New Zealand DSJ class locomotive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New Zealand DSJ class is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive used on the New Zealand rail network. The class has a very similar overall design to the DSG class, but is instead single-engined, has a cab that is offset from the centre and is both shorter and lighter than its twin-engined counterpart.
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DSJ4004 in Picton, April 2012. | |||||||||||||
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Introduction
The first DSJ was assembled in Japan by Toshiba Heavy Industries in 1983 and arrived in New Zealand in 1984.[1] Toshiba are the same company who built the EO class electric locomotives. The remaining four were assembled at the former Addington Workshops in Christchurch,[2] and entered service from 1984 to 1985.[1]
With only five members in this class, it represents one of the smallest contingents of shunt locomotives in current use.
In service
Accidents
On the afternoon of 1 September 2021, DSJ4004[3] and a wagon went off the end of the rail ferry linkspan at Picton and into the harbour.[4] The wagon and locomotive were retrieved from the harbour on 2 and 3 September 2021 respectively. No one was injured during the incident. Due to the cost of repairing the flooded locomotive, DSJ4004 was written off and became a parts donor for the remainder of the fleet.[5]