D16 was one of the fleet of Locomotives that was built with more engine power than D1 class with 12 delivered in 3 orders, D16 to D 19, D26 to D29 & D30 to D33 between 1959 and 1964 to haul trains on Australian Iron & Steel's, Port Kembla network.[1][2][3][4]
All were leased to Pacific National in August 2007 when BlueScope outsourced the operation of its rail network. The locomotives remained the property of BlueScope Steel.[5][6]