The Tasmanian Government Railway Z class are a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric, Rocklea for the Tasmanian Government Railways in 1973. They were a development of the Western Australian Government Railways R class and were the last of a line of very successful locomotives fitted with the English Electric 12CSVT Mk II engine.
History With the construction of the new line from Launceston to Bell Bay, the Tasmanian Government Railways placed an order for four 1752 kW locomotives with English Electric. However, with the locomotive still under development, it was decided to purchase four 1380 kW locomotives that were an evolution of the Western Australian RA class locomotives with a low nose profile and vacuum brakes.Market Railway Gazette International February 1972 page 47TGR Orders Massive Power for Bell Bay Line Railway Transportation June 1972 page 9 At 96 tons, they were considerably heavier than the previous heaviest locomotives on the network, the Y class at 58 tons, requiring significant upgrades to infrastructure. The first was delivered in December 1972.First TGR Super Power Locomotive Delivered Railway Transportation January 1973 page 3Tasmanian Railways: 150 years in the making - Part 2 Australian Railway History issue 1014 August 2032 pages 13/14
In March 1978 the Z class were included in the transfer of the Tasmanian Government Railways to Australian National. In 1984/85 all had their vacuum brakes replaced with air brakes.Tasmania Railway Digest June 1985 page 183Z Class Rail Tasmania
In June 1998, they were renumbered as the 2110 class.Tasrail Loco Renumbering Railway Digest October 1998 page 36 All four locomotives were modified for driver-only operation between 1998 and 2001, by having their noses lowered further and the size of the front cab windows increased.
All remained in service with TasRail until stored in May 2014 with the entry into service of the new TR class.
In 2022, The Q Train acquired Z1 and Z4 for revenue use on their restaurant rail services on the Bellarine Railway. Z1 was delivered in March and Z4 in May.Heavy maintenance on new locomotives The Q Train Z2 and Z3 were donated to the Don River Railway. Z4 entered service in February 2024, with Z1 following in June 2025. It is common to see the Bellarine locomotives running long end leading, something which was never done in Tasmania. As of 2025 and onwards, all 4 members of the class have survived into preservation.
Status table Name Original no Current no Owner Livery StatusNorthern Progress Z1 Z1 The Q Train TGR yellow Preserved / OperationalBell Bay Pioneer Z2 2111 Don River Railway AN/Tasrail reverse yellow and green Preserved Z3 2112 Don River Railway AN/Tasrail burgundy and yellow Preserved Z4 Z4 The Q Train AN/Tasrail green and yellow Preserved / Operational
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