#3234
New Zealand DG and DH class locomotive
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by English Electric· from 1955· class of 42 New Zealand diesel-electric locomotives, built 1955–56
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Dg 772 on the Ferrymead Railway with DE 1429 in September 2014: TrainboyMBH· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The New Zealand DG and DH class were classes of forty-two diesel-electric locomotives operated on New Zealand's rail network between 1955 and 1983. Between 1978 and 1980, ten of these locomotives were rebuilt with new equipments in an attempt to modernise and extend their working lives. The locomotives continued to suffer from reliability issues brought about by electrical and mechanical failures.
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 71 years ago, in 1955.
- 559 kW is about 7 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 13.7 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 28 years (1955–1983).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1955–1956
- in service from
- 1955
- retired
- 1983
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 42
- kind
- Diesel-Electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- English Electric, Vulcan Foundry, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Corporation, New Zealand Railways Department
- top speed
- 97 km/h
- power
- 559 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- A1A - A1A
- length
- 13.7 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q16926771, Wikipedia: New Zealand DG and DH class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.