Railways and Tramways of Australia

Heaviest, most powerful, longest

 

The first run of an AC6000CW locomotive in Western Australia took place on 9 May 1999.

 

BHP purchased eight of the model AC6000CW locomotives for hauling iron ore trains in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They were built by General Electric at Erie in Pennsylvania.

 

With a whopping 6000 horsepower (4474 kW) traction output, weighing a colossal 199.6 tonnes, and having a huge length of 23.16 metres, they were the heaviest, most powerful and longest diesel locomotives ever to operate on Australian railways. They were also the first to use alternating current traction motors.

 

All eight of the AC6000CW locomotives arrived in Port Hedland by the ship Titan Scan in April 1999. They were transported by road to Nelson Point Workshops for a final fit out, and were numbered from 6070 to 6077.

 

After yard testing, no. 6071 became the first to run when it was rostered as the third unit on a train of empty wagons to Yandi on 9 May 1999. By the following week all eight were in service. They were put to work hauling long trains of iron ore on the BHP railway network from mines to Port Hedland for export. When introduced they were painted in blue and white livery, but four were later painted brown and black.

 

The massive power of the AC6000CW locomotives enabled them to haul huge loads, particularly when working with other class members. However, various issues were encountered, including turbo problems, brake faults and engine vibration.

 

Class leader no. 6070 was involved in a derailment in 2011, resulting in a bent frame. It was subsequently scrapped. The remaining units continued in service until the last was withdrawn in 2013. They were scrapped at Port Hedland in October 2014.

 

None of these gargantuan locomotives were preserved.

 

Bibliography

‘AC6000 siding’, Pilbara Railway Pages, https://www.pilbararailways.com.au/bhp/ac6000.php, accessed datehere.

‘Behemoths of the Pilbara’, Australian Railways Illustrated, no. 24, February 2014, pp 10–16.

P Clark, ‘BHP’s new locos’, Motive Power, no. 7, August/September 1999, pp 11–13.

S Jesser, ‘Pilbara Americana: or BHP Iron Ore’s AC6000CW locomotives’, Railway Digest, vol. 40, no. 12, December 2002, pp 16–20.

‘Most powerful Australian locos enter service’, Railway Digest, vol. 37, no. 7, July 1999, p 17.

L Oberg, Locomotives of Australia: 1854 to 2007, Rosenberg, Sydney, 2007.

C Walters, ‘Desert monsters: locomotives of the Pilbara iron ore companies’, Railway Digest, vol. 45, no. 9, September 2007, pp 22–33.