 Shortly after the class took over workings in the Wairarapa area following the completion of the Rimutaka Tunnel and also the Murupara Branch from the older DE class.These locomotives usually worked in multiple as they were relatively low-powered, although they did occasionally run on their own.With the arrival of enough DA class locomotives in the North Island, the DG locomotives from the North Island were transferred progressively south with the introduction of the rail ferry in 1962, with this process completed by 1976.