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#3498

New South Wales 48 class locomotive

🇦🇺 Australia ·built by A. E. Goodwin· from 1959· Class of diesel locomotives

🛤️ diesel locomotive diesel ✓ in service
6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Goulburn railway station 2012-03-18 02: David Ansen· CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 2. 4807atBellambi: JenperTC· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. 48 Class Diesels at Narrabri West - panoramio: Lobster1· CC BY-SA 3.0
  4. 4. GrainCorp (48203) 48 class loco at the JR: Bidgee· CC BY-SA 2.5 au
  5. 5. Pacific National 48 class loco (4892) in Coota: Bidgee· CC BY-SA 3.0 au
  6. 6. Unidentified 48 class and 48113 undergoing refurbishment at the JR: Bidgee· CC BY-SA 2.5 au
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
New South Wales 48 class locomotive, photo 1 of 6
1/6 David Ansen· CC BY-SA 2.0

what is it?

The 48 Class is a class of diesel locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1959 and 1970. Once the most ubiquitous locomotive in New South Wales, Australia, it is based on Alco frames and prime movers, using General Electric (later Associated Electrical Industries) electrical equipment. The South Australian Railways 830 and Silverton Rail 48s classes are of a very similar design.

who runs it

Department of Railways New South WalesNew South Wales Government Railways

base stats

  • speed 121 km/htop speed
  • power 783 kWpower output
  • weight 75.2 tin working order
  • built 165made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

  • First built 67 years ago, in 1959.
  • 783 kW is about 9 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
  • Weighs about as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • 13.4 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Still in service after 67 years.

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built
1959–1970
in service from
1959
status
in service
number built
165
kind
Diesel-electric
traction
diesel
origin
🇦🇺 Australia
builders
A. E. Goodwin
operators
Department of Railways New South Wales, New South Wales Government Railways
top speed
121 km/h
power
783 kW
wheel arrangement
Co-Co
length
13.4 m
weight
75.2 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q16927345, Wikipedia: New South Wales 48 class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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