The 2600 class locomotives were first introduced into service in 1983. They were built under contract by Goninan at their Bohle factory, Townsville.

The 2600s were used almost exclusively for the Newlands and Collinsville coal mines in their early days, however their duties were mixed in the latter days with workings out of Townsville on to the Mt. Isa line as well as rare stints on the North Coast Line. They made occasional trips to Brisbane, generally dead-attached in freights for maintenance at Redbank Workshops. Such stints have taken up to 6 months due to a lack of parts.

The 2600s were maxi-overhauled in 2001 with a number of modifications made, such as a new cab, new electronics and more.

As of late-2011, the entire class became surplus to requirements with the increased orders of the 4100 class, as well as traffic being lost to Pacific National. In early 2012, the entire class of locomotives were sold to a company in South Africa. They were subsequently shipped in July to Durban.