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New Zealand Railways DA 1401

DA 1401 was built by General Motors of Canada in 1955, entering service on August 23rd of that year. 1401 was the 2nd of her 146-strong class to be built, right behind class leader DA 1400.

One day in March 1968, 1401 was used in a test-train for the then-new DJ and Di locomotives.

In 1971, the first six DA’s were modified as shunters for the huge Te Rapa marshalling yard. The engines were reclassified as DAA, had the white stripes repainted yellow and fitted with slow-speed control that could be switched off for mainline runs. Seven years later - in 1978 - DAA 1401 was given a new number - DA 28 - as part of the introduction of NZR’s Traffic Monitoring System, a computerised system that KiwiRail still uses today.

After her modifications, DA 1401 continued in service until 1986. She was initially sold for scrap to Sims-PMI in Otahuhu. Thankfully she was spared from the scrapyard and saved by a Mr. Tony Batchelor, who bought the engine for his Pacific Rail Trust. Between 1988 and 1991 the DA was stored at a scrapyard in Otahuhu. After this, she was moved around to various spots across Auckland.

1401 remained in Auckland until 1997, when she was leased to Tranz Rail, presumably to help out with freight services (the same thing happened with classmates 1429 and 1471). Unfortunately 1401 saw limited service with Tranz Rail, and was placed in storage at Hutt Workshops in 2003. Two years later she was handed to the Feilding & District Steam Rail Society.

DA 1401 arrived in Feilding on December 15th, 2005. And two years later - in 2007 - she was donated to the Feilding & District Steam Rail Society by Tony Batchelor himself. 1401 is still in Feilding today, and is housed in the same yard as a trio of steam locomotives. These engines are F 163, WAB 794 and X 442.

One highlight of 1401’s time in Feilding was in October 2008, when she took part in a big locomotive cavalcade through the town. This cavalcade was part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the North Island Main Trunk’s opening.

On a personal note, I’ve seen the real DA 1401 at least once. The date was August 11th, 2018, and she was sitting in a shed with WAB 794 for company.