Most of the diesel shunters made by W.G. Bagnall had mechanical transmission (such as 3147-3150 for example), however the last few shunters built by the company before their takeover by English Electric had hydraulic transmission. The last two locomotives were built for Leys Malleable Casting and were fitted with a British Twin Disc single stage torque converter which was linked to the wheels via a Wiseman reversing and reduction gearbox [1].
3207 receives maintenance at the Foxfield Railway
Information for 3207-8
Number built:
2
Built:
1961
Builder:
W.G. Bagnall
Motor:
Gardner 6LW diesel
Power:
90 hp (67 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
4wDH
W.G. Bagnall 3207 was the penultimate locomotive built before the takeover, it was delivered to Leys Malleable Casting though did not see much use. It was withdrawn in 1984 and preserved at the Foxfield Railway where it has been named Bagnall [2]. The last locomotive 3208 has also been preserved and is now at the Chasewater Railway.
[1] Ray King, British Industrial Diesel Locomotives (Traction and Rolling Stock Advertiser, 2006) p. 9 [2] Industrial Locomotives (18th Edition) (Industrial Railway Society, 2019) p. 200
The Class 489 1-GLV was a motorised luggage van used on the Gatwick Express push-pull service [1]. They were converted out of Class 4142-HAP motor cars. In service the Class 489 formed one end of a train the rest of which consisted of Class 488 rolling stock and a Class 73 as primary motive power, though the Class 489 also has traction motors on one bogie [2]. The formation served on the Gatwick Express until 2005.
9101 now at Wirksworth as a museum
During conversion the Class 489s were gutted internally and had rebuilt bodysides with three pairs of swing doors on either side. One end of the unit had a gangway to allow the guard full access to the train though the driving end did not.
Information
Number built:
10 (conversions)
Built:
1956 (original) 1983 (conversion)
Builder:
BR Eastleigh
Engine:
2 EE507 traction motors (660-750v DC third rail)
Power:
500 hp (370 kW)
Formation:
Gatwick Luggage Van (GLV)
Following withdrawal half the class have been preserved though none are in running order with three also serving with Network Rail as de-icing units. Two of the preserved Class 489s are on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway at Wirksworth where they are now a buffet and a museum!
9107 at Wirksworth
Corridor end of 9101
Size view of 9101
Another view of 9107
[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 372 [2] Brian Haresnape & Alec Swain, Third Rail DC Electric Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1989) p. 89
Number 13 was the ultimate expression of the North Eastern Railway's electric traction developments in the early twentieth century (see also the Class ES1 shunter and EB1 freight locomotive). Number 13 was an express passenger locomotive designed to haul trains between York and Newcastle. When built it was the one of the most modern and powerful electric locomotives in Europe [1] and the first British high-speed electric locomotive built to haul passenger trains on trunk routes [2].
Number 13 [2]
Information
Number built:
1
Built:
1922
Builder:
NER Darlington
Motor:
6 Metropolitan-Vickers electric motors (1500v DC OHLE)
Power:
1, 800 hp (1, 343 kW)
Wheel arrangment:
2-Co-2
Unfortunately for Number 13 the NER's post First World War plans to electrify their main line remained just that, plans. When the locomotive was finished it was tested along the Shildon-Newport line including hauling fourteen coach test trains. However post-war financial pressures and the absorbing of the NER into the LNER the year after Number 13 was completed finally killed off the main line electrification plan [3].
Number 13 was put into storage and never earned a penny in revenue service however managed to survive it's time as an unused LNER locomotive, it was finally given the name Class EE1 (Express Electric) in 1945. The locomotive passed into British Railways ownership though was finally scrapped in 1950.
Number 13 with a test train [2]
[1] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains and Locomotives of the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 58 [2] "North Eastern Railway Electrification", The Electrical Review (Vol. 91 No. 2340) September 29 1922, p. 436 [3] Brian Haresnape, Electric Locomotives (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 7
English Electric built hundreds of small electric locomotives for industrial service shunting from 1920 to 1951. Many were the Type 3B, which were mostly built at the Dick Kerr works in Preston. While the basic configuration and bodyshell was the same, the traction equipment and power collection setup depended on the customer's requirements and could vary greatly. Power collection could be via pantograph, tram pole (an example being Blackpool Corporation 717) or third rail. Some also had batteries though depending on the size of battery needed this could require the body being extended.
EE 1378/1944 at Manchester Science & Industry Museum (MOSI)
Information (for Spondon Power Station Locos)
Number built:
3
Built:
1935-46
Builder:
English Electric
Motor:
2 English Electric traction motors (200v DC OHLE or battery)
Power:
35 hp (26 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
4wBE
Coal power stations such as Spondon in Derby were often enthusiastic users of electric shunters [1]. The Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Electric Power Company bought three of these locomotives for Spondon power station between 1935 and 1946 [2]. They were used on a mile long branch line from the main line yard at Spondon to the power station. They remained in service until the mid-1980s when they were replaced by diesel locomotives. Two of the three locomotives have been preserved. Other examples of this type of electric locomotive have also been preserved.
Spondon No. 1 built in 1935, at the Electric Railway Museum
Spondon No.2 at the Foxfield Railway, it was built in 1939
Another view of 1378 at MOSI
[1] R.L. Vickers, DC Electric Trains and Locomotives in the British Isles (David & Charles, 1986) p. 95 [2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Nottingham - Long Eaton - Derby (Middleton Press, 2020) Fig. 89
The London United Tramways Company operated trams and later trolleybuses in West and South London between 1894 and 1933 when it was absorbed by the London Passenger Transport Board. The company operated horse drawn trams at first but began operating electric trams in 1901 at first in West London in the Hampton Court, Hammersmith and Wimbledon areas.
159 at Crich Tramway Museum
Information for W Class tram
Number built:
150
Built:
1901-02
Builder:
G.F. Milnes
Motor:
2 GE52 electric motors (500v DC OHLE)
Power:
50 hp (37 kW)
To attract more affluent passengers the company's trams has two four wheel bogies for ride quality. The trams were to a plush Edwardian design with Tudor arch windows and cushioned longitudinal seats (though these cushioned seats were later replaced by rattan seats due to a problem with vermin). Despite being aimed at the more luxurious end of the market they had an open top deck, it was reached by a staircase that had two short straight sections separated by a "landing" instead of a spiral staircase as was more typical on street trams of the time.
Some trams did later receive a top cover. However passenger levels were not as high as the company hoped despite early success [1] and some trams were withdrawn early due to being surplus to requirements. One of these was the later preserved Number 159 which was withdrawn in 1923 and became a house! The tram was preserved in 1978 though little of the original tram apart from the lower body remained. Preservation was a long process but in 2012 Number 159 returned to active service as part of the fleet at Crich Tramway Museum.
Front view of 159
View of the top deck and the unusual staircase
[1] Arthur H Beavan, Tube, train, tram and car (Routledge, 1903) p. 158
The Post Office Railway opened in 1927 linking major railway termini like London Paddington with mail sorting offices via an underground railway. Very quickly however the original 1927 Stock was proving problematic, as they were of rigid construction it was found they were rapidly wearing out the tracks and their own wheels [1] plus they were becoming overwhelmed with the amount of traffic.
The replacement 1930 Stock was built which featured two motors at either end of an articulated mail carrying section [2]. The new stock was also larger and could carry more mail, fifty 1930 Stock trains were built to replaced ninty of the original trains but these had the mail carrying equivalent of one hundred and fifty of the old trains!
824 preserved at the Post Office Museum
Information
Number built:
60
Built:
1930-31, 1936
Builder:
English Electric
Motor:
English Electric (440v DC third rail)
Power:
22 hp (16 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
2w-2-2-2wRE
Although there were some early problems with derailment, the new trains soon settled down into reliable service. They were more efficient and reduced energy consumption by nearly forty percent compared to the old stock. A further ten trains were built in 1936 to strengthen the fleet, these are known as 1936 Stock though were identical to the earlier trains.
The trains were largely replaced by the updated 1980 Stock in the early 1980s though seventeen remained in operation to augment the new fleet. These remained in service until the closure of the Mail Rail (as it by then called) in 2003. A number have been preserved and others still extant on the now largely shut down railway.
809 preserved at NRM York in original Post Office green
Another view of 824
Motor unit of 814 (later 45)
A mail carrying trolly is shown aboard this train
Another view of a preserved 1930 Stock train
[1] Peter Johnson, Mail by Rail (Ian Allan, 1995) p. 118 [2] Mike Sullivan, Mail Rail (Red Shank Books, 2019) p. 20
The Class 08 was a development of earlier diesel shunters built during the last few years of the "Big 4" railway companies such as the LNER J45 and especially the LMS Class 11 [1]. The Class 08 became the standard diesel heavy shunter for British Railways and over 1,000 of it and the related Classes 09 and 10 were built over a ten period.
08 911 at NRM Shildon
Information
Number built:
996
Built:
1952-62
Builder:
British Railways Derby, Crewe, Darlington, Doncaster, Horwich
Engine:
English Electric 6KT diesel
Power:
350 hp (261 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
0-6-0
The Class 08 could be seen nearly everywhere on the British Rail network, only restricted where their axle-load prohibited them. The Class 08s were built with vacuum brakes for trains (they have air brakes for their own use) but the introduction of air braked freight stock such as Freightliner trains in the 1960s saw a large number of Class 08s either fitted with air or dual brakes [2]. Some were also fitted with radio telephones for use in larger marshalling yards.
Despite the need for dedicated shunters having reduced considerably over the years there are still plenty of Class 08s in service, they are a fairly common sight on national rails in motive power depots and freight yards, plus over sixty have been preserved and others sold to private companies. The vast majority of the class were of the standard 08/0 sub-class with a small number having cut down cab heights for operating in South Wales known as the 08/9 [3].
One interesting development was the Class 13 which consisted of pairs of Class 08s permanently coupled, the cab on one of the 08s removed, to form a 700hp shunter for the Tinsley Marshalling Yard, unfortunately none of these survived withdrawal.
D3586 (08 471) at Bridgnorth MPD
08 704 approaches Wirksworth
08 825 at Chinnor
08 830 at Rowsley South
Another view of 08 704 at Wirksworth
[1] Colin J. Marsden, Traction Recognition (Second Edition) (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 6 [2] Brian Haresnape, Diesel Shunters (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 66 [3] Colin J Marsden, Motive Power Recognition: 1 Locomotives 3rd Edition (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 10
