With the construction of a new line from Launceston to Bell Bay, Tasmanian Government Railways placed an order for four 1752 kW locomotives with English Electric.

[4] In March 1978 the Za class were included in the transfer of the Tasmanian Government Railways to Australian National.

In 1996, it was repainted into the then-standard reverse yellow and green scheme, however it retained the bicentennial modifications.

In January 2021, the Tasmanian Transport Museum announced it had secured ZA6, moving it by road the following month.

Media related to Tasmanian Government Railways Za class at Wikimedia Commons