S Class: 18 Co'Co', 16-567C engine equiped, 1,800 hp, max. 133 km/h, Clyde Engineering built (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961), double cab (a flat fronted cab on the No. 2 end), all set for broad gauge at the moment (S300 - S317).
Chicago Freight Car Limited Australia (CFCLA) (B, GM, and S Class)
CFCLA (Australia's leading supplier of leased locomotives and rolling stock to the railway industry) bought B61, B76, B80, S300 and S311 from the now defunct West Coast Railway on 18 August 2004. The B and S Class locomotives
had to be taken out of use on 21 May 2004 due to material fatigue in the frames, of which all the B and S class suffered from. CFCLA had the locomotives refurbished in Bendigo and returned them in works train services in New South Wales
and Victoria. The B76, B80, S300 and S311 are in CFCLA's own blue and silver livery. The B61 has got the yellow/black stripe SSR livery and is used for the SSR coal trains.
CFCLA S300 (in CFCLA livery) is used by El Zorro on its 3996/4547 grain trains to Inner Harbour. CFCLA S311 is used by Qube on its Melbourne - Horsham container trains.
B76 and B80 are pulling work trains in and around Melbourne for Metro and have received special Metro decals. Together with S313 they are also currently used by POTA to transport rice for Sunrice at Deniliquin.
Empty container train 9071 runs daily from North Melbourne yard (departure around 05:25 hours) via Bendigo and Echuca
(broad gauge passenger lines) to Deniliquin (arrival around 11:15 hours). The daily full container train 9072 with rice departs Deniliquin around 16:00 hours.
Clyde Engineering (GM Class)
Clyde Engineering Motive Power Division in Kelso (Sydney Road), New South Wales, uses GM3 as shunter at its Bathurst Plant.
El Zorro (S Class)
In September 2006 rail contractor El Zorro of Melbourne bought V/Line S302 (now in orange/grey El Zorro livery and on standard gauge bogies) to haul works trains with it.
B64 (heavily stripped in V/Line orange and grey livery) was bought from Steamrail Victoria in September 2008 and currently stands for assesment at Avteq workshop. El Zorro also hires other bulldog noses from other companies to run
grain trains in New South Wales and Victoria.
CFCLA S300 (in CFCLA livery) is used by El Zorro on its 3996/4547 grain trains to Inner Harbour.
GM36 (Seymour Rail Heritage Centre, CR maroon/silver livery), S302 (now in orange/grey El Zorro livery and on standard gauge bogies; owned by El Zorro Transport) and Rail Power S312 (black with white and yellow stripes)
are used as standard gauge power for El Zorro grain trains between loading points in New South Wales and Victoria to various southern locations including Junee, Geelong, Murtoa and Port Adelaide as well as
for standard gauge mineral sands trains in Victoria (between Victoria Dock, Melbourne and Portland). El Zorro runs daily container trains between Portland (train 7768, departure from Hamilton daily
at 10:30 hours) and Mortua station (arrival at 13:15 hours); return trains run at night. Since 13 September 2008 El zorro also runs five roundtrips per fortnight of mineral sands trains for company Iluka Resources
between Portland and Melbourne. Train 9767 usually departs Melbourne 17:00 hours and train 9768 departs Portland in the evening hours.
Since 12 December 2008 El Zorro runs a bulk freight train for Regional Rail Logistics from the Riverina region (Junee, Cootamundra and Bomen)
to Port Botany in Sydney three times a week.
El Zorro also operates country maintenance trains for V/Line and John Holland.
S303 (VR blue/yellow) is used by El Zorro for broad gauge grain trains in Victoria (amongst others Sea Lake - North Geelong).
B64 (heavily stripped in V/Line orange and grey livery) was bought from Steamrail Victoria in September 2008 and currently stands for assesment at Avteq workshop in North Sunshine (McIntyre).
Freight Australia (Pacific National) (A and S Class)
Freight Australia (FA, former V/Line Freight then Freight Victoria) is owned by Pacific National (PNL).
FA owns the following bulldog nose locomotives:
A Class: FA A71, A73, A77, A78, A79, A81 and A85 (all units have the dark green/yellow livery of FA).
All A Class locomotives are operational.
S Class: FA S301, S306, S307 and S310. They are normally operational only as trailing units, but due to frame cracks S310 (in V/Line orange and black livery)
is still out of service in Melbourne since May 2004 awaiting repair in Bendigo at the SSR workshop.
S301 is in service again thereafter in FA green livery on broad gauge FA freight trains. S306 and S307 are also operational and have a yellow/blue Pacific National livery.
In December 2011 the A Class locomotives are in action on the following freight services:
- A71 is sometimes used as power for the 9552/9553/9556/9558 Pacific National Long Island steel trains between Westernport and Long Island, which even run on Saturdays.
- The 9305/9306 Tocumwal freight trains. The 9305 departs Melbourne Appleton Dock on Tuesday and Thursday at 18:50 hours and runs via Sunshine and Broadford (20:58 hours) to Tocumwal (arrival 01:00 hours the next day). The Sunday 9305 runs
approximately half an hour later. Return working 9306 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday depart Tocumwal at 16:05 hours and runs via Broadford (19:53 hours) to Appleton Dock (arrival 21:45 hours). Sometimes, these trains run on other days
of the week as well.
- The 9461/9462 Maryvale paper trains (6 times per week with a 9462 departure at 17:55 hours (Monday-Friday)/17:38 hours (Sunday) and arrival of 9461 around 06:00 hours from and to Melbourne).
- The 9141/9142 Maryborough grain container trains. The 9141 departs Melbourne West Tower Arrival Yard at 17:40 hours on Monday and Wednesday (via Bacchus Marsh 19:25 hours) and on Friday at 20:15 hours with return working 9142 departing
Maryborough at 23:00 hours on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and arrival at Melbourne Kensington at 06:00 hours). There is also a trip train on Monday and Thursday planned from Maryborough (d. 11:30/a. 17:45 hours) to Boort
(a. 14:25/d. 15:00 hours).
- The 9080/9280 daily freight train services from Melbourne Tottenham Yard (d. 22:20/a. between 01:40 and 04:30 hours) to Piangil (a. 08:20/d. between 18:15 and 19:05 hours).
- The 9219/9220 Monday-Friday freight services between Melbourne Aplleton Dock (d. 02:25/a. 01:25 hours) and Warrnambool Westvic Siding (a. 08:05/d. 19:25) with mostly A79.
- The 9245/9246 Tuesday, Thursday and Friday cement trains from Somerton Cement Siding (9245 d. 02:00 hours) via North Geelong Yard (a. 03:45/d. 10:35 hours) to Waurn Pounds (a. 11:05 hours). Return working 9246 departs Waurn Ponds at 12:15
hours and arrives at North Geelong Yard at 12:45 hours
- The 9101/9102 container trains between Appleton Dock and Merbein. The 9101 departs Appleton Dock on Mondays at 10:35 hours and runs via Gheringhap (12:50/13:43), Ballarat (14:50/55) and Maryborough (16:17/22) to Merbein (arrival at
23:49 hours). The Appleton departure on Wednesday and Friday is at 20:15 hours and runs via Bacchus Marsh (21:44) to Merbein (arrival the next day at 08:00 hours). Return working 9102 has different time schedules on Sunday
(Merbein departure 17:25 hours; arrival Appleton Dock the next day at 05:05 hours), Tuesday (Merbein departure 16:05 hours; arrival Appleton Dock the next day at 03:45 hours) and Thursday (Merbein departure 17:25 hours;
arrival Appleton Dock the next day at 06:25 hours). There is also a Tuesday and Thursday trip train service 9148/9149 working between Merbein (departure 12:30 hours, arrival at 14:20 hours) and Mildura Cement Siding (13:10/13:40 hours).
- And sometimes the Monday-Friday operated 9340/9318 Apex quarry stone train (Westall Apex Siding departure of 9340 at 09:00 hours, Kilmore East Apex Quarry Siding arrival at 11:50 hours; return working 9318 departs at 13:50 hours and
arrives at Brooklyn Hanson Siding at 15:25 hours. There is also a pair 9319/9430 (Monday-Thursday 9319 departure 19:50 from Brooklyn Hanson Siding; return 9430 Monday-Thursday departure at 22:20 hours from Kilmore East
Apex Quarry Siding).
The recent workings of the FA A Class and the CLF/CLP Class of
Australian Railroad Group which pass Gheringhap Loop, just west of Geelong on the broad gauge line to the Southwest
and North as well as the normal gauge line between Adelaide and Melbourne, you will find on the site of
Robert who lives near the tracks in Gheringhap Loop.
Genesee Wyoming Australia (GM, CLF and CLP Class)
Genesee Wyoming Australia (GWA) operates freight trains in South Australia and owns the following roundnoses:
CLF Class : ARG CLF5 (in the orange GWA livery);
CLP Class: ARG CLP6, CLP8, CLP14, CLP16 and CLP17 (all 5 locomotives are standard gauge locos and have the orange ASR livery);
GM Class: ARG GM32, GM34, GM37, GM38, GM40, GM42 - GM47 (11 locos; GM37, GM40, GM42, GM43, GM44, GM45 and GM47 have the
ARG orange livery, locos GM32, GM34, GM38 and GM46 still have the green AN livery). Most of these GM Class roundnoses are on standard gauge bogies.
All these locomotives are operational.
The locomotives are hauling grain trains in South Australia (Bowmans, Dimboola, Jamestown, Gladstone, Port Pirie, Pinnaroo, Loxton, Tailem Bend, Lameroo, Snowtown) and
between South Australia and Junee, Temora, Wolseley, Melbourne Appleton Dock and Geelong Grain Loop. GM40 is used as temporary shunter at Whyalla (steel plant). GM34 is stored at Dry Creek.
Since the start of the Adelaide - Darwin freight service on 17 Januari 2004 roundnoses some GWA roundnoses are on loan to FreightLink (now owned by GWA) supporting it's FQ Class locomotives on this long 2979 km,
42 hours trip through the Australian continent. Since 2006 the roundnose workings to Darwin were becoming quite rare as FQ and ALF Class locomotive could manage, but a surge in traffic means a few bulldog noses are still
active as (unfortunately) trailing units on this route. The Adelaide - Darwin freight service is the longest train service a bulldog nose gets around to
play with in the world! This service offers now six roundtrips per week:
Northbound AD1 departs Adelaide (Islington Freight Terminal) on Mondays through Saturdays around 15:20 hours to
arrive two days later in Darwin around 17:00 hours (Katherine is shunted around 12:00 hours);
Southbound DA2 departs Darwin on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays around 10:00 hours.
Some GM units are used as banking engines for the P&O trains between Adelaide and Melbourne. These trains pass Gheringhap Loop around 06:25 hours to
Melbourne (AM6) and around 18:45 hours to Adelaide (MA6), all Monday through Friday, but the banking unit is only shunted in the consist at Tailem Bend
for the journey over the Adelaide Hills to Adelaide.
Power Rail (GM and S Class)
In August 2004 Power Rail (Goulburn, NSW) bought GM19 (still in AN green livery) and S312 (operational and in use by El Zorro; in a black with white and yellow stripes livery)
from the now defunct West Coast Railway. Both locomotives were spare part donors. GM19 is waiting for an overhaul at Goulburn at the
moment. At Goulburn also privately owned (James Gray) bulldog nose 42101 (in NSWGR livery) is present, which also should receive an overhaul.
These units are to be leased to other operators.
QR National (CLF Class, CLP Class, GM Class and 421 Class)
With the take-over of some ARG business in 2006, Queensland Railways got hold of the bulldog noses CFL1 - CLF4, CLF7,
CLP9 - CLP13 and GM30. GM30 was a spare parts donor in Dry Creek (Adelaide) until May 2005 when it was brought to EDI Rail's Forrestfield
(Perth) for refurbishment into a 2,235 kW Type AT26C-3 unit (completion was envisaged by late 2006, but has now been cancelled).
It would have been renumbered in GN3401 after it would have received a EMD 645 E3B 16 cylinder prime mover.
The now privatised QR National uses above mentioned roundnoses as traction for its Melbourne - Brisbane BM7/MB7 freight trains, the Melbourne - Perth Forrestfield MP1/PM1 intermodal freight trains (four times per week) and
the AM6/MA6 container trains between Adelaide and Melbourne, mostly as trailing units.
On 11 March 2002 Queensland Railways (QR) bought the freight business of the private Northern Rivers Railroad (NRR) and later renamed into Iterail, via its subsidiary Queensland National including amongst other loco types the five NRR bulldog noses
42103, 42105, 42106 (just a body shell, stands at Casino), 42107 and 42109. Except for the 42103 (in new QRN livery) and 42106 (in a green/white livery), the Interail locomotives have a blue, orange and yellow
(from bottom to top) Interail livery.
The Class 421 roundnoses are put to work on freight and maintenance work trains. 42105 is QRN/SCT shunter between Appleton Dock and SCT's Altona Siding and the 42109 is parked at Casino. The Class 421 locos are also assigned to the Short North 4152
(return as 1451 at night) freight workings, operating between Broadmeadow (Newcastle) and Sydney for QR National. They leave Newcastle at 15:45 hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and at 18:00 hours at Sundays, returning from
Sydney during the night. The train usually has other units attached such as CLP/CLF, X & 44.
Southern Shorthaul Railroad (S Class)
Southern Shorthaul Railroad (SSR) bought S317 from Great Northern Railway Services in December 2003. It has been overhauled at the SSR Bendigo work shop for frame repairs. S317 sports the SSR yellow with black stripe livery.
SSR also owns ex-CFCLA GM10, GM22, GM27 and B65. GM10, GM22 and GM27 carry the SSR house style of yellow with black stripe. The B65 got a red with yellow livery with silver lines as advertisement for Auscision Models.
GM10 is currently used to haul work trains in New South Wales.
Currently the GM22, GM27, B65, CFCLA B61 and G Class locos are used for haulage of SSR coal trains from Newstan (departure around 12:00 hours) to Kooragang (arrival around 13:30 hours) and soon after that the empty return working.
GM 22 and GM27 (in SSR livery) haul the T176/T177 container trip trains between Leightonfield and Port Botany in Sydney, Sometimes only one of them is used in combination with another type of locomotive.
By the way, SSR has taken over the Bendigo Workshops from GNR.
V/Line Passenger (A Class)
V/Line Passenger is owned by the State of Victoria. It owns the following four bulldog nose A Class locomotives:
VLP A60, A62, A66 and A70. The A60, A62 and A70 have been painted in the blue/red V/Line Passenger livery. The A66 wears a new red/yellow with white stripe V/Line livery.
These 4 locomotives are used for the folowing passenger services (all Monday to Friday):
- 06:22 hours departure from Bacchus Marsh to Melbourne;
- 07:45 hours departure from Bacchus Marsh to Melbourne;
- 15:22 hours departure from Melbourne to Bacchus Marsh;
- 16:45 hours departure from Melbourne to Bacchus Marsh;
- 06:32 hours departure from Melbourne to Sunbury;
- 07:38 hours departure from Sunbury to Melbourne.
Former West Coast Railway (B and S Class) pictures
After 10 years of fruitfull operation on 21 May 2004 West Coast Railway ceased it's operations. The passenger traffic was handed over to V/Line and the freight traffic to
Freight Australia (now Pacific National), who had not planning to use the WCR bulldogs not in the least due to the fact that all six WCR
bulldogs were declared a failure due to stress cracks in the loco underframes by the Public Transport and Safety Office on 21 May 2004. All bulldog noses were sold to other
companies (see the sections of other railway companies on this page).
A detailed history of the WCR bulldogs can be found on the site of
the South Western Railway Society.
To be nostalgic, here are some pictures of the good old WCR days:
Preserved Australian bulldog nose locomotives In the state of New South Wales:
New South Wales Rail Transport Museum (Thirlmere): 4201 in a green & yellow 'NSWR 125th Anniversary of the Railways'
livery. This locomotive is used for NSW Rail Transport Museum (NSWRTM) excursion trains which ride under the name of
Heritage Express;
4203 is a shortened shell (as an eye-catcher in lilla and green livery) in the BBQ area of O'Donoghue's Pub in EMU Plains (adjacent to the station);
Lachlan Valley Railway Museum (Cowra): 4204 in original Indian red livery and is operational;
Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum Ltd (Dorrigo): 4206 stored in an operational condition in original Indian red livery
and 42102. The 42102 had a cosmetic overhaul and was repainted in the SRA Candy stripe livery in the end of 2005.;
42101 (owned by James Gray; in NSWGR livery) is in Goulburn.
In the state of Victoria:
Steamrail Victoria: B63 (stored at Newport in V/Line orange and grey livery), B72 (under restoration in Newport, in white undercoat as of October 2006)
and S313 (broad gauge; in VR blue/gold livery; currently rented to POTA for the Deneliquin - Melbourne rice trains).
Seymour Rail Heritage Centre (Seymour): B74 in VR blue/yellow livery (broad gauge), GM36 in CR maroon/silver
livery (standard gauge) and S303 in VR blue/yellow livery (broad gauge) as well. GM36 and S303 are currently hired to El Zorro;
ARHS-North Williamstown Railway Museum
(North Williamstown): B83 (in VR blue/yellow livery) and S308 (in V/Line orange/grey livery);
In the state of South Australia:
Static display in Port Pirie: GM28 (renumbered in GM22; in CR maroon/silver livery).
In the state of West Australia:
Rail Heritage WA owns GM1 which resides in the Railway Museum in Bassendean.
PRHS Museum at Seven Mile yard in the Pilbara region: F7A 5450 (in yellow/orange livery). This bulldog nose is
actually a roundnose as it was built in the USA in 1951. Previously owned by Western Pacific Railroads Company (USA),
5450 was one of two F7A's purchased by Mt. Newman Mining for construction of their railway.
Out of service by late 1971, 5450 was donated to the Museum by Mt. Newman Mining in 1978. In May 1985 the engine
of this loco was started for the first time in nearly 14 years, and the loco has since been restored to mainline
standard. 5450's first mainline trip was to Camp Curlewis prior to it's closure at the end of November 1987.
The other ex-Western Pacific and ex-Mt. Newman Mining F7A is the 5451 which stands as a static display at
Port Hedland.
