#3438
New Zealand DSC class locomotive
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Thomson-Houston· from 1958· class of 70 New Zealand diesel shunting locomotives
5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. NZR class DSC 2693 with a shunt in Ashburton: TrainboyMBH· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. NZR Class DSC 2693: XLerate at English Wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. NZR DSC 2462, Dunedin, NZ: Benchill· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Palmerston North DSC 2556 1301: Industrial Wales· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 5. Palmerston North DSC 2746 1301: Industrial Wales· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The New Zealand DSC class locomotive is a heavy shunting locomotive used throughout New Zealand. The class was built in seven batches, the first 18 locomotives being built by British Thomson-Houston of the United Kingdom, with the further 52 locomotives being built by New Zealand Railways (NZR). The class is widely used in both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, mainly for heavy yard shunting, although some members of the class have been used for local mainline shunting services.
who runs it
base stats
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 68 years ago, in 1958.
- 315 kW is about 4 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 11.7 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 30 years (1959–1989).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1958–1967
- in service from
- 1959
- retired
- 1989
- status
- in service
- number built
- 70
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Thomson-Houston, Hillside Engineering, Addington Railway Workshops, Hillside Railway Workshops
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Department, Tranz Rail, Toll Domestic Forwarding, KiwiRail
- top speed
- 64 km/h
- power
- 315 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Bo-Bo
- length
- 11.7 m
- weight
- 41.1 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q16926808, Wikipedia: New Zealand DSC class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.