#3034
South Australian Railways 900 class
🇦🇺 Australia ·built by Islington Railway Workshops· from 1951· class of 10 Australian diesel-electric locomotives
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. South Australian Railways 900 class locomotive number 900 at Mile End locomotive depot before transfer to museum: John Masson· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. 900 class - South Australian Railway: John Masson· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The 900 class were a class of diesel locomotives built by Islington Railway Workshops for the South Australian Railways between 1951 and 1953.
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.
- 1.3 MW is about 15 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 19.2 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 34 years (1951–1985).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1951–1953
- in service from
- 1951
- retired
- 1985
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- builders
- Islington Railway Workshops
- operators
- South Australian Railways
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- 1.3 MW
- gauge
- 1,600 mm Irish broad gauge
- wheel arrangement
- A1A-A1A
- length
- 19.2 m
- nicknames
- Magnificent Beasts
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7566147, Wikipedia: South Australian Railways 900 class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.