4490

I was waiting to catch a train this morning and along came this beautiful old 44 Class locomotive.

For train buffs, "Locomotive 4490 is one of 100 locomotives that made up the 44 Class, and was ordered by the New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) in December 1964, part of the last batch of 40 units, the first small batch of ten being ordered in March 1957. The order was placed with A.E.Goodwin of St Marys, Locomotive 4490 being completed and formerly handed over in July 1967. Based upon ALCo’s 1800hp ‘World Model’ (DL500B), the class represented a standardisation of design for mainline diesel-electric power. The class was immediately utilised on a number of express passenger workings, including the Melbourne Limited, Inter-Capital Daylight and Brisbane Expresses. They were also used on the Southern Aurora and later the Indian Pacific following its inauguration in 1970. Fast freight workings were another duty for the class. Their lengthy service life was characterised by trouble-free running, popularity with crews, unprecedented working intensity and increasing orders. As newer diesels were delivered, withdrawals commenced in the late 1980s until all remaining units including 4490 were stopped in July 1994.

Locomotive 4490 was subsequently transferred to the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum where it was repainted to its original livery for use as part of their charter fleet. The livery has since been modified to a version of the original 4401 livery."  Source - Office of Environment & Heritage  More details are available there.