Downer EDI Rail GT46C

Downer EDI Rail GT46C

Australian Railroad Group's Q4018 in September 2009

Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Clyde Engineering, Bassendean EDI Rail, Cardiff EDI Rail, Port Augusta Model Electro-Motive Diesel GT46C Build date 1997-2003 Total produced 24

Specifications AAR wheel arr. C-C UIC class. Co-Co, Co′Co′ Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge Length 22 m (72 ft 2 in) Loco weight 134 t (132 long tons; 148 short tons) Fuel type Diesel Prime mover Electro-Motive Diesel 16-710G3B-ES Generator Electro-Motive Diesel AR11 PBEH Traction motors Electro-Motive Diesel D87BTRL Cylinders 6

Performance figures Maximum speed 115 km/h (71 mph) Power output 3,100 kW (4,200 hp)

Career Operators Westrail Freight Australia FreightLink Number in class 24 Numbers Q4001-Q4019 V544 FQ01-FQ04 First run 14 July 1997 Current owner Aurizon Genesee & Wyoming Australia Pacific National Disposition 24 in service

The GT46C is a model of diesel electric locomotive designed and built by Clyde Engineering using Electro-Motive Diesel components. Entering service from 1997 for a number of Australian rail freight operators, those built for Westrail are known as the Q class, those for FreightLink are the FQ class and a single unit for Freight Australia is the V class.

In May 1996 Westrail ordered 15 GT46Cs from Clyde Engineering as part of an order that also included nine narrow gauge S class locomotives. The order was later extended to 19. All were assembled at a facility established by Clyde Engineering within Westrail's Forrestfield Depot to fulfill the contract with components manufactured at Clyde's Kelso and Somerton plants. All were included in the sale of Westrail to Australian Railroad Group in December 2000 and again to QR National in June 2006. Initially numbered as the Q class, they were later reclassified as the 4000 class.

Following the destruction of two G class locomotives in 1999, Freight Australia ordered a single GT46AC from EDI Rail who had purchased Clyde Engineering. It was built at their Cardiff Locomotive Workshops in 2002. Numbered V544, it was named after Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer. It was included in the sale of the business to Pacific National in February 2004. The locomotive initially operated interstate freight duties, primarily the SCT Logistics service from Melbourne to Perth. In late 2007 it moved to haul Leigh Creek to Port Augusta coal trains in South Australia, servicing the Playford B and Northern power stations. As of March 2014 V544 has been stored at Port Augusta workshops after a major engine failure.