421 Class

The New South Wales 421 class are a class of diesel locomotive built by Clyde Engineering, Granville for the New South Wales Government Railways in 1965/66. These mainline locomotives were a follow on from the 42 class. The 421s retained the classic bulldog nose as with the other Clyde built GM, S and 42 locomotives at one end, but featured a flat-cab at the other end. In this respect, they are unique amongst bulldog nose locomotives in the world.

The locomotives have an EMD 16-567C engine producing 1,342 kilowatts (1,800 hp), with an EMD D32F generator and EMD D67 traction motors. The 421 class can achieve a top speed of 115 km/h. They ride on Co-Co bogies, operate on standard gauge, are 18.91 m long and weigh 110 tonnes.

History
The 421 class initially entered service on the Main South before being transferred to Bathurst in 1970 to operate services on the Main Western between Lithgow and Broken Hill including the new Indian Pacific service. However due to their poor ride quality they were returned to the Main South. During the early 1980s they were briefly used on through services to Melbourne.

All 10 were withdrawn from service in December 1986 and January 1987 and put in store at Junee, even though some had only recently been overhauled. In June 1989 two were moved to Cardiff Workshops. One was resurrected from July 1989 until January 1990 before most were offered for sale in 1990.

Four locomotives were bought by Northern Rivers Railroad. After undergoing some restoration work at Junee, in October 1996 they worked to their new base at Casino where the work was completed ready for the commencement of operations in October 1997. Northern Rivers Railroad used them to haul the Ritz Rail tourist rail service from Casino to Murwillumbah on the Murwillumbah railway line and various freight and infrastructure trains on the North Coast line as a sub-contractor to FreightCorp. Northern Rivers Railroad purchased 42106 from a private owner, and moved it from storage at the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum, Thirlmere to Casino in September 1998, but has yet to return to service. All were included in the sale to Interail (now Aurizon) and have operated as far south as Melbourne.

Two have been saved for preservation. In December 2009 42101 moved from the Goulburn Heritage Centre to Eveleigh for restoration by 3801 Limited. It re-entered service as a heritage locomotive on the Cockatoo Run on 22 February 2015. In January 2011 42102 moved from storage on Kooragang Island to the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum.