South African manufacturer C H Funkey (now under the name DCD Rolling Stock) has been building industrial locomotives since 1930, many for work in mines. A couple of ex-industrial use locomotives have also been imported for use on the Welsh Highland Railway. The locomotives were used at a diamond mine in Namibia and later a cement factory in South Africa. The two locomotives were purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1993. Originally the locomotives had a single centre cab but one of the locomotives has been rebuilt with a cab at each end.
The two Funkey locomotives at Statfold Barn Railway
Information for Ffestiniog / WHR locomotives
Number built:
2
Built:
1967
Builder:
CH Funkey
Motor:
Caterpillar later Cummins diesel
Power:
335 hp (250 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
B-B
Other C H Funkey built locomotives in the UK include two 600mm gauge mine locomotives from South Africa now preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway.
The Class 31 was the last surviving Type 2 diesel locomotive in National Rail service with a small number remaining in mainline service into the late 2010s. Originally they were known as the Class 30 and were amongst the earliest diesel locomotives to enter service with British Railways. When first designed they had just two windows on the cab ends with a look similar to the likes of the Class 21 but the design was amended to have three windows due to the need to fit gangway doors [1].
D5581 as 97 205 preserved in pseudo-RTC livery, at Princes Risborough
Information
Number built:
263
Built:
1957-62
Builder:
Brush Traction
Motor:
Mirrlees JVS12T
later changed to English Electric 12SVT diesel
Power:
1, 470 hp (1, 100 kW)
Wheel Arrangement:
A1A-A1A
The Class 30's Mirrlees JVS12T engines gave British Railways a lot of trouble, the engines beginning to develop metal fatigue after just a few years service. It is thought that uprating the engines may have been to blame as the originally rated engines did not develop as many faults. The original pilot-scheme locomotives were rated at 1, 250hp but later production batch locomotives were uprated to 1, 365 hp and beyond. One was even uprated to 2, 000hp and became a Type 4!
Eventually the decision was made to give the entire class more reliable English Electric powerplants instead in the mid-1960s [2] and they were re-classified the Class 31. The Class 31 has the unusual A1A-A1A wheel arrangement which means the middle axle in each bogie is unpowered.
As true mixed traffic locomotives Class 31s could be found on regional and secondary passenger services, freights and engineering trains and have survived into the privatised era. In their later years they were mainly seen on spot hires and engineering trains [3]. A few remain mainline registered with around twenty-six having been preserved.
Sub-class
Details
31/0
Original pilot-scheme batch of twenty, non-standard control equipment
31/1
Main production variant
31/4
With Electric Train Heating (ETH)
31/5
Former 31/4s with ETH isolated
31/6
Wired for ETH but without equipment
Although numbered 31 018 this was the first of the class built, preserved at the NRM
EWS liveried 31 466 at Kidderminster Town
BR Blue 5580 at Kidderminster Town
31 270 in Regional Railways livery at Rowsley South
DCR 31 452 at Bewdley
[1] David Lawrence, British Rail Designed 1948-97 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 124 [2] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 1-3 (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 48 [3] Colin J Marsden, Traction Recognition (Second Edition) (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 20
The Class 322 was a variation of the Class 321 built for the Stansted Express between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. The chief difference between the 322 and the 321 is that the former has a larger first class seating area in the DTCO with different windows. They were fitted with low density seating and given extra luggage space [1]. The Class 322 was the last class of electric multiple unit to be based on the Mark 3 coach.
Greater Anglia 322 482 at Stratford
Information
Number built:
20 (5 4-car sets)
Built:
1990
Builder:
BREL York
Motor:
4 Brush TM2141C traction motors (25kV AC OHLE)
Power:
1, 438 hp (1, 072 kW)
Formation:
Driving Trailer Composite Open (DTCO)+Trailer Standard Open Lavatory (TSOL)+Motor Standard
Open (MSO)+ Driving Trailer Standard Open (DTSO)
Following their replacement on Stansted Express duties, the Class 322 has seen work elsewhere including in Scotland, with Northern Rail and currently with Greater Anglia. However, they are due to replaced by the Class 720.
[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 260
The Class 40 was one of the early classes of diesel locomotive built by British Railways as part of the Modernisation Plan, which would ultimately replace steam traction. It was a direct development of the prototype LMS and SR diesel locomotives of the late 1940s [1] and was the first large diesel locomotive in the Type C (later Type 4) power classification to be delivered [2].
40 106 at Kidderminster Town
Class 40s served across the rail network being allocated to London Midland, Eastern, North Eastern and Scottish Regions. Initially the class was used on top link expresses though their performance, while adequate on some routes like the West Coast Main Line, was not on other routes and they were replaced by more powerful locomotives on expresses before long.
One drawback with the Class 40 was their weight, at over one hundred and thirty tons. The locomotives long 1Co-Co1 bogies with extra unpowered wheels to carry the bulk and keep them within a reasonable route availability. One Class 40 gained a bit of notoriety early in it's career as it was hauling the train involved in the Great Train Robbery in 1962.
Information
Number built:
200
Built:
1958-62
Builder:
English Electric
Motor:
English Electric 12CSVT Mk 2 diesel
Power:
2, 000 hp (1, 490 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
1Co-Co1
The popular Class 40, known as the Whistler due to the sound they make, continued to serve BR well, much of the time on freights and secondary passenger duties as newer diesel locomotives like the Class 47 and 50 displaced it from front-rank work. Withdrawals began in the late 1970s and all were withdrawn by 1985. Seven have been preserved but not all currently in running order.
Another view of 40 106 at Kidderminster Town
40 106 arrives at Highley
40 118 at Tyseley
This side view shows the length and bulk of the Class 40
40 106 at Highley
[1] Brian Haresnape, Early Prototype & Pilot Scheme Diesel-Electrics (Ian Allan, 1981) p. 49 [2] John Glover, BR Diary 1958-1967 (Ian Allan, 1987) p. 9
The Manchester Corporation bought a large number of trams when it electrified the network of horse trams it had taken over. Trams 277-436 were similar to trams 107-187 in being open-topped double deckers with a single truck. The trams were built by G.F. Milnes and had Brill 21E trucks.
In original configuration [1]
Information
Number built:
159
Built:
1901-03
Builder:
G.F. Milnes
Most of the trams received top-covers by 1914, some remained open top due to a low bridge on the Cheetham Hill-Alexandra Park route. All were withdrawn by 1938.
[1] "New power station and electric car house as Manchester, England", Street Railway Journal (September 6 1902) Vol. XX No. 10 p. 300
The Bekonscot Light Railway is a 184mm gauge railway at the famous Bekonscot model village in Beaconsfield. The railway was opened in 2001, running along the perimeter of the model village site, to give passenger rides. The railway was extended a few years later and has proved very popular carrying over 85, 000 passengers a year.
Doodargh begins a journey around the complicated layout
The railway has three battery-electric locomotives. Two were built in-house at the Bekonscot workshops and the third by Maxitrak. One of them, Number 3, is a 4w-4w railcar which passengers sit astride [1]. The railway have also added two petrol hydraulics to their fleet plus often have visiting locomotives.
A sideways view of Doodargh
Railcar number 3
Yard view
[1] Royston Morris, Miniature Railway Locomotives and Rolling Stock (Amberley, 2018) p. 17
