The NZR

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

 Db diesel-electric locomotive class was built in 1965-1966. They were a lighter version of the Da class

NZR DA class

The NZR Da diesel-electric mainline locomotive class ran on the New Zealand railway system between 1955 and 1989. With 146 locomotives, it was the most numerous class to operate in New Zealand, just five more than the AB class steam locomotive....

 to operate on secondary North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 lines from which the Da was excluded due to its weight. One of the principal lines which the Db dominated was the East Coast Main Trunk to Tauranga via Paeroa, until the Kaimai Tunnel

Kaimai Tunnel

The Kaimai Tunnel is a railway tunnel through the Kaimai Range in the North Island of New Zealand. Since it was opened in 1978, it has held the title of longest tunnel in New Zealand, assuming this distinction from the previous title holder, the Rimutaka Tunnel...

 was opened in 1978. The Db class was built by General Motors Diesel

General Motors Diesel

General Motors Diesel was a Canadian railway diesel locomotive manufacturer.-History:General Motors Diesel, Limited, was created in 1949 as the Canadian subsidiary of the Electro Motive Division of General Motors located in the United States...

 (GMD) of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, had a wheel arrangement of A1A-A1A under the UIC classification

UIC classification

The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements describes the wheel arrangement of locomotives, multiple units and trams. It is set out in the International Union of Railways "Leaflet 650 - Standard designation of axle arrangement on locomotives and multiple-unit sets". It is used in much...

 system, had a EMD 567

EMD 567

The EMD 567 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201-A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of , a stroke of and a displacement of 567 in³ per cylinder...

 2-cycle V8 engine generating 705 kW (950 hp), and could travel at speeds up to 90 km/h. Seventeen Db locomotives were built. Between 1980 and 1982, ten were rebuilt by Clyde Engineering

Clyde Engineering

Clyde Engineering was the name of part of the business now known as Downer EDI Rail. Clyde Engineering were involved in the construction of railway locomotives and rolling stock, as well as larger scale engineering projects on behalf of the governments of Australia...

 as the DBR class.

DBR class

The reconstruction improved visibility for the driver and had an upgraded EMD 8-645

EMD 645

The EMD 645 family of diesel engines was designed and manufactured by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. Intended primarily for locomotive, marine and stationary engine use, one 16-cylinder version powered the 33-19 "Titan" prototype haul truck designed by GM's Terex...

 engine, prolonging their lives. Withdrawal of the unconverted DB locomotives began in 1986 while eight of the DBRs continue to operate as of August 2010. The DB class rarely ventured to the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

, only for servicing and overhauls, but with the phasing out of the DJ class

NZR DJ class

The NZR DJ class locomotive is a class of diesel-electric locomotive used in New Zealand. The class were purchased from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with a modernisation loan from the World Bank to replace steam locomotives in the South Island, where most of the class members worked most of their...

 some DBRs were relocated to the South Island. By 2009 none of the class remained in South Island service. Of the eight DBRs in service, two are based in Wellington and six in Auckland. The first DBR to enter service was initially painted in the "Fruit Salad" livery as DB1076, and was later reclassified and renumbered DBR1199.

Banking duties

1200 and 1267 are mainly used to bank freight trains over the steep gradients of the NIMT Pukerua Bay section between Wellington and Paekakariki. As the two locomotives were usually seen operating in multiple and were both in the 'Fruit Salad' livery (until DBR1267 was repainted in KiwiRail livery in August 2011), they have been nicknamed "The Twins" by railfans.

Suburban Services

Since 2006, DBRs 1199 and 1254, in MAXX blue

MAXX Blue (livery)

thumb|Passengers board a MAXX branded Northern Express operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]] on the [[Northern Busway, Auckland|Northern Busway]]....

 livery, have been used by Veolia

Veolia (New Zealand)

Veolia Transport Auckland, formerly Connex Auckland Ltd, is a division of Australasia's largest passenger train company, French-owned Veolia. It runs Auckland's urban passenger trains under contract from Auckland Transport under their MAXX brand, on infrastructure owned and managed by KiwiRail...

 in Auckland on each end of the five-car SX suburban set. DBR1226, a back-up locomotive, is painted in MAXX blue but lacks a MAXX logo. 1226 is normally used for freight services or work trains by KiwiRail

KiwiRail

KiwiRail Holdings Limited is the rail operations subsidiary of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, which trades as KiwiRail. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail transport operator in New Zealand. Since July 2010 John Spencer has been the Chairman...

, but it is used to replace either 1199 or 1254 when either breaks down, since it has the necessary modifications to work with the suburban carriages. If 1226 is unavailable a DC locomotive

NZR DC class

The NZR DC class locomotive is the most common class of locomotive currently in operation on the New Zealand rail network. Primarily employed to haul freight trains operated by KiwiRail, the class is also used for long-distance passenger trains operated by Tranz Scenic and suburban passenger trains...

is used instead.

Class register

Original no.	TMS no.	Introduced	Withdrawn	Rebuilt to	Current livery	Status	Allocated to	Notes
Db 1000	DB1018					Scrapped.
Db 1001	DB1001			DBR1213	International Orange	In service	North Island
Db 1002	DB1024					Scrapped.
Db 1003	DB1030			DBR1239		Scrapped.
Db 1004	DB1047					Scrapped.
Db 1005	DB1053			DBR1254	MAXX Blue	In service	North Island	Auckland suburban services.
Db 1006	DB1076			DBR1199	MAXX Blue	In service	North Island	Auckland suburban services.
Db 1007	DB1082					Scrapped.
Db 1008	DB1099					Scrapped.
Db 1009	DB1116			DBR1267	KiwiRail	In service	North Island	First DBR to receive KiwiRail livery.
Db 1010	DB1122			DBR1226	MAXX Blue	In service	North Island	Back-up locomotive, freight service.
Db 1011	DB1139			DBR1241		Scrapped.
Db 1012	DB1145					Scrapped.
Db 1013	DB1151			DBR1295	Toll Rail ("Corn Cob")	In service	North Island
Db 1014	DB1168			DBR1200	International Orange	In service	North Island
Db 1015	DB1174			DBR1282	International Orange	In service	North Island
Db 1016	DB1180					Scrapped.