#3308
New South Wales 46 class locomotive
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Metropolitan-Vickers· from 1956· UK built locomotive class used in New South Wales, Australia
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Electric Locomotive 4638: Shed Rat· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. 4639 Electric loco RR CT 1982: Rob Russell· CC BY 2.0
- 3. New South Wales 46 Class No. 4601 locomotive at the Valley Heights Depot Museum - October 2014: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
- 4. New South Wales D53 Class No. 5461 and 46 Class No. 4601 locomotives at the Valley Heights Depot Museum - October 2014: nzsteam· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The 46 class was a type of mainline electric locomotive built by Metropolitan-Vickers and its partner Beyer, Peacock & Company in England for the Department of Railways New South Wales. They later operated for the Public Transport Commission, State Rail Authority and FreightCorp with most remaining in service into the 1990s.
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 70 years ago, in 1956.
- 2.8 MW is about 33 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 19 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 15.5 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 40 years (1956–1996).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1956–1958
- in service from
- 1956
- retired
- 1996
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 40
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Metropolitan-Vickers, Beyer, Peacock and Company
- operators
- Department of Railways New South Wales, New South Wales Public Transport Commission, State Rail Authority of New South Wales, FreightCorp, New South Wales Government Railways
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 2.8 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Overhead
- wheel arrangement
- Co-Co
- length
- 15.5 m
- weight
- 114 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7011624, Wikipedia: New South Wales 46 class locomotive (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.