[2] Delivered to operate on the standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway, they first entered service in September 1951.

Following Great Northern ceasing operations in 2003, these were sold to Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia before being resold to Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

[2] In May 2005, Australian Railroad Group forwarded GM30 to Forrestfield workshops to be receive a 2,237 kW (3,000 hp) engine, as fitted to the CLs.

[10] In May 2012, Clyde Engineering sold GM3 to Southern Shorthaul Railroad and it was transferred to their Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park & Railway workshop for overhaul.

As of October 2023, all but 1 of the Aurizon units are operational due to more modern power available for freight services in South Australia With 3 Stored Operational while the Southern Shorthaul Railroad units are used on infrastructure and grain trains in New South Wales and Victoria.

After the ARG split up G&W retained 11 GMs (ARG retaining GM30 for an ambitious project but was then scrapped) They regularly worked grain trains in SA on the pinaroo line; after its closure some of the fleet were stored (GM32 & GM34 being scrapped and GM44 being stored at Port Augusta).