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International Orange DX 5235

(First of all, I have no idea why NS 8114 and 8099 are in the thumbnail).

DX 5235 is probably better known for what she became during an early 2000’s rebuild, during which she was rebuilt as DXR 8022.

The engine was originally built by General Electric in 1975, entering service in January 1976. As with all brand-new DX’s, 5235 was originally numbered in the 26xx series (5235 was originally DX 2621), and painted in the distinctive(ly garish) Clockwork Orange livery.

With the introduction of the TMS numbering system in the late 1970’s, DX 2621 was renumbered to DX 5235 before she was even five years old. By 1984 she had been repainted in the International Orange livery, yet retained the two small windows on the front of the cab, which was present on all original-condition DX’s. These were replaced with a single large window near the end of the 1980’s.

DX 5235 had a fairly run-of-the-mill on the eastern side of the South Island, hauling both freight and passenger trains. She was one of the few DX’s that never received Tranz Rail colours. And then came an incident that resulted in her becoming the second DXR.

In November 2000, DX 5235 was involved in a nasty head-on collision in Christchurch (the other engine involved was DX 5229). The damage on 5235 was so severe that she was placed in storage pending a decision on her future. After Toll Rail took over from Tranz Rail in 2003, the new management decided to have her rebuilt as the second DXR, with the first being DXR 8007 (rebuilt from DX 5362).

The rebuilt engine was completed in 2005, but straight out of the box DXR 8022 was not the same as the original 8007. For one thing the cab on 8022 had a much more boxy shape compared to 8007, although she was soon modified to match 8022. Incidentally DXR 8007 was soon rebuilt again, this time to the same specifications as DXR 8022.

Following their rebuilds, the DXR pair was used to haul freight trains throughout the North Island, though they did haul the occasional passenger train. One place the DXR’s visited quite often was Tauranga (and - by extension - Mount Maunganui), and this is something I remember well. The memories I have are of when DXR 8007 had been repainted in the KiwiRail livery, while 8022 was in the patched ex-Toll Rail livery. Heck, there was even a day when I got to drive DXR 8022 - under supervision, mind - in the yard at Mount Maunganui.

Sadly both DXR’s were transferred to the South Island either in 2012 or 2014, and that was entirely due to the most unwelcome invasion of the DL class. Before her transfer, 8022 was finally repainted in the same livery as her sister.

Today both 8007 and 8022 are still in service in the South Island. One notable moment in their careers was on November 14th, 2016. That day both engines were double-heading a Christchurch-bound train 717 when massive earthquakes struck the Kaikoura area and resulted in the locomotives getting stranded until May 2017, when they were finally taken back to Kaikoura by truck.

Following rescue, the two engines were soon returned to service and helped out with the reconstruction of the Christchurch to Picton line. More recently - in November 2018 - I was fortunate enough to see DXR 8022 again when I went looking around at Christchurch’s Middleton Depot.