A member of the first class of mainline diesel electric locomotives to work on the Victorian Railways. All were constructed by Clyde Engineering, Granville NSW between 1952 and 1954.
B83 entered service in December 1953, and was retired in May 1988.
The class were used on basically all lines except light branch lines, running fast passenger and freight services including the Overland to Adelaide.

In the 1980s some members of the class were modified with new engines and control equipment to become the A class. The program was stopped after the costs of upgrading vs buying complete new locomotives were compared.