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Due to a locomotive shortage due to the planned replacement of AN TasrailsEnglish Electric locomotive fleet, Tranz Rail shipped DC 4588 to Tasmania on a one-year lease. The locomotive left Wellington on 8 December 1998 on the Arktis Dream, and arrived in Bell Bay, Tasmania on 15 December 1998. The locomotives were later sold to Tasrail. Due to the DC being in a non standard nature, low tractive effort and having a small fuel capacity, the loco was restricted to the Bell Bay Line, until Easter 1999 where it has since ventured out on the Western and Melba Lines, while still operating in Tranz Rails Cato Blue livery, but with the "Tranz Rail" lettering replaced with "Tasrail" lettering.
Withdrawal and disposal
DC 4588 was placed into storage in October 2002 after suffering an engine problem. Rebuilding commenced on the locomotive in 2005 at East Tamar Workshops. The rebuilding included lowering the short-hood, replacing the big front cab window with two smaller ones, and a front cab door on the non-assistants side. By 2008, the rebuilding had stopped and was again placed into long-term storage, until being scrapped in 2011.
