V/Line N class

The N Class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering in Somerton for V/Line between 1985 and 1987.

History


By the start of the 1980s, Victorian Railways passenger numbers had fallen to around 3 million per year, due to ageing rolling stock, stagnant timetables and competition from other forms of transport. The Lonie Report of 1980 recommended sweeping cuts to the network, but there was a strong push from the many quarters for the state government to maintain a viable rail network. The government response in February 1981 was the New Deal for Country Passengers, a $115 million commitment to recast country rail passenger services in Victoria.

As part of the New Deal, all B class locomotives were to be re-built as the A class for use on passenger services, and ten new locomotives were ordered. Tenders closed in 1983, with Clyde Engineering being awarded the contract. By mid-1985, the rising cost of the A class conversions led to the project being abandoned after 11 locomotives had been upgraded, and the N class order was increased to 25, using parts intended for the A class conversions.

The N class locomotives entered service on the gauge and operated on main lines all over the state, with the exception of the Gippsland line beyond Traralgon, a restriction that was later lifted. The class also saw regular use on The Overland Melbourne to Adelaide overnight service until the train was withdrawn in March 1995 so that the track could be converted to. As well as being operated by V/Line, N class locomotives were hired to the Warrnambool line operator, West Coast Railway, from 1993 to 1995, after which its own locomotives became available, and, between 1993 and 2004, to Shepparton line operator Hoys Roadlines.

In preparation for the privatisation of V/Line, the operations of V/Line Freight and V/Line Passenger were split in 1995, with the N class allocated to the passenger operator and included in the sale of V/Line Passenger to National Express in 1999. Before then, N class locomotives had been employed on freight services, restricted to a maximum speed of 90 km/h.

During the Regional Fast Rail project, a number of shut-downs were affected passenger services, and N class locomotives were used to haul ballast trains on the Geelong line in 2003 and 2004, as well as being hired to Freight Australia in January 2004 to haul log and grain services. After 2007, class members were also been hired to heritage operator Seymour Railway Heritage Centre for use on its trains, because the provision of TPWS equipment on the locos allowed them to run at full line speed over the Regional Fast Rail network.

With the gradual introduction of VLocity diesel multiple unit trains, N class locomotives began to play a lesser role, their main use being to haul peak-time commuter services to Bacchus Marsh and Geelong, along with long-distance services beyond the Regional Fast Rail network, to Bairnsdale, Swan Hill, and Warrnambool. A standard gauge variation also ran Albury services, but they were replaced by standard gauge VLocitys. The last standard gauge N class service ran on 30 July 2022.

On March 2024, for the first time since 2004, four N class locomotives were hired to Southern Shorthaul Railroad to haul freight trains. In preparation for leasing to SSR, the PTV and V/Line logos were stripped out. The first freight train with an N Class locomotive was hauled on 16 March 2024 on a grain train. It could be expected that the N Class locomotives could replace the aging B Class locomotives in the SSR fleet.

N class locomotives are authorised to operate at 115 km/h, although some units have been upgraded with D77/78 traction motors and have a maximum speed of 130 km/h. By June 2020, all locomotives had been fitted with the upgraded traction motors.

Features
N class locomotives have a locally designed frame and body, fitted with imported Electro-Motive Division technology in the prime mover, generator and control unit, along with locally produced components such as the bogie frames, constructed by Bradken. The class was the first in the world to use the EMD D43 traction motor, similar to, but smaller than, that used in the C and G classes. Head end power is provided by a separate engine unit in a special compartment located at the number 1 end of the locomotive, behind the electrical cabinet. The 240 kW generator provides 415 V 3-phase AC power for train lighting, air conditioning and other carriage requirements.

Fitted with 6,800-litre fuel tanks, the class were capable of running from Melbourne to Adelaide without refuelling. Electrical and electronic components were modular, to minimise delays after failures, and a reactive muffler system reduced the exhaust noise level. While most of the locomotives have only been used on broad gauge, three were converted to by exchanging the wheelsets and repositioning the braking equipment.

The narrow car body provided for a catwalk along each side, between the cabs, with fold-back body panels for maintenance access. The cab is similar to that of the G class locomotives, with an anti-climber beam to prevent upward movement should a collision occur. Twin high-impact windscreens were provided, with dual blade wipers. Each cab had room for a two-person crew, as well as an instructor if required. Air conditioning was provided, as well as an air-operated retention toilet at one end, accessible from the catwalk. The locos were initially provided with automatic staff exchange equipment, but that was removed in the 1990s, after the use of the electric staff ended, although the space remains in the cab side.

The car body design was the basis of one-off locomotive, GML10, built by Clyde Engineering in 1990 for the Goldsworthy railway.

Livery
The N class locomotives were delivered in the V/Line tangerine orange and grey livery, and named after cities in Victoria, except for N453, which is named after the City of Albury in New South Wales. The N class is, therefore, one of only three Australian locomotive classes of which every class member is named. N465 carries the earlier spelling of Ballarat, originally Ballaarat. On 10 March 1987, locomotive N470 was returned to Clyde Engineering, Somerton for a ceremony, at which brass plaques were affixed at both ends under the builder's plates, reading "V/Line locomotive N470 completes 2-million horse-power of diesel electric locomotives built by Clyde Engineering in Australia 10 March 1987".

From 1995, the class members were repainted into the new V/Line red and blue livery, and the V/Line logo on the side was altered after the privatisation of V/Line in 1999. In a program started in 2007 N class locos received white stripes along the cab-fronts, and their cowcatchers were painted yellow, to increase visibility at level crossings.

In May 2008, locomotive N468 was repainted into the new V/Line livery of red with grey, white and yellow. Three of the repainted locos were converted to in 2011, following the conversion of the North East line.

On 8 April 2017, N457 made its first revenue run to Albury in the new PTV livery of purple and yellow. That followed the painting of carriage set SN 8 into the new livery to match the V/Locity fleet, and style of the wider fleet of Victorian trams and buses