page_title: New Zealand DJ class locomotive
section_title: Withdrawals
hierarchical_section_title: New Zealand DJ class locomotive / Withdrawals
caption_attribution_description: English: A wrecked old locomotive of the NZR DJ class near Auckland City's (New Zealand) rail enthusiasts depot. Guess they gave up on this one...
context_page_description: The New Zealand DJ class locomotive is a type of diesel-electric locomotive in service on the New Zealand rail network. The class were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and introduced from 1968 to 1969 for the New Zealand Railways Department with a modernisation loan from the World Bank to replace steam locomotives in the South Island, where all of the class members worked most of their lives. Nine of the locomotives remain in use, mainly with Dunedin Railways.
  They are the second class of locomotive in New Zealand to utilise the Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement, the other classes being the EW class and the EF class. In both cases, this wheel arrangement was used to provide a lower axle-load due to track conditions as well, particularly in the case of the DJs, a shorter wheelbase more suited to sharp curvature on secondary or tertiary routes.
context_section_description: The first DJ class locomotive to be withdrawn from service were DJs 1205 and 1220, which were withdrawn in April 1973 after both were involved in a collision at Balclutha on 20 December 1972. The first mainstream withdrawals of the DJ class took place in September 1986 when DJs 3073, 3165, 3263, 3355, 3361, 3447, 3453 and 3608 were withdrawn from service; five of the locomotives were placed in storage in Invercargill.
  In March 1988 the Railways Corporation began progressively introducing single-manning of trains. The DJ class, along with the DA class, were deemed to be not suitable for single-manning due to their cab configuration. Withdrawals continued until the penultimate locomotive, DJ3159, was withdrawn in July 1992. The last remaining locomotive, DJ3096, was retained initially in storage and later as a working locomotive as part of the New Zealand Railways Heritage Fleet.
  In order to prolong the service life of the remaining locomotives as they were prepared for withdrawal, most of the DJ class locomotives had their top power notch made inoperable with the exception of DJs 3009, 3015, 3021, 3038 and 3044, which were at the time being used to haul the Southerner. The last DJ-worked Southerner service took place in June 1990 although one final instance was recorded in February 1991 when a DJ hauled the train from Invercargill to Dunedin.
  One locomotive, DJ3303 (Dᴶ 1229) was given a reprieve on withdrawal in March 1988 after it was sold to the Ohai Railway Board (ORB) for use on their line between Wairio and Ohai. At the time the DJ was the largest industrial locomotive in New Zealand and was repainted in the ORB's yellow livery as their No. 3. 
  After New Zealand Rail Limited took over running of the ORB line in 1991, DJ 3303 was placed in storage before being sold for preservation to Mainline Steam. A small number of DJs were also moved to Upper Hutt for storage pending possible sale to other buyers, although most were later scrapped.
caption: DJ 3044 in a decrepit state, stored at Mainline Steam Parnell, Auckland, before it was dismantled for spare parts in May 2011
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