Both the Commonwealth Railway (CR) and its successor, Australian National Railways (ANR), had been loyal Clyde GM operators, so it was somewhat a surprise when ANR placed orders in 1989 with Goninan/GE for 14 of their CM30-8. The first of these EL Class built at the Newcastle works was delivered mid 1990. They featured a raked back aerodynamic cab at one end and were rated 3190HP (2380KW) for traction. These locomotives were intended for fast passenger and freight service and as delivered were geared for a top speed of 140 KPH. For the following six years they performed these functions well and then were leased to and came under the control of National Rail (NR), who needed motive power until their 120 strong NR Class were delivered. Because the ELs were not officially part of the ANR interstate fleet at the time this fleet was purchased by Australian Southern Railways (ASR) in 1996, the ELs were ultimately returned to the Commonwealth Government and stored at Islington. In 1998 Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia (CFCLA) purchased the 13 surviving members of the EL Class and had them upgraded at Goninans Bassendean works in Western Australia. They emerged re-geared for a top speed of 115KPH and powered by a 12 cylinder General Electric 7FDL-12 diesel engine producing 3300HP (2460 KW) driving a GMG192 alternator which fed six 761 type traction motors. CFCLA have subsequently leased them to many operators, including Austrac, Australian Railway Group (ARG), El Zorro, Freight Australia (now part of Pacific National), Lachlan Valley Rail Freight (LVRF) now part of QUBE, Interail (now part of QR National), POTA, Pacific National and Patrick PortLink. In this presentation we will look at the EL Class in detail both inside and outside and see them in service with many of the above railway operators. Approximate run time: 107 minutes.
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