Monday, 12 January 2026

Queued Loaded at Gillam, New Years Day 2005

    On New Years Day 2005 and CM40-8M locomotive 5637 'De Grey' leads a loaded train queued at the 99 kilometre post as it waits line clear into Gillam under the stewardship of Jacka Cale, a former Goldsworthy driver.
    5637 leads two former Southern Pacific SD40R locomotives 3087 and 3091 both in the then current BHP Billiton corporate livery, whilst 5637 wears the BHP Iron Ore livery, it was however repainted later it its career into the 'bubble' or 'earth' livery of BHP Billiton.
    5637 'De Grey' originally started for Mount Newman Mining as an AE Goodwin built Alco C636 locomotive from August 1968 with serial number G6012-05 and was the fifth and final member of the original C636 order of locomotives and was originally numbered 100-1005 for construction operations, prior to being given road number 5456 for operations.


    Following the successful rebuilding of eight C636 Alco locomotive into GE C36-7M units by Goninan in Perth, WA, and then the delivery of four new built CM39-8 units by Goninan, again in Perth, a further rebuild programme was undertaken to rebuild, by now BHP's fleet, of Alco locomotives into GE CM40-8M units. 5637 was the fourth unit so rebuilt in January 1992 with new serial number 
8181-01 / 92-123, named 'De Grey' and painted into the BHP Iron Ore blue and white livery but with the marigold and charcoal stylised Australia symbol. In April 2006 it was repainted into the BHP Billiton 'earth' or 'bubble' livery.

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