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KiwiRail DXC 5454 (EFi)

DXC 5454 is the second of her class to be rebuilt with an Electronic Fuel Injection prime mover (5212 was the first). This re-skin depicts the engine as she is now, complete with ‘EFi’ lettering on the cab-sides.

She was originally built as DX 2643 in 1976, entering service in May of that year. 2643 was one of the last DX's to be built. As with the rest of the class, 2643 was first outshopped in the distinctive Clockwork Orange livery. This livery was exclusive to the DX class, and it is easily one of the most distinctive NZR-era liveries. DX 2643 wasn't even five years old when - in 1978 - she was renumbered as DX 5454. This was done to comply with the then-new Traffic Monitoring System.

Like many of her classmates, 5454 continued to wear the Clockwork Orange livery into the 1980's. It wasn't until late 1984 when she was repainted into the now classic International Orange, more commonly known as Fruit Salad.

5454 carried on running like any other member of the DX class (apart from DX 2639, which was scrapped in 1977 after a collision in Auckland). New Zealand’s rail system was privatised in 1993, and later rebranded as Tranz Rail in 1995. Their livery was almost the same as Fruit Salad, albeit with red in place of blue and a different logo placement. DX 5454 was repainted in Tranz Rail blue in 1998, around which time she was sent to the South Island. Previously she was a North Island engine.

The locomotive continued running in Tranz Rail blue right through the Toll Rail era - which lasted from 2003 to 2008. In July 2008, New Zealand's rail network was re-nationalised and rebranded as KiwiRail.

5454 stayed in the Tranz Rail livery for a very short time after KiwiRail launched. In January 2009, she was sent to Hutt Workshops in Wellington for a repaint into the KiwiRail livery, which she still carries to this day. Around the same time, the locomotive was reclassified as a DXC (if my research is correct, the ‘C’ stands for coal; a reference to this subclass’ main role on Midland Line coal trains).

In late 2020 - after many years of being a normal DXC - 5454 was sent to Hutt Workshops to undergo conversion to EFi-spec. The prime movers used in this project (GE 7FDL-12 with EFi) were intended for a more extensive rebuild programme (classified as DXE) that has since been cancelled. DXC 5500 was taken out of service as the prototype for this project, but it’s unlikely that she’ll be put back into service. KiwiRail have since decided to simply upgrade five DXCs with EFi prime movers instead of a full DXE conversion.

Following her rebuild, DXC 5454 left Hutt Workshops in April 2021. She underwent a brief period of testing in the Wellington region before returning to the South Island on May 7th, 2021. Through sheer coincidence I came across 5454 on her last day in Wellington (hence the existence of this re-skin).