Queensland Railways 1270 class

The Queensland Railways 1270 class was a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric at Rocklea for Queensland Railways between 1964 and 1966. The design was devised by English Electric engineer Stan Lyons, based on the body of a North American road switcher but using the same engine and generator as the 1250 class. The first 12 units had the same English Electric 525 traction motors as the 1250 class, the remaining units had improved 548 traction motors with a slightly higher tractive effort, and the final six units had dynamic brakes. In 1965 locomotive 1281 was named Century and painted gold and white to mark the centenary of the first railway in Queensland. The class worked grain trains between the Darling Downs and Brisbane, ore trains on the Mount Isa line and coal trains on the Moura line, and was moved to general freight in the 1970s as higher powered locomotives became available. All were withdrawn between 1987 and 1989, and two units were retained by the Queensland Rail Heritage Division.