| De Class (locomotive) |
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The DE class were a New Zealand class of shunting Diesel-electric locomotives. The New Zealand Railways intended to replace steam locomotives for shunting duties with this class. A number of the DEs were used in pairs (each locomotive crewed) on the Royal Train s when Queen Elizabeth The Second visited New Zealand in 1953 . The class was also used for suburban passenger trains in Auckland and Wellington. The class was initially based in the North Island , but at four of the class were sent to the South Island in 1981. The class was slowly dispersed to secondary yards on the New Zealand network, such as Napier, Dunedin and Invercargill. As part of the New Zealand Railways Corporation plan to reduce the number of first-generation diesels in the late 1980s, a number of the class were scrapped or sold for preservation. Two locomotives have been preserved at Ferrymead , two at Glenbrook Vintage Railway, and two at the Silver Stream Railway . One locomotive remains in service for the Taieri Gorge Railway in Dunedin. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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