Australian National AN class
The AN class are a class of diesel locomotives built by Clyde Engineering, Somerton for Australian National in 1992–1993.
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Introduction to service and operating history
They entered service on Australian National's standard gauge network from Broken Hill to Adelaide, Alice Springs and Perth.[1] In 1995, all were leased to National Rail with the transfer of Australian National's interstate operations.
In January 1996, AN10 was destroyed in the Hines Hill train collision. In November 1997, the remaining 10 were sold to National Rail.[1] passing into Pacific National ownership with the sale of National Rail in February 2002. In 2004, they began to operate to Darwin on The Ghan following this line opening with AN3 painted in the Ghan livery between 2004 and 2014.[2][3]
Future
As of January 2023, AN class locomotives are generally used as trailing locomotives on Intermodal and Steel services between Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. They were commonly used as second locomotives on steel trains in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.[4] The class are currently facing storage in Melbourne due to combined high operational costs and mechanical failures. It's rumoured they'll be stored in Werris Creek, New South Wales.
As of 17 February 2023, the entire class is stored, with all except AN1 (which is in Port Augusta) in storage at South Dynon.
Fleet status
| Locomotive | Serial No | Completed | Livery | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AN1 | 92-1297 | 1992 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Operational. In Port Augusta, having been detached from 5MP5 on 03/02/23 |
| AN2 | 92-1298 | 1992 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 5SM2 23/12/2022 |
| AN3 | 92-1299 | 1992 | Pacific National blue & yellow (repainted from Ghan red livery in early 2014) | Stored, last run 4BM4 13/01/2023 |
| AN4 | 93-1300 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 3SM2 11/01/2023 |
| AN5 | 93-1301 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 4CM3 02/02/23 |
| AN6 | 93-1302 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 1PM6 12/01/2023 |
| AN7 | 93-1303 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 7AM5 15/01/2023 |
| AN8 | 93-1304 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 5PM5 05/02/23 |
| AN9 | 93-1305 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 3CM3 11/01/2023 |
| AN10 | 93-1306 | 1993 | Australian National green & yellow | Scrapped (accident damaged) |
| AN11 | 93-1307 | 1993 | Pacific National blue & yellow | Stored, last run 2AM5 17/01/2023 |