New South Wales 46 Class

The New South Wales 46 class were 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 mid 1990s.
== History ==
=== About 4615 ===
The "46 class" electric locomotives were ordered and designed for the electrification of the Sydney to Wallerawang route over the Blue Mountains in N.S.W. The motivation was an expected increase in the volume of coal to be shipped from the western coalfields beyond Lithgow, in the mid to late 1950s. This extra traffic would make the capacity of the then existing steam hauled double track Western Railway line inadequate. Electrification was determined to be the most cost effective method of increasing the capacity of this line. However the coal traffic estimates proved to be over optimistic and this, together with the location of a large existing steam locomotive depot at Lithgow, resulted in the electrification project being terminated at Bowenfels - on the outskirts of Lithgow.
As a result of design experience gained with prototype electric locomotive 4501, the Mechanical Branch of the NSW Government Railways called tenders for the supply of 40 electric locomotives. British firm Metropolitan-Vickers was the successful tenderer and the first of the class entered service during June 1956, twelve months before completion of electrification to Bowenfels.
The 46 class locomotives were constructed by Metropolitan-Vickers Beyer-Peacock at Stockton in Britain, with electrical equipment made in Manchester and Sheffield. The 40 members arrived in Sydney, assembled, between May 1956 and February 1958. As electrification progressed across the Blue Mountains from Emu Plains, the 46 class began assisting steam-hauled trains in progressive stages until total electrification to Lithgow and Bowenfels was achieved on 9 June 1957, allowing the withdrawal of steam operations over the mountains.
On 15 November 1956, locomotive 4615 (builder's number 800) was landed in Sydney on the ship Jason, along with sister locomotive 4614. Due to a temporary surplus of electric motive power, it was not until 21 January 1957 that 4615 entered service. One of 4615's first duties was in forming, with 4606 and 4613, the official test train for the newly completed overhead section from Valley Heights to Katoomba.
On delivery 4615 was painted in "Midland Red" (maroon) livery, relieved by the application of crimson bands around the bodywork. Along with its siblings, 4615 was initially based and maintained at Flemington Electric Train Car Sidings, until the opening in May 1958 of the purpose-built diesel and electric depot at Enfield, known as "Delec". 4615 received a new colour scheme of Tuscan red body lined with yellow stripes in April 1968. The majority of the class received the so-called "candy" colour scheme, first introduced in 1982, including 4615. A hand full of the 46 class received the 1992 Freightrail Blue livery, again including 4615, which was one of the last to be done.
The Metrovick electrical equipment includes; six MV272 traction motors, MG86 supply motor generator, MG92 exciter motor generator, two 20P pantographs and two AY52 compressor motors (fitted to two Westinghouse 2C75 compressors). Traction control is by means of the Metrovick "unit switch" system (electrically interlocked individual electro-pneumatic contactors). Control equipment is of the 1955 type, with manual notching and regenerative braking, directly operated by the driver's master controller (or jumpered train lines when operating in multiple unit).
Thus, from January 1957 until January 1960, 4615 would have seen exclusive use on the western line to Lithgow, hauling both passenger and goods services. For a period before the introduction of the single-deck interurban electric train sets in 1958, 46 class locomotives also hauled the famous commuter expresses "The Fish" and "The Chips" until September and December 1958 respectively. In 1960 electrification of the Northern Line to Gosford was completed, with 46 class electric locomotives again being used to overcome capacity limiting gradients either side of the Hawkesbury River Bridge. 
Most 46 class locomotives had a long service life, with all but two still in service early in 1990. However from this time onwards members of the class were progressively withdrawn, with the last 16 in service being stopped during January 1996. 4615 was one of these, being stopped on 17 January 1996, along with 6 others. This was the last day of service for the class, with official stowage being effected the same day.
After the withdrawal, staff at Lithgow Locomotive Maintenance Centre, which maintained the electric locomotive fleet, selected 4638 as the officially retained operational heritage 46 class loco, on the basis of it being the last unit overhauled. Due to very good electrical and mechanical condition, and a late equipment change, 4615 was designated the companion heritage unit to 4638, with it also being retained in operable condition. For this purpose 4615 received a minor service which particularly included refitting of original Metrovick pantographs.
Control of the 46 class locomotives passed from the State Rail Authority of NSW to the newly corporatised FreightCorp (which operated all the previously SRA freight services). Thus 4615 was sold by FreightCorp to the Sydney Electric Train Society on 20th April 1998. Other preserved 46 class units are held by the NSW Rail Transport Museum (4601 and 4638), and Railway Museums at Dorrigo (4602), and Rothbury (4627). All retained units other than 4601 are complete. The remaining balance of the class were scrapped at Simsmetal Mascot in mid to late 1998.
After completion of remedial trackwork on their branch line, 4615 was transferred to the State Mine Heritage Park and Railway at Lithgow for storage on 4th October 1998. 4615 was also the last 46 class locomotive to leave Lithgow Maintenance Centre, being operated out and across Lithgow Yard under electric power. 
Following the SETS "86 Class Farewell Tour" on 7th September 2002 (which marked the end of commercial use of electric locomotives in NSW), key staff from Lithgow Locomotive Maintenance Centre urged that 4615 be returned to traffic and generously offered their assistance. After an inspection confirmed that the locomotive remained in excellent mechanical and electrical condition, these works were completed between October and early December 2002.
4615 was transferred from State Mine back down to Lithgow Yard (and under the overhead) on 30th November 2002. It was successfully trialed light engine to Mount Victoria and return on 5th December 2002. The locomotive was operated light engine from Lithgow to Eveleigh in Sydney on 6th December, and ran its first scheduled Society trip on the 7th December 2002 - the "Airport Colliery 46 Class Tour".
4615 also made a test run trip to Sandown on Friday 20th December 2002, becoming the last electric working on this industrial line, due to removal of the overhead wiring over the following weekend. 4615 was used for track circuit testing on the Eastern Suburbs Railway as part of the !--Edgecliff--> Bondi Junction turnback alterations on the 27th March 2004.
In June 2004, the locomotive was given an interim repaint into Indian Red with yellow whiskers and white numbers. This replicates one variation of the original 1968 whiskers livery applied to some members of this class. More extensive restoration of the external bodywork is planned.
The locomotive was operated on Society outings on various occasions, the last being our "First Passenger Electric Sesqui-Centenary Tour" on the 28th May 2005.
Following a change of management at Railcorp's Hornsby Maintenance Centre and a change in policy away from embedding heritage electric stock in an operational depot, SETS moved 4615 (and its other items) to covered accommodation at the Junee RoundHouse on 7th June 2009. The loco was then opened to public display within the museum without its pantographs. (Which had to be removed for the transfer over non-electrified lines.)
On 16th and 17th June 2018, 4615 and the other SETS items were transferred from Junee RoundHouse back to Pacific National's LMC Lithgow for reactivation. So far two refurbished original 20P Metrovick pantographs have been delivered to LMC for refitting, and all fire extinguishers have been replaced. It is currently planned for these works to be completed by early 2019.
== 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 	Locomotive 4601 Valley Heights Rail Museum
4602 	Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum	Dorrigo 	Stored 	
4615 	Sydney Electric Train Society 	Lithgow 	Stored 	Moved from Junee in 2015 via ParkesNSW 46 Class Electric Locomotive 4615 Sydney Electric Train Society86 Class Electric Reactivated Motive Power issue 120 November 2018 page 7
4617 	Private owner 	Junee 	Stored 	Cab only
4627 	Sydney Electric Train Society 	Lithgow 	Transferred to Lithgow in July 2023 for static restoration	NSW 46 Class Electric Locomotive 4627 Sydney Electric Train Society
4638 	Transport Heritage NSW 	Chullora Heritage Hub	Stored 	Veteran electric finds new home as in traffic units face uncertain future Railway Digest July 1998 page 10
Category:Electric locomotives
Category:Metrovicks locomotives
Category:Beyer locomotives
Category:C-C locomotives