1250 Class Diesel Electric Locomotive No. 1262
Production date
1961
Country
Australia
State/Province
Queensland
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Object detail
Description
Diesel locomotive painted in blue and white livery. The locomotive has been 'sectionalised' with panels and bogies removed to display some of the inner components and parts.
Classification
TRANSPORT Railways railway vehicles
Production date
1961
Production place
History and use
After the Second World War, the Queensland Government had a policy of buying “Queensland Made” and wanted to source locally built diesel locomotives.
Walkers Limited in Maryborough assembled twelve light diesel locomotives in the mid-1950s using parts supplied from overseas and interstate. By 1956, The English Electric Company of Australia had established a factory at Rocklea and began supplying new diesel electric locomotives to several customers in other states.
Queensland Railway’s ordered five locomotives from English Electric with the first of these entering service on 21 July 1959. These locomotives were numbered 1250 to 1254 of the 1250 Class. The initial order was later extended in several batches to a total of seventeen locomotives.
The locomotives had a cab type design, somewhat like the 1200 Class and other diesel locomotive designs being produced at the time. The 1200 Class had only been designed to operate in one direction and visibility for the crew when reversing was very poor. The body of the 1250 Class was narrowed immediately behind the cab giving a long narrow hood. The crew could then see when reversing through a window at the rear of the cab. It is interesting to note that this was the first time that such a design had been used in Australia and even the United States.
The second batch of 1250 Class locomotives included the capability of multiple-unit operation, introduced for the first time in Queensland. Multiple-unit operation allowed a two-man crew to operate two or more diesels from the lead locomotive rather than each having a separate train crew.
Locomotive No.1262, now on display at The Workshops Rail Museum, entered service on the 27 October 1961. It is notable in being the lead locomotive of the first multiple-unit train to head north from Brisbane leaving for Gympie on the 12 May 1965.
No.1262, as with other members of its class, had a very busy working life. The Class were popular in Townsville where their multiple-unit capability was useful on coal and ingot trains on the Mount Isa Line. They could be found on many parts of the State railway system capable of taking 90-ton diesel locomotives hauling passenger or goods trains.
No.1262 was retired from service on the 4 November 1988 and retained by Queensland Rail as worthy of preservation. The locomotive now has a prominent position in the Diesel Revolution exhibit at The Workshops Rail Museum and is presented as a sectionalised locomotive showing the inner workings of a diesel locomotive as well as interpreting the story of the advances in rail technology and the cultural changes for locomotive crews brought about through the introduction of diesel electric locomotives.
Walkers Limited in Maryborough assembled twelve light diesel locomotives in the mid-1950s using parts supplied from overseas and interstate. By 1956, The English Electric Company of Australia had established a factory at Rocklea and began supplying new diesel electric locomotives to several customers in other states.
Queensland Railway’s ordered five locomotives from English Electric with the first of these entering service on 21 July 1959. These locomotives were numbered 1250 to 1254 of the 1250 Class. The initial order was later extended in several batches to a total of seventeen locomotives.
The locomotives had a cab type design, somewhat like the 1200 Class and other diesel locomotive designs being produced at the time. The 1200 Class had only been designed to operate in one direction and visibility for the crew when reversing was very poor. The body of the 1250 Class was narrowed immediately behind the cab giving a long narrow hood. The crew could then see when reversing through a window at the rear of the cab. It is interesting to note that this was the first time that such a design had been used in Australia and even the United States.
The second batch of 1250 Class locomotives included the capability of multiple-unit operation, introduced for the first time in Queensland. Multiple-unit operation allowed a two-man crew to operate two or more diesels from the lead locomotive rather than each having a separate train crew.
Locomotive No.1262, now on display at The Workshops Rail Museum, entered service on the 27 October 1961. It is notable in being the lead locomotive of the first multiple-unit train to head north from Brisbane leaving for Gympie on the 12 May 1965.
No.1262, as with other members of its class, had a very busy working life. The Class were popular in Townsville where their multiple-unit capability was useful on coal and ingot trains on the Mount Isa Line. They could be found on many parts of the State railway system capable of taking 90-ton diesel locomotives hauling passenger or goods trains.
No.1262 was retired from service on the 4 November 1988 and retained by Queensland Rail as worthy of preservation. The locomotive now has a prominent position in the Diesel Revolution exhibit at The Workshops Rail Museum and is presented as a sectionalised locomotive showing the inner workings of a diesel locomotive as well as interpreting the story of the advances in rail technology and the cultural changes for locomotive crews brought about through the introduction of diesel electric locomotives.
Associated person
Registration number
R5865
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