The 45 class are a class of diesel-electric locomotives built by AE Goodwin, Auburn for the New South Wales Department of Railways between 1962 and 1964.
History The 45 class were built by Alco's Australian licensee AE Goodwin, and are based on the Alco DL-541 model. They initially entered service on the Main Southern line but later operated on all main lines. One was destroyed in a collision in May 1972.
From June 1984, the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen placed a ban on the class as leading locomotives, meaning they could only be used as second locomotives, although they were able to be used on Sydney metropolitan trip and Liverpool Range banking duties."Locomotives and Traffic" Railway Digest August 1984 page 254
Six were fitted with upgraded cabs and modified bogies at Cardiff Workshops in 1989 and reclassified as class 451s and later class 35s, allowing them again to be used as lead locomotives, although they spent most of their time being used as Liverpool Range bankers and Yeerongpilly, Brisbane shunters."Locomotives and Traffic 451/35 Class" Railway Digest August 1989 page 27635 Class Vicsig Following a poor wheat crop, the Class 45s were placed in store at Junee Locomotive Depot in December 1991."Locomotives and Traffic 45 Class" Railway Digest January 1992 page 22 A locomotive shortage saw most return to service from March 1993."45 class locos to return to service" Railway Digest March 1993 page 108 They remained in service until replaced by FreightCorp by Class 82s in 1994/95.
Thirty-two were auctioned in December 1994 with most being sold for scrap."State Rail's Locomotive Auction Results" Railway Digest January 1995 page 36 One was retained by the State Rail Authority as a designated heritage locomotive while four were transferred to Rail Services Australia before being sold to Great Northern Rail Services in 2000.45 Class Railpage45 Class Vicsig One remains in service with Greentrains.
Survivors 4501 sold to Great Northern Rail Services 2000 (unused), then to Silverton Rail (unused), then to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (unused), then to Goodwin Alco Pty Ltd who restored it to main line condition at Eveleigh Railway Workshops in 2007, leasing it to 3801 Limited. Now based at Thirlmere and leased to Transport Heritage NSW for heritage work.Rollingstock Goodwin AlcoHappy 50th Birthday to the 4501 Goodwin Alco 4502 sold to Great Northern Rail Services 2000 (unused), then to Silverton Rail (unused), then to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (unused), then Lachlan Valley Railway in 2012, stored at Broken Hill 3505 sold to Junee Railway Workshop. Was meant to be rebuilt with a Pilbara cab, but the project fell through and it eventually was forgotten about. Its engine cladding has since been removed and it is being used as a mobile loco service stand, while the Pilbara cab was painted blue and yellow and is used as a picnic stand. 4520 is part of the Transport Heritage NSW collection operating in the custody of the NSW Rail MuseumRailCorp S170 Heritage & Conservation Register RailCorpLocomotive, Diesel 4520 NSW Office of Environment & Heritage 4521 is preserved by the Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum 4528 sold to Great Northern Rail Services 2000 (unused), then to Silverton Rail (unused), then to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (unused), then Lachlan Valley Railway in 2012, stored at Broken Hill, Silverton Rail had started a rebuilt it as 45s2, but the project was not completed 3532 sold to Great Northern Rail Services 2000 (unused), then to Silverton Rail entering service in June 2002 as 45s1, sold to Greentrains, remained in service in December 2013.45s Class Railpage45s Class Vicsig Sold to Southern Shorthaul Railroad April 2016Disposal of Greentrains rollingstock Engenco 28 April 2016"Greentrans rollingstock sold to Holdco Holdings" Railway Digest June 2016 page 6 Renumbered 4532 as of August 2019 4537 sold to Junee Railway Workshops rebuilt with a lowered and shortened No.1 end, leased in June 1995 to BHP for use on their Port Kembla network as 103,"First Austrac Locomotives Enter Service After Official Handover" Railway Digest August 1995 page 9 later sold to Patrick Portlink. It is now part of The Picnic Train fleet. In mid-2026, it was renumbered back to its original 4537 designation. Officially returned to traffic in August 2026.
Fleet Status NumberOwnerStatusNotes4501Transport Heritage NSWOperational4502Lachlan Valley RailwayStored 4503 -ScrappedNamed Geoff Walker4504 -Scrapped3505 (ex. 4505)UnknownStored4506 -Scrapped3507 (ex. 4507) -Scrapped4508 -Scrapped4509 -Scrapped4510 -Scrapped4511 -Scrapped4512 -Scrapped3513 (ex. 4513) -Scrapped4514 -Scrapped4515 -Scrapped4516 -Scrapped4517 -Scrapped3518 (ex. 4518) -Scrapped4519 -Scrapped4520Transport Heritage NSWUnder repair4521Dorrigo Steam Railway and MuseumStored 4522 -Scrapped4523 -Scrapped4524 -Scrapped4525 -Scrapped4526 -Scrapped3527 (ex. 4527) -Scrapped4528Lachlan Valley RailwayStored4529 -Scrapped4530 -Scrapped4531UnknownUnknown4532Southern Shorthaul RailroadOperational4533 -Scrapped4534 -Scrapped4535 -Scrapped4536 -Scrapped4537The Picnic TrainOperationalnicknamed ‘Stumpy’ by the Picnic Train in a post on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/DbuRfjPMzOP/4538 -Scrapped4539 -Scrapped4540 -Scrapped
References
Further reading
External links