03/09/2026
With Pacific National (PN) commencing the scrapping of the remaining Australian National (AN) DL class diesel locomotives at Werris Creek, NSW today (starting with DL47), it’s not looking very good for the DLs. It’s very possible that the whole class will be scrapped, with no public plans for any of the DLs to go to other organisations who may want to use or preserve one.
Given the significance of the occasion, I thought I’d mark it and try have a look for DLs in the portion of the late Geoff Burgoyne’s collection that I have, and coincidentally found photos of the exact locomotive that was scrapped today, DL47. With the impending disappearance of the class, photo and video records by rail enthusiasts will be very important in remembering this part of Aussie rail history.
Did you ever get to see or photograph a DL? While I never saw one myself, I’m quite happy to share these Geoff Burgoyne photos to remember them.