Bumble-Bee was an informal term, promoted by the editors of ''NZ Railfan'' magazine, describing a New Zealand railway

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

(resulting from the combination of black and yellow in the colour scheme) found in common usage amongst the

railfan A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...

community. The livery, first introduced on 31 May 2001 to promote

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

safety to replace the Cato Blue livery and was initially trialed on

Tranz Rail Tranz Rail, formally Tranz Rail Holdings Limited (New Zealand Rail Limited until 1995), was the main Rail transport in New Zealand, rail operator in New Zealand from 1991 until it was purchased by Toll Holdings in 2003. History The New Zealand ...

locomotive DC 4323, and over time was applied to numerous other locomotive classes up until 5 May 2004, when Toll Rail took over the rail system, and introduced the Corn-Cob livery. The first four locomotives that were painted in the livery, including DC 4323 and DFT 7160, received the livery with the Tranz Rail "winged" logo. DC4185, DX5166 and EF30071 never received branding when they were repainted in the livery. DC4185 did not receive branding either when it was repainted, but the sloping block letters were later applied to the loco. As of July 2020, only one DC, one

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

and three EFs still operate in this livery.

Variations

A few locomotives had been repainted in variations of this livery: * DSC 2678 was repainted in the livery, but with a red stripe running down the sides of its hoods, which are the colours of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. * DSG 3251 was repainted in the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

colours of blue and yellow instead of black and yellow, with "TR" block letters on the logo hood, and a bumble-bee version of the Tranz Rail winged logo on the cab. * TR 874 was repainted in this livery, but in reverse with a black cab and yellow hoods, with a bumble-bee version of the Tranz Rail winged logo also painted on the long hood. This variation was called by many rail enthusiasts as the "Wasp" livery. *Although not an official variation, DC's 4421 and 4853 have received KiwiRail stickers on the front of the short-hood, and on the back of the long-hood.

Locomotives that wore/wear the Bumble Bee livery

DC class: *4012 - now in the

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for rail operations in New Zealand and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered at 604 Great South Road, Ellerslie, New Zealand, Ell ...

Bold livery *4058 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *4185 - now stored at

Hutt Workshops The Hutt Railway Workshops is a major railway engineering facility in the Lower Hutt suburb of Gracefield in the Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island. It is state-owned enterprise KiwiRail's only workshops, and was opened in 1930. ...

*4300 - now scrapped *4317 - now scrapped *4323 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *4398 - now scrapped *4421 - now stored at

, Lower Hutt *4438 - now stored at Hillside Workshops *4450 - repainted in the KiwiRail Bold livery and now scrapped *4473 - now stored at Hillside Workshops *4565 - now scrapped *4726 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *4847 - now stored in Middleton Yard, Christchurch *4853 DF class: *7008 - now in the KiwiFruit livery *7049 - now in the

Bold livery *7077 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7145 - repainted in the KiwiRail Bold livery and is now under overhaul *7158 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7160 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7200 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7226 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7282 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *7295 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery DH class: *2822 - now in the

Bold livery DSC class: *2419 - now in the

livery *2678 *2746 - now in the KiwiRail livery DSG class: *3020 - repainted in the

livery and is now under overhaul *3114 - now in the KiwiRail livery *3236 - now in the KiwiRail livery *3251 - now in the KiwiRail livery DSJ class: *4017 - now in the

livery *4045 - now in the KiwiRail livery DX class: *5039 - now in the KiwiFruit livery *5166 - now in the

Bold livery *5195 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5229 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5327 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5402 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5419 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5425 - now in theKiwiRail Bold livery *5500 - repainted in the KiwiRail Bold livery and now stored at

as a chassis *5517 - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery *5520 (and as 5045) - now in the KiwiRail Bold livery EF class: *30013 *30042 *30071 TR class: *724 - now preserved by the Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society *874 - now in the

livery *908 - now in the KiwiRail livery

Gallery

Image:DC4398 shunts milk tanks at Oringi 11th December 2008.jpg, DC 4398 shunting milk wagons at Oringi. Image:DCs 4421 and 4438 with a shunt in Racecourse Hill.jpg, DCs 4421 and 4438 with a shunt near Darfield. Image:Freight train at Dunedin.jpg, DFT 7295 and DC 4847 departing

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

with a freight train. Image:Trains Dunedin.jpg, DFT 7295 and DFB 7213 (in the Cato Blue livery) in Dunedin. Image:Main South Line Shunting yards Dunedin.jpg, DFT 7295, DSGs 3236 and 3251 (all three in the ''Bumble-Bee'' livery), and DFB 7213 and DC 4542 (in the Cato Blue livery) in the Dunedin Rail Yard. Image:DSG 3251 Dunedin.JPG, DSG 3251 in Dunedin. Image:DSG 3251 Port Chalmers Branch Blanket Bay.jpg, DSG 3251 passing Blanket Bay with a shunt to

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

. Image:DSJ4017 Ahuriri 25November2003 JChristianson.jpg, DSJ 4017 shunting in Ahuriri. Image:NZR DX class coal.JPG, DXs 5419 and 5195 descending Cass Bank with a west-bound coal trains. Image:Tranzrail bumblebee.jpg, EF 30013 with a freight train on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

Image:Palmerston North railway station platform.JPG, EF 30042 heading to couple with the Overlander at the

Palmerston North railway station Palmerston North railway station is a main station on the North Island Main Trunk serving the city of Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It is the northern terminus of the Capital Connection long-distance commu ...

. Image:TR724 stored.jpg, TR 724 in storage in Carterton, while preserved by the Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society.

References

{{reflist Rail liveries of New Zealand

Variations

Locomotives that wore/wear the Bumble Bee livery

Gallery

See also

References