To the railfan, Pacific Nationals Intermodal trains are among some of the most boring trains that Pacific National run! Simply put, this is due in part that most of the daylight freights that can regularly be seen running into and out of Sydney, are Pacific National Intermodal trains, which always feature one class of locomotive in the lead… The NR Class.
The NR Class
The NR Class were originally built for National Rail Corp (NRC), which was a Federal Government venture, in conjunction with the New South Wales and Victorian state governments. National Rail absorbed the interstate freight workings (and associated rolling stock) previously run by Australian National Railway (AN), as well as the railway track then owned by AN. National Rail started operating in 1992 with services between the major cities of Australia, with services to/from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Alice Springs (the line from Alice Springs to Darwin was not built until 2000). Originally, NRC were operating with a handful of locomotives leased or “loaned” from the New South Wales government railways, V-Line in Victoria, as well as ex AN locomotives and rolling stock.
NR61 was the first locomotive of the new NR (named for it’s owners) Class to run under it’s own power, built by Goninans at their Bassendean plant, in Western Australia, occurring on the 18th of September, 1996. The class leader, NR1, which was built at Goninans Broadmeadow plant, near Newcastle in NSW ran it’s own tests five days later on the 23rd of September, 1996. The class eventually came to number 120 units, although NR3 was later renumbered NR121 as a mark of respect due to an accident which caused extensive damage to the locomotive, and resulted in one crewman losing his life.
The NR Class continued in the service of NRC until 2001, when National Rail Corp was sold to Toll Holdings along with Freightcorp. From this point on, the NR Class (and the other NRC units) would slowly be stripped of their NRC logos and names, and gain a thick layer of grease and grime over their once pristine paintjobs. A proud, revolutionary class of loco slowly worked into the ground by it’s new owners.
Pacific National – Intermodal Trains in Sydney
Pacific National run a number of intermodal trains through Sydney on any given day of the week. Most of these trains are running between Brisbane and Melbourne (BM/MB trains). On some days, a Brisbane to Sydney or Sydney to Brisbane 
train (SB/BS) train will run. A number of trains will also run between Sydney and Perth (sometimes via the Blue Mountains, sometimes via Cootamundra) as PS or SP services. SteelLink services run between Port Kembla and Brisbane (BW/WB), as well as trains between Port Kembla and Port Augusta (SA) as WX/XW, and trains from Newcastle to Whyalla (NY/YN). All of these trains will always feature at least one NR class locomotive in the lead.
However, often the NR Class are not the only locomotives on these trains. Certainly, Pacific Nationals Intermodal Division (which is responsible for Intercapital freight and SteelLink trains, among other things) maintains a number of other classes of locomotive, which are often found “in the shafts”, assisting the NR Class with their trains.
DL Class
Introduced in 1988 for Australian National, the DL Class saw plenty of use on both AN and NRC trains on the standard gauge. After being transferred into Pacific Nationals ownership, they have mostly been seen operating as trailing units on freight trains, as well as appearing as additional motive power on Indian Pacific services during peak holiday periods. There were originally 15 of the class built, but DL37 was scrapped following an accident at Hines Hill. The remaining members of the class in service with Pacific National can be seen operating in AN Green/Yellow, NRC “Arrowhead”, and some have been repainted into the modern Pacific National Blue/Yellow colours.
AN Class
What the NR Class were to National Rail, the AN Class were to Australian National. At their time of introduction in 1992,
they were the most powerful locomotives in the AN fleet. When NRC was formed in 1992, the AN class was transferred over to NRC, and on to Pacific National in 2001. Only one member of the AN class has been repainted into Pacific National colours, wearing the latest version of the Pacific National colour scheme, and this is AN5. The other members of the AN Class are, like the DL class, still painted in AN Green/Yellow, or NRC Grey/Orange. The AN class are sometimes seen operating through Sydney, but not often. Eleven of the class were built, although only ten remain in service today, AN10 being scrapped with DL37 after the accident at Hines Hill.
Other Units “In The Shafts”
Appearing behind NR Class members on occasion are other members of Pacific Nationals fleet, for various reasons such as loco balancing, or the ever present motive power shortage. At least one BL Class has been seen operating as a second unit, 
despite the rest of the class being used for standard gauge ore traffic (those BL Class on the broad gauge are often seen on Long Island steel services in Melbourne) . Occasionally 81 Class will appear as a second or third unit on steel trains operating out of Newcastle. Recently, a number of G Class locomotives have been transferred to NSW for use on Southern Coal trains, and these have been brought into the state as additional units on steel trains to Wollongong from Port Augusta.
However, even with all of these interesting classes of motive power, even the most enthusiastic railfan will eventually tire of seeing the same class of locomotive fronting each and every service. Especially considering some of the atrocious external conditions of some of the NR Class. Gone are the days where the NR Class would run around the state spotless, resplendant in their National Rail colours. Now they are regarded as grimy boxes, some with messages or drawings in the thick layer of grime over their external surfaces. Pacific National have begun repainting these locomotives in earnest, but it remains to be seen if they can keep the repainted units clean – if they cannot, then the blue and yellow colour scheme will soon look the same as the unpainted NR Class – a dull shade of black on black.
