the new DL class as it will look on the tracks

Further to Friday's post, here is another works photo of a DL, this time showing how it will look on the tracks. This was also reproduced on the back of the latest issue of NZ Railfan magazine which, in typically verbose style, proclaimed: "A new face for railways in New Zealand. The new Chinese made DL class locomotives represent a radical departure in both style and substance. Gone is the traditional American derived carbody that has graced our railway landscape for over half a century with a nose, cab and main engine room hood design common to the vast majority of diesel-electrics that have served our succession of owner/operators since the first pioneering DA class appeared in 1955."

As usual, this magazine doesn't let facts interfere with a good rave. Wasn't the pioneering diesel-electric the DE class from 1952? And the next mainline class the DF from 1954, which looked very English?

The most notable feature of the DL is the full width cabs at each end, like the original DF, but unlike them with an exposed walkway along each side, rather than an internal walkway. Presumably there are good reasons for this choice.

The current colour scheme is conspicuously garish -- official safety people want yellow ends nowadays and the black eyes or sunglasses are an attempt to break up the yellow wall effect. It is tempting to put this into Photoshop to see how they would look with an all-around green or maroon livery, like the British Rail 52 class of the the 1960s, but we'll leave that to others.

We don't know what the "radical departure in substance" that NZ Railfan talks about is; hopefully it will enlighten us in due course.