from Freightcorp. Many of their
locos are on hire to LVRF.
Most recently, they bought nearly all of Great Northern's locos and
rollingstock after the latter was hit by rising insurance costs;
however, these locos are now with Southern Shorthaul Railroad (see
below)..
They have also bought most of West Coast Railway's locos for
refurbishment and return to service.
The latest locos are the VL class, being built by Melbourne company
Avteq.
Those locos in the CFCLA livery are: B76; all EL class;
FL220; all GL class; JL403; all KL class; RL301-305; S300, 311; T373,
377, 385, 387; 4471, 4477; all TL class; all VL class.
ComSteel
Comsteel (an ANI subsidiary) is well known in the railway industry
as it
is a manufacturer of railway wheels and axles, and similar equipment.
It
is based at Waratah (Newcastle).
CRT
CRT (Colin Rees Transport) is a private intermodal transport
company, with
depots in Syndey and Melbourne. As well as the CargoSprinter and the
73's, they
lease several X200 rail
tractors from
Pacific National. Both CS class and 7333 & 7334 are in CRT livery.
Great Northern Railway Services
GNR is made up of ex-V/Line employees who use ex-V/Line, ex-Westrail,
and ex-Freightcorp locos for shunting operations, mostly in the
Melbourne
yard area, as well as extra units on Lysaghts steel trains, and for
construction trains. They also work trip trains in the Melbourne
region. As well as this, they have loaned some of their locos to other
operators.
They are based at the former TNT container siding at Dynon/North
Melbourne. With the acquisition of the GM's, they are now running
mainline trains. They
also crew Patricks and FreightCorp trains into Melbourne.
This is the first fully-independent railway operator on government
tracks in Victoria; however, public liability insurance forced them to
cease broad-gauge operations recently. Most of their locos and
rollingstock have been taken over by CFCLA, and then Southern Shorthaul
Railroad (who also took over S317).
As a result, the company no longer exists.
Lachlan Valley Railfreight
Lachlan Valley Railfreight is a private operator based at Minto in
Sydney's southwest. The only locos they initially owned were some 47
class locos, with most being leased from other
operators and preservation groups.
They operate trains in the Sydney area, and also between Cowra and
Sydney.
LVRF now have 16 locos starting to enter service, second-hand from
Denmark. These are the MZ class, and they look quite different to other
Australian locos. They are being repainted in a silver livery.
LVRF changed their name to "Independent Railways of Australia" in 2007.
The locos they have leased include:
- Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia - EL class and JL class.
- Privately owned - 44
class- 4458, 4461, 4463, 4472, 4488, 4497
Manildra
Manildra Group is a NSW flour processor, and they operate some
ex-SRA and ex-BHP locos
for shunting at their sidings. MM1-2, MM3-4, and 7340 are in Manildra
livery.
Northern Rivers Railroad
NRR is another recent entrant to the deregulated NSW rail freight
sector, and again also using ex-SRA locos. They are based at Casino,
and operate in the northern section of NSW, with their first train
running in late 1997. Currently, they operate freight traffic between
Grafton and Murwillumbah, and on to Brisbane. They also run passenger
services (RitzRail) along this line as well.
Queensland Rail has recently bought the
freight operations
of NRR in an attempt to move on the standard gauge network; the new
company
is called QR National (Interail).
Patricks
As well as their involvement in Pacific National, Patricks have now
started their own railway operations using ex-Westrail locos at Bowmans
in SA, along with ex-Freightcorp locos at Botany in Sydney. 103, 1872,
1873,
4903, 4906, 7307, and 7321 are in Patricks livery.
Rail Technical Support Group
RTS is another company that is involved in shunting at Melbourne,
and are
based in the Dynon Car Shed. They use the same type of locos as Great
Northern
and ATN. Currently, they are only involved in locomotive and
rollingstock maintenance, and do only shunting and leasing.
SCT
SCT (Specialised Container Transport) are an interstate transport
company, with facilities in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. Their
trains use Freight Australia locos for haulage, however, they also have
some ex-Westrail locos at their terminals for shunting. They have 15
locos
under construction by EDI and entering service soon for mainline work.
As well, they have recently bought two T class locos and two rail
tractors (ex-SRA and QRN)
for shunting.
H2-3, H5, K208,
T345, T414, X209 and the G and new locos are in SCT
livery.
Silverton Tramway
The Silverton Tramway was formed due to interstate rivalry between NSW
and SA; as their railways neared the border, neither would let the
other cross
the border. Therefore, Silverton (called a Tramway because it was a
private
railway) took over, and from the 1890's to 1970 it ran from Broken Hill
to
Cockburn (SA) via Silverton. With the completion of standard gauge,
Silverton
were then relegated to shunting in Broken Hill yard. When NR was
created,
Silverton bought some ex-SRA Alcos, refurbished them, and leased them
to
NR until the latter's own loco contract was completed. Silverton have
also
shown interest in shortline operations in NSW.
With the decrease in mining activity at Broken Hill, Silverton have
moved to Parkes, and will base most of their motive power there.
Silverton is currently hauling mineral ores from the Cobar mines to
Parkes for National Rail, and will soon also carry ore to Newcastle.
They have also hired a
loco to Austrac.
Silverton have bought a number of locos from Pacific National; of
these, some will be used in service, some will be for spare parts, and
others may be onsold.
Silverton and South Spur have merged in early 2006; the combined
operator will be known as 'Southern-Silverton Rail'.
In 2007 they have become part of a group called 'Coote Industrial Rail'.
Some of the locos (C503, 504-505, 507-508) have been reptained in an
Allco
livery, this is similar to the old VR blue & gold livery. C502 is
in a South Spur livery.
Other Silverton preserved locomotives:
| 26 |
Sulphide Street Museum, Broken Hill |
26 was a narrow-gauge shunting loco, used at the "old" Broken Hill
yard.
South Spur Rail
South Spur Rail is another private operator in the Perth area, using
ex-Westrail locos for shunting and other purposes. They also operate
along the standard gauge to Kalgoorlie. As well, they also operate in
NSW.
Along with the locos listed
below they have ex-Westrail F40. Those locos in South Spur livery are
D47, D49, D51, K206, K210, KA212; NA1874; R1902; ZB2125 and ZB2129.
Silverton and South Spur have merged in early 2006; the combined
operator will be known as 'Southern-Silverton Rail'.
In 2007 they have become part of a group called 'Coote Industrial Rail'.
Southern Shorthaul Railroad
This new operator has taken over from Great Northern. Their fleet is
the ex-GN locos that are on long-term lease from CFCLA, along with
their own ex-GN S317; and ex-CFCLA B61 and T363 & 381.
They started operations at the end of 2003, and their work involves
shunting and trip trains in Sydney and Melbourne, basically taking over
from Great Northern. Those locos in Southern Shorthaul livery include
4483; B61; GM10, GM22, GM27; J102, J103; S317; T363, 376 and 381.
West Coast Railway
When the Victorian government privatised the running of two passenger
lines (of what was left running!) in 1994, West Coast was one of the
operators, and the only one to use its own rollingstock. WCR run the
Melbourne-Warrnambool passenger service, and have taken over the old
East Ballarat Loco Depot to
use as a base. They use ex-V/Line locos that have been refurbished.
Despite the age of the B and S classes, they still performed well when
compared to
more recent V/Line classes.
Australian Public Trustees recently took over a 50% share in West Coast
from Connex.
In May 2004, underframe problems in the ageing B and S classes required
inspections, and this may have helped seal the fate for the company,
which has now ceased operations. Most of their locos have been sold to
CFCLA.
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© Copyright John Cleverdon