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The AL class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering,
Rosewater Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to flavour ...
for Australian National in 1976-1977. They were mechanically similar to the CL class but instead of a
bulldog nose "Bulldog nose" is the nickname given, due to their appearance, to several diesel locomotives manufactured by GM-EMD and its licensees from 1939 to 1970. The term originated with EMD F-units, as well as later E-unit models such as the E7, E8, an ...
had two flat ended cabs, similar to the 422 class built for the New South Wales Government Railways in 1969.


History

The AL class initially operated services on the Trans-Australian Railway from
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
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 ...
, their sphere of operation being extended to
Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
and Adelaide when these lines were
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to standard gauge in 1980 and 1983. Although capable of hauling passenger services, they tended to be restricted to slower freight trains to minimise track pounding due to their weight. Three were loaned to the NSW Public Transport Commission in 1979 resulting in 80 mechanically similar class 81s being ordered in 1980. From July 1990, through working into New South Wales was introduced resulting in ALs operating services beyond Broken Hill to Lithgow. In 2004, they began to operate to
Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
following this line opening.


Remanufacturing

In August 1992, Australian National awarded Morrison Knudsen Australia a contract to remanufacture the ALs at its Whyalla factory. As part of the deal Morrison Knudsen purchased the locomotives and leased them back to Australian National for 12 years. The rebuilding in the first half of 1994 involved stripping back to the frame. Changes included the EMD 645E3 engines being replaced with overhauled EMD 645E3C engines imported from Morrison Knudsen in the USA, removing the No 2 end cab and being reclassified as the ALF class. After rebuilding the locomotives did not retain their numbers, for example the first locomotive converted was AL21 which emerged as ALF18. In 1994, Australian National's interstate services were transferred to National Rail. The lease with Morrison Knudsen meant the locomotives could only be used on Australian National trains, or a higher lease fee would apply. As a result, the class were not seen on National Rail operated trains, and did not venture onto the wider national standard gauge network until Australian National won ''hook and pull'' contracts for private operator SCT Logistics in July 1995.


Private ownership

In November 1997, the AL class were sold to Australian Southern Railroad with Australian National's remaining freight operations. With the splitting up of the Australian Railroad Group in June 2006, one went to
QR National Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated ...
and seven Sold to Aurizon.ALF Class
Railpage


Current Operations

Genesee & Wyoming Australia operate their ALF Class locomotives on multiple different trains based out of Adelaide (Motive Power Centre) and Darwin. Such services include Intermodal, (on the Adelaide to Darwin Railway), Grain (from multiple locations throughout South Australia) and Ore (on the 1911S/9112S Wirrida Ore train). Some have seen a livery upgrade include yellow pilots for better visibility.


Fleet list


References

{{AusLocos, state=collapsed Clyde Engineering locomotives Co-Co locomotives ALZ class Aurizon diesel locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1976 Standard gauge locomotives of Australia Diesel-electric locomotives of Australia