#3023
New Zealand DE class locomotive
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by English Electric· from 1951· class of 15 New Zealand diesel-electric locomotives
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. NZR Class DE 504: XLerate at English Wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The New Zealand DE class was a class of fifteen diesel-electric shunting locomotives, introduced by the New Zealand Railways (NZR) with an intention to replace steam locomotives on shunting duties with diesel power. The class was physically similar to the Tasmanian Government Railways X class, which was also of English Electric design.
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 75 years ago, in 1951.
- 492 kW is about 6 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 11.6 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 37 years (1952–1989).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1951–1952
- in service from
- 1952
- retired
- 1989
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 15
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- English Electric
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Department, New Zealand Railways Corporation
- top speed
- 88 km/h
- power
- 492 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Bo-Bo
- length
- 11.6 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7015295, Wikipedia: New Zealand DE class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.