#4142
New Zealand DX class locomotive
🇺🇸 United States ·built by GE Transportation· from 1972· class of 49 New Zealand diesel locomotives
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. DXB5143 at Platform 9 wgtn 1stJuly2008: Palmeriain· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The New Zealand DX class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric locomotive that currently operates on New Zealand's national railway network. There are 49 of the locomotives and all are owned by KiwiRail. They have a Co-Co wheel arrangement.
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 54 years ago, in 1972.
- 2.4 MW is about 28 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 16 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 16.9 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 33 years (1972–2005).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1972–1975
- in service from
- 1972
- retired
- 2005
- status
- in service
- number built
- 49
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- GE Transportation, General Electric
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Corporation, New Zealand Railways Department
- top speed
- 105 km/h
- power
- 2.4 MW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- length
- 16.9 m
- weight
- 97.5 t
- nicknames
- "Dixies" (DX)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q16926813, Wikipedia: New Zealand DX class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.