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| D182 at Kidderminster Town |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Number built: | 56 |
| Built: | 1961-63 |
| Builder: | BR Derby |
| Motor: | Sulzer 12LDA28-B diesel |
| Power: | 2, 500 hp (1, 864 kW) |
| Wheel arrangement: | 1-Co-Co-1 |
From their entry into service in the early 1960s the Class 46s could be seen on cross-country expresses and long-distance freights though these services switched over to newer motive power like the HSTs during the 1970s and withdrawals of the Class 46 began in 1977, by 1984 all had been withdrawn from revenue earning service. All Class 46s were fitted with steam heating only which became a problem as the number of steam heated coaches was gradually reduced by BR [2].
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| D182 at Kidderminster Town, at the time wearing this earlier BR blue livery |
Most Class 46s were scrapped though one, 46 009, was destroyed as it was deliberately driven at speed into a nuclear flask (the locomotive was unmanned of course) to test the strength of the nuclear flask [3] in the event of a rail crash.
After revenue service withdrawal, a couple of Class 46s entered service with the Railway Technical Centre to provide motive power for test trains, 46 035 Ixion was also used for a number of experiments including the performance of separately excited traction motors and equipment to reduce wheel spin [4]. Three Class 46s (including both of the RTC 46s) have been preserved.
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| 46 010 at Kidderminster Town |
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| D182 at Kidderminster Town again |
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| 46 035 at Rowsley South |
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| D182 again at Kidderminster Town |
[1] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 4 and 5 (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 31
[2] John Vaughan, Diesels on the London Midland (Ian Allan, 1981) p. 75
[3] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 93
[4] Colin J Marsden, 25 Years of Railway Research (OPC, 1989) p. 81