# New South Wales 46 class locomotive

The New South Wales 46 class was a class of mainline electric locomotive built by Metropolitan-Vickers and its partner Beyer, Peacock & Company in England for the Department of Railways New South Wales. They later operated for the Public Transport Commission, State Rail Authority and FreightCorp with most remaining in service into the 1990s.

## History

The locomotives were built at Bowesfield Works, Stockton-on-Tees, with electrical equipment supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers from its Trafford Park and Sheffield plants. Metropolitan-Vickers drew on experience gained from its earlier British Railways class 76 and 77 electric locomotives, which were used on the Woodhead Line in England and later in the Netherlands.
The locomotives were purchased as part of the electrification of the Main Western line over the Blue Mountains from Penrith to Bowenfels. The first was delivered in June 1956.
They hauled passenger services from Sydney Central and freight services from Rozelle and Enfield yards.
From January 1960 they also began to operate to Gosford following the electrification of the Main Northern line. This was later extended to Broadmeadow and Newcastle in June 1984.
From 1968 they hauled coal services from Glenlee Colliery on the Main South line and from January 1986 began to operate to Port Kembla following the Illawarra line being electrified.
From 1970 they hauled the Indian Pacific from Sydney Central to Lithgow. Because of the Commonwealth Railways stainless steel carriage stock having shorter than normal buffing plates, 4601-4604 had their buffers removed at one end to avoid buffer locking in 1970 with 4605-4608 similarly treated in 1974.

### Demise

Their build quality and durability was such that 38 remained on the books in 1990. By April 1993, a number had been withdrawn and partially stripped with 31 in service or under repair. Following a decision by National Rail to use diesel locomotives on its services over the electrified network, the need for electric locomotives decreased. In December 1994, ten were sold for scrap. The remaining class members had been withdrawn by January 1996.

## Accidents

The 46 class locomotives were involved in a number of serious incidents:
* On 16 July 1965, a 44-vehicle freight train hauled by 4620 ran away for 4 miles (6.4 km), careering downhill at speeds of up to 95 miles per hour (153 km/h), before a spectacular derailment at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. Investigations revealed that whilst the air brake train pipe was connected from the locomotive to the train, the associated isolating cock was left closed. This rendered the train brakes inoperative.
* On 16 January 1976, a freight train hauled by 4623 collided with the rear of a stationary double deck interurban electric multiple unit train at Glenbrook, killing one passenger. This accident was caused by a wrong-side signal failure. The automatic signal behind the EMU displayed "caution" when it should have been at "danger", thereby admitting the following goods train into the occupied signal section.
* On 18 January 1977, 4620 was damaged in the Granville rail disaster, which claimed 83 lives. The locomotive was condemned and scrapped.

## Preservation

Five locomotives (and one cab) were saved for preservation:
Preserved 46 class locomotives :
| Number | Owner | Location | Status | References/notes |
| 4601 | Transport Heritage NSW | Valley Heights | Static Display | |
| 4602 | Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum | Dorrigo | Stored | |
| 4615 | Sydney Electric Train Society | Lithgow | Stored | Moved from Junee in 2015 via Parkes |
| 4617 | Private owner | Junee | Stored | Cab only |
| 4627 | Sydney Electric Train Society | Lithgow | Transferred to Lithgow in July 2023 for static restoration | |
| 4638 | Transport Heritage NSW | Chullora Heritage Hub | Stored | |