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Flying Tomato DXC 5356 (Revised)

Flying Tomato is an unusual variant on the traditional International Orange livery. This modified version had the grey paint on the cab-sides and roof replaced by red. Based on my research, the locomotives that received this livery were as follows:

DC 4006
DC 4058
DC 4087
DC 4110
DF 6006
DF 6012
DF 6029
DF 6058
DSC 2475
DSC 2515
TR 603
TR 920

As far as I know, not a single DX ever received this livery. In a way, this reskin demonstrates my idea for KiwiRail to have a fleet of heritage units. As such, I have labelled the reskin as DXC 5356, rather than DX 5356.

The locomotive we know today as DXC 5356 was built by General Electric as DX 2632, and entered service in September 1976. Like with the rest of the 49 (now 48) strong DX class, 2632 first carried the unusual Clockwork Orange livery, which was exclusive to the DX's. In 1978, DX 2632 was renumbered as 5356. This was done as part of the introduction of the Traffic Monitoring System, which is still in use today.

In 1985, DX 5356 lost her Clockwork Orange paint job in favour of International Orange. Unfortunately I could not find any photographs of the locomotive in the CO livery. Sometime between 1985 and 1989, DX 5356 had her original two-piece cab windscreen replaced by a large single-piece windscreen. This modification was made on the entire DX class, and was done around the same time as the introduction of single-person crews.

New Zealand Rail was privatised in 1995, and rebranded as Tranz Rail. The efforts to repaint the locomotive fleet weren't 100%, as it took three years before DX 5356 was repainted in the Tranz Rail blue livery.

DX 5356 stayed blue for another 11 years, being repainted in the Toll Rail livery in December 2006. Around the same time, the locomotive was reclassified as DXB 5356 and modified considerably. The work included the installation of the GE 'Brightstar' engine management system, the distinctive South Island air intakes or 'chutes', a new cab and upgraded drawgear. Sadly the DX's looked horrible in Toll Rail colours.

Toll Rail ceased to be on June 30th, 2008. The next stay - July 1st - the new state-owned rail company (KiwiRail) was launched. After this, all locomotives still in the Toll Rail livery were either repainted in KR colours or had the TR logo replaced by KR stickers. DXB 5356 was one of the engines to receive this treatment. Not after - though still in 2008 - 5356 was finally reclassified as a DXC. Today the DXB subclass refers to the DX's that are not fitted with the 'chutes'.

DXC 5356 was actually the last mainline locomotive to retain the Toll Rail livery, not being repainted in KiwiRail colours until early 2016. The locomotive is still in service today, and is allocated to the South Island. This is the case with every single other DX, apart from 2639. This engine was scrapped in March 1977 after a nasty head-on collision with DA 1426 in Auckland.