Southern Shorthaul Railroad is an Australian rail freight services operator in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The company also provides workshop services, such as rolling stock manufacturing and wagon and locomotive maintenance.

History

Southern Shorthaul Railroad was established in December 2003, when the remains of

Great Northern Rail Services Great Northern Rail Services was a railway operator in Victoria, Australia. Great Northern Rail Services was incorporated in July 1993 and provided locomotives and train crews to other rail operators, ran general train operations (freight and pa ...

were purchased from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia. Current rail operations include grain haulage for Arrow Commodities, Emerald Grain, Newcastle AGRI Terminal, Allied Mills in NSW and VIC,

George Weston Foods George Weston Foods is one of the largest consumer products companies in Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc. Its brands include Tip Top and Top Taste. In 2003, Weston's biscuits were put up for sale in ...

and

Manildra Group The Manildra Group is an Australian agribusiness based in Sydney. It was formed in 1952 when Jack Honan purchased a flour mill in Manildra. In 1966 a starch and gluten plant was established in Auburn. In the early 1970s, further starch plants ...

hauling grain, wheat and flour as well as intermodal trains to Port Botany, intermodal operations for Fletchers International Exports, Grainforce, Swift Transport,

DP World DP World is a multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. Formed in 2005 by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and ...

and

Toll Group The Toll Group is an Australian freight company that operates a logistics and global freight forwarding network spanning 150 countries, with over 20,000 customers. Toll has more than 16,000 workers across 500 sites. Toll Holdings Pty Limited ( ...

with 4 of these services terminating at Port Botany in NSW, coal services for

Centennial Coal ÷Some of the more notable coal companies in Australia are the following: Summary of coal companies Anglo Coal Australia Ltd Anglo Coal Australia Ltd owns and operates a number of mines in Queensland and New South Wales. Mines Callide mine: i ...

in NSW, infrastructure trains for

RailCorp Rail Corporation New South Wales (RailCorp) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia, established in 2004 pursuant to the ''Transport Administration Act 1988''. It was a division under the control of Transport for NSW, foll ...

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...

and

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation, spanning across five states and 39 worksites. ARTC continues to expand the networ ...

UGL Rail UGL Rail is an Australian rail company specialising in building, maintaining and refurbishing diesel locomotives, diesel and electric multiple units and freight wagons. It is a subsidiary of UGL (company), UGL and is based in Melbourne, with a s ...

in NSW, locomotive and wagon maintenance services for

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock, jointly owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Governm ...

and

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

in Victoria, EMU deliveries for

Metro Trains Melbourne Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest urban rail network in Au ...

and various transfer workings in NSW and Victoria. In 2010, SSR entered the coal haulage market. Operating on behalf of Centennial Coal, it operates trains from the NSW Western Coalfields (Airly, Clarence, Charbon and Lidsdale collieries) and Newstan Colliery to ports at

Kooragang Island Kooragang () is the largest suburb of the city of Newcastle, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Dominated by Kooragang Island, the eastern part of the suburb is primarily industrial, while the western part of the suburb consists ...

, Carrington and

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

. In 2018, the company began Hunter Valley operations, using 3 CEY class and 90 PHTH hoppers. The company also refurbishes and repairs locomotives and rolling stock at the former Bendigo Workshops in

. It also has a maintenance facility at the

Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway The Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway is an Australian railway and mining museum, located in the Central Tablelands city of Lithgow, New South Wales. Collection The museum is principally a museum of coalmining and related industries. T ...

. In May 2012, SSR purchased GM3 from

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

and transferred it from Kelso to Lithgow for overhaul. In 2012, SSR formed a subsidiary, BRM Leasing. In October 2012, the name was changed to Consolidated Rail Leasing. Some of the SSR fleet has been made available for lease through CRL. In 2013, SSR celebrated 10 years in business, created a special logo, and painted the then-new SSR class in a variation of its standard yellow and black livery. In December 2013, SSR began operating a container service from Kelso to

Port Botany Port Botany is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Port Botany is located 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Port ...

. The train primarily carries containerised grain, and has considerably grown in size since it first started running. In 2014, SSR commenced operating grain services in New South Wales for

. In 2015, S317 and GM27 were repainted into a livery reminiscent of the one used by Australian National on the rebuilt CLP classes in 1993. 2016 was a year of rapid expansion for SSR, when it bought the

Greentrains Greentrains was a locomotive and rolling stock leasing company in Australia. It was formed in June 2008 as a subsidiary of Coote Industrial. In 2008, Coote Industrial subsidiary Gemco Rail acquired 42 locomotives and 54 wagons from the distre ...

locomotive fleet (excluding 8026 and T383 which Greentrains retained), which meant that SSR to no longer had to hire motive power, such as the VL class locomotives, and could expand its operations. SSR also purchased 180 coal wagons, after the Leigh Creek coal train ceased running. SSR has since converted them into grain wagons, by modifying the bottom discharge doors and fitting fibreglass lids, and have formed three grain trains, ranging from 50 to 60 wagons. In 2017, SSR continued to expand, when it won the contract to perform maintenance on

broad gauge locomotives in Victoria. That required the company to operate light engine transfers between Bendigo and South Dynon. It has delivered new

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

X'Trapolis The X'Trapolis (also stylized as X'TRAPOLIS) is a series of multiple unit trains designed and built by Alstom. The trains have high floors, and are available in both single- and double-deck configurations. They are typically powered by an external ...

EMUs from Alstom's

Ballarat North Workshops Ballarat North Workshops is a railway engineering facility owned by Alstom in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It occupies 5.5 hectares of land beside the junction of the Mildura railway line, Mildura and Serviceton railway line, Serviceton railwa ...

to Metro's Epping Workshops, as well as performing maintenance and overhauls on some

locomotives and passenger rolling stock at the Bendigo workshops. SSR won the Allied Mills contract from Pacific National. That led to them serving Allied Mills facilities in

Maldon, New South Wales Maldon is a locality in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. In the it had a population of 15. History Railway A station was established at Maldon, as part of the Great Southern Railway, in 1879. It w ...

and

Kensington, Victoria Kensington is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located primarily within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of V ...

. Due to the Kensington facility being located on the broad gauge network, locomotives S302 and S317, and 10 BGKF and 9 BGGX wagons, were converted to broad gauge, and new standard gauge wagons were purchased to service the NSW facility. Victorian grain operations were further ramped up when SSR won a contract with Emerald Grain to provide grain services from Southern NSW and Western Victoria for export through

Appleton Dock Appleton Dock is an international shipping facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in about 1956 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and is named after MHT commissioner William Thomas Appleton (1859-1930), who was a staunch advocate ...

. In 2018, SSR commenced operating monster 100+ wagon grain trains into South Australia and Victoria to help alleviate the effects of a drought in New South Wales. South Australian operations commenced in June and Victorian trains commenced in September. The operations were usually powered by x5 C classes, but SSR, BRM, RL, G, 49 and 45 class locomotives have been used. The operations have continued into 2019. In August 2020, CLF1, one of the company's latest acquisitions, was repainted into SSR black and yellow, the first locomotive to be painted into that livery in almost a decade. It was named "Milton Bromwich", after one of the three directors of Southern Shorthaul Railroad. It was later destroyed in a derailment in Rock View near

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

NSW. In April 2023, in an agreement similar to SSR's existing operating agreements with Fletcher's International Exports and Centennial Coal, it was announced that SSR had signed a long-term agreement with

to provide train crews and oversee daily operation of Manildra's grain and container trains. To provide rolling stock for these services, Manildra ordered 17 GT46C-ACe Gen II MAN Class locomotives from Progress Rail, built in and imported from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 222 100t aluminium bodied grain wagons, 60 100 tonne flour wagons and 103 100 tonne, 60ft container wagons. This replaces Manildra Group's existing agreement with

, who provided their own rolling stock to service Manildra Group's requirements. The contract gives SSR 100% of the market share of domestic milling grain hauled by rail in NSW and Victoria. The contract began on 1 November 2024, using a mix of 8 MAN class locomotives as well as hired motive power from RailFirst Asset Management and

Aurizon Aurizon Holdings Limited ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland G ...

to account for the delayed arrival of the remaining 9 MAN class units. SSR has the Contract to haul the AK test cars in NSW, VIC, QLD & SA with GM10 & Regularly hired 42103 normally doing the service In the latter half of 2023, SSR repainted RL304 into a train crash awareness livery, along with C505, C506 and C507 receiving a “tiger” livery like that of the SSR class, all three C class members have also been given new names.

Liveries

SSR locomotives have been given several different liveries: *SSR Mk1/Corporate - GM10, GM22, 4904, 4910, 4917, G513, G514, CLF1, T385 *SSR Mk1/Corporate 0 Years- 44204, 44206 *SSR Mk1/Corporate 0 Years- T363, T381, T386, P14, P16-18 *SSR Mk2/Tiger 0 Years- SSR101-102 *SSR Mk2/Tiger 0 Years- A70, C505-507, SSR103-SSR104 *SSR Survivor - RL304 *SSR Anniversary - S317, CLF3 *SSR Ghost/Primer - CLP12 *CRL - BRM001-002, B75, 4911 *Streamliners 2016 - B61 *John Holland - 4815, 4829, 48s36 *Candy- 44226 *AN - GM12, 603 *Australian Loco Lease - L277 *Commonwealth Railways - GM3 *Auscision Models Mk1 - B65 *Auscision Models Mk2 - CLP9 *Silverton Patch - 4532 *RailPower Patch (Black) - S312 *EL Zoro Patch - S302 *Greentrains Patch - 602, 8049, 4843, 44220, 44223, 4828, 869, C509-510, RL301-302, RL305-307 *ASR Patch - 2204 *CFCLA Patch - B76, B80, S311, C502, C503, C508 *V/Line Patch - P11 P12 P15 *Blue Patch - C504, *DP World Wrap - GM27

Fleet

SSR operates a combination of owned and leased locomotives, most of which are significantly older than the locomotives of competing rail companies.Shorthaul Railroad Fleet
Vicsig.net

Fleet

As at November 2024, SSR ran and operated the following locomotives:

Previously Leased

* 42 class: 4204 * 47 class: 4701, 4702, 4708, 4716 * C class: C501, C502, C503, C508 * S class: S303, S313 * CM class: CM3302, CM3303, CM3306 * VL class: VL353, VL354, VL355, VL356, VL357, VL361 * CF class CF4404, CF4411, CF4412 *

G class G class or Class G may refer to: Railways * NZR G class (1928), a type of steam locomotive used in New Zealand * Tasmanian Government Railways G class, a class of 0-4-2T steam locomotive used in Australia * V/Line G class, a class of diesel-ele ...

: G511

Other

As of May 2020, SSR operated the following locomotives on behalf of other owners: * CEY class: CEY001 to CEY007 – Used on Centennial Coal services from the Western Coalfields to

or occasionally to

. They are also infrequently used on services to Newstan Colliery, Eraring Power Station and

Vales Point Power Station Vales Point Power Station is one of two operating coal fired power stations on the shores of Lake Macquarie (New South Wales), Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. Vales Point is located on the southern shore of the lake, near the township of Manner ...

* FIE class: FIE001 to FIE004 – Used on the Fletcher's International Exports container service between

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

and

. They are also used to transport cement from Fletcher's Dubbo terminal to Hermidale on the

Cobar railway line The Cobar railway line is a railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It branches west towards Cobar railway station, Cobar from the Main Western railway line at Nyngan. Main West passenger trains once continued northwest to Bourke railway sta ...

* 1200 class: From August 2017, 1201 and 1202 were leased from

National Railway Equipment Company National Railway Equipment Company is an American railroad equipment rebuilding, leasing, and manufacturing company, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. NREC sells new and rebuilt locomotives to railroad companies worldwide, with an emphasis ...

on an as needed basis, commonly used on branch lines where heavier mainline units cannot go. * Swift Transport

V/Line G Class The G Class are a class of diesel locomotive built by Clyde Engineering, Rosewater and Somerton for V/Line between 1984 and 1989. History By the early 1980s, the first generation diesels purchased by the Victorian Railways were nearly 30 ...

Locomotives G516 and G534 on 20 port shuttles per week from NSW Ports’s Enfield Intermodal Logistics Centre to

and vice versa. *

Steamrail Victoria Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the Rail transport in Victoria, railways in Victoria, Australia. The main depot of the group is at ...

locomotives S313, T356, T364, T395 and Y164 see intermittent use when additional broad gauge power is required. *

Seymour Railway Heritage Centre The Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (SRHC) is a railway preservation group based in Seymour, Victoria, Seymour, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The volunteer non-profit incorporated association was established in 1983 as the Seymour ...

locomotives C501, S303 and T357 see intermittent use when additional standard gauge power is required. * PHC class PHC001 and PHC002. Owned by Crawfords Freight Lines and used on container services between

Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a ...

and

References

{{reflist Freight railway companies of Australia Railway companies established in 2003 Railway rolling stock leasing companies of Australia 2003 establishments in Australia