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International Orange DX 5362

If you have a livery request for me, you may leave it in the comments. However, I will only accept your request if I like the idea. I always like it when people ask me to make liveries based on engines/companies I've never heard of.

And another thing, you MUST word it as a question, preferably without the word 'please' as I find it a bit cringe-worthy. One last thing, you HAVE to use proper punctuation, unlike some idiots I've seen who don't use punctuation and still think they can get a request done. You know who you are).

(I really can't stress this enough, following the rules correctly is essential if you want me to honour your request. If you don't get the rules - and this is a reference to Th' Dudes - Right First Time, your request will be denied).

DX 5362 - or, as she’s now known, DXR 8007 - was originally built as DX 2633 by General Electric in 1976, entering service in April of that year. She was renumbered to DX 5362 in 1979, when she was only three years old.

As with all other DX’s, 2633 started out while painted in Clockwork Orange. By 1987 this livery had been replaced by International Orange. I’ve only been able to find one photograph of DX 5362 while she was red, yellow and grey, and she wasn’t even leading the train in that picture.

DX 5362 suffered a cracked frame in 1989, and was then taken to Hutt Workshops for temporary storage. Four years later - in 1993 - New Zealand Rail decided to rebuild DX 5362 as the prototype or ‘guinea-pig’ for the DXR programme. She was fitted with a (more powerful) 3,300 horsepower diesel engine, as well as a completely new ‘universal cab', which had a lower short-hood and more boxy (or - as some would say - ugly) design compared to the original. The locomotive’s long-hood was also replaced.

The original plan was to rebuild all DX’s into the DXR specification, but - in late 1993 - New Zealand Rail was privatised, renamed to Tranz Rail then decided that - due to ‘financial limitations’ - they would cancel the DXR programme after just one engine had been rebuilt. As a result, DXR 8007 looked set to continue running as a strange-looking one-off.

Oddly enough - in 2001 - DX 5310 was rebuilt to near identical specifications as DXR 8007, but retained her original cab.

In 2005, DXR 8007 was finally joined by another DXR, when DX 5235 was rebuilt as DXR 8022. Straight out of the box 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 her new sister. 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 8007 again when I went looking around at Christchurch’s Middleton Depot.