The N class is the powerhouse of regional passenger rail in Victoria. Built by Clyde Engineering at its Somerton plant in Melbourne between 1985 and 1987, these 25 locomotives were designed from the ground up to haul modern country passenger trains, and they have been doing exactly that ever since.
Born from the New Deal
By the early 1980s, Victoria’s country passenger numbers had slipped to around three million a year. Ageing rolling stock, dated timetables and competition from cars and aircraft had all taken their toll. The state’s New Deal reforms aimed to win passengers back with modern trains, and the N class was a central part of that plan.
The class has an interesting link to its predecessors. When the programme to rebuild the old B class into A class locomotives was cut short, the surplus EMD parts already ordered were used to build extra N class units instead. The order grew from ten locomotives to 25, numbered N451 to N475.
Named for Victoria
One charming feature sets the N class apart. Every single member is named after a city, almost all of them in Victoria, from Shepparton and Ballarat to Warrnambool and Bendigo. The sole exception is N453, named for the City of Albury just across the border in New South Wales. This makes the N class one of only three Australian locomotive classes where every unit carries a name.
Fitted with head end power to supply their carriages, the N class has spent its whole life on long distance services to regional centres across the state. Decades after delivery, they remain a familiar and much loved sight on Victoria’s country lines.
About this model
This Precision Scale Models HO scale release presents N462, named City of Shepparton, in the classic V/Line Tangerine and Grey livery. It captures one of Victoria’s hardest working passenger locomotives, a standout for any HO collection of Australian railways.
