Class 56 (BR/Brush 3,250hp Type 5 Diesel-Electric)

In the wake of the early 1970s oil crisis, British Rail had a need for a new generation of more powerful diesel locomotives in the Type 5 classification (rated for over 3, 000 hp) for what was expected to be a much greater demand for heavy coal haulage. The Class 56 was the first of these new locomotives and when the first arrived in 1976 it was the new class of diesel locomotive for nearly a decade [1].

Colas 56 096 and 302 at Stafford

It was based on the successful Class 47 but with a more powerful engine (a development of the successful English Electric CSVT engines used in many classes of diesel like the Class 50) and was fitted with slow speed control for Merry-Go-Round coal trains when they were loaded and unloaded [2].

Information
Number built:	135
Built:	1976-84
Builder:	Brush Traction/Electroputere (first 30) Brush Traction/BREL Doncaster and Crewe
Engine:	Ruston Paxman 16RK3CT diesel
Power:	3, 250 hp (2, 424 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Co-Co

Because of a lack of manufacturing capacity at the time at Brush Traction, who had designed the Class 56, the first thirty were built by Electroputere in Romania with the rest being built at BR Doncaster and Crewe. The Romanian examples unfortunately suffered from a number of problems said to be due to poor workmanship which delayed their entry into service for over a year [3]. The decision to build the first batch in Romania and the urgency with which the locomotives were needed saw the locomotive have bogies of a Swiss design as these were widely used in Romania at the time and were easily available.

The Class 56 worked on heavy freights throughout the 1980s and into the privatisation era but most were withdrawn in the early 2000s. Some were later reinstated into traffic and undertook heavy refurbishment as the Class 56/3 [4].

Many have been scrapped, some sold for use on the continent and three have been preserved. Today around thirty remain in service. A project is ungoing to re-engine at least ten Class 56s with an EMD 12N-710G3B-T2 diesel (as fitted to some Class 66s) along with some other new equipment. The re-built locomotives are known as the Class 69.

56 078 at Kidderminster Town

DCR 56 103 and 191 at Derby

Colas 56 302 at Derby

56 302 again, this time at York

DCR 56 303 at Derby

[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 104
[2] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 4 and 5 (2nd Edition) (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 75
[3] Ibid p. 75
[4] Colin J Marsden, Traction Recognition (2nd Edition) (Ian Allan, 2011) p. 51

Cardiff Corporation Tramways Double Decker Double Bogie Car

Cardiff Corporation Tramways took over the operation of trams in the city in 1902 buying a fleet of single decker trams and double decker trams which had either double bogies or a single truck. The double bogie double deckers used Brill 22E maximum traction trucks and could up to sixty eight passengers, though those on top were exposed to the elements!

Cardiff Corporation Tram [1]

Information
Number built:	20
Built:	1902
Builder:	Dick, Kerr of Preston
Motor:	2 Dick Kerr DK25A motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	50 hp (37 kW)

The network was becoming worn by the 1930s though continued in operation until 1950 when the take over by trolleybuses was complete. The trolleybuses themselves remained in service until 1970.

[1] "The Cardiff Corporation Tramways", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XX No. 1 July 5 1903) p. 43

Class 315 (BREL York ER London Suburban Services 4-car)

The Class 315 was built in the early 1980s for the modernisation of the Great Eastern suburban lines out of London Liverpool Street replacing the Class 306 [1]. They remain in service on services to Shenfield though the end of their time is fast approaching. They were the last EMUs built of the 1972 PEP standard design and share a lot of similarities with the likes of the Class 313 and 507.

TfL Rail 315 843 at Stratford

Information
Number built:	244 (61 4-car sets)
Built:	1980-81
Builder:	BREL York
Engine:	8 Brush TM61-53 or 8 GEC G310AZ traction motors (25kV AC OHLE)
Power:	880 hp (657 kW)
Formation:	Driving Motor Standard Open (DMSO)+Trailer Standard Open (TSO)+ Pantograph Trailer Standard Open (PTSO)+DMSO

Twenty of the Class 315s had GEC traction motors and the rest Brush from new, however the traction motors are pretty interchangeable and nowadays a mixture can be found on a given unit. The Class 315s began life in British Rail blue and grey before being repainted in Network South East livery.

Following privatisation they have worn Greater Anglia and NXEA liveries but currently are operated by London Overground and TFL Rail. They will be replaced on these services by Class 345s and will be likely scrapped despite being refurbished in the mid-2000s [2].

In Greater Anglia days 315 822 at Cambridge Heath

315 828 and three friends at London Liverpool Street

315 859 at Stratford

[1] Alec Swain, Overhead Line Electric Multiple Units (Ian Allan, 1990) p. 66
[2] Colin J. Marsden, DMU and EMU Recognition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 240

Early Liverpool Corporation Tramways Double-Decker Trams

The Liverpool Corporation bought the Liverpool United Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1897 and began a programme to electrify the tram network, the first services operating in 1898 [1] and electrification was completed in 1902. The first electric trams operated were imported from Germany, eight powered trams and eight trailers arriving in 1898. Some single-decker trams were also imported from the USA. 

Manufacturer's photograph [3]

Information for Dick, Kerr cars
Number built:	330
Built:	1899-1913
Builder:	Dick, Kerr of Preston
Motor:	2 x Dick, Kerr 25-A electric motors (DC OHLE)

Starting in 1899, the Electric Railway & Tramway Carriage Works (Dick, Kerr of Preston) built a huge fleet of open-top double-decker trams which were a great influence on contemporary networks around the country with trams of a similar type bought for other networks sometimes known as the "Liverpool Type"! The trams were known as Liverpool Standard Cars or Bellamy Cars after C.R. Bellamy the General Manager of the time. The trams had a single Brill 21E truck and could carry 56 passengers. They were later retro-fitted with top covers. An interesting experiment with separating tram services on a class basis was attempted with white trams reserved for the upper classes who did not want to mix with window cleaners and grubby workers!

Although most Bellamy Cars were replaced in the 1930s, one did survive until 1949 [2].

Tram hauling a salt truck [4]

[1] Charles Klapper, The Golden Age of Tramways (David & Charles, 1974) p. 87

[2] Brian P. Martin, Liverpool Tramways 2: Southern Routes (Middleton Press, 1998) p. 120

[3] Street Railway Journal Vol. XVI Dick, Kerr Supplement p. 31

[4] Street Railway Journal Vol. XXIII No. 22 (May 28 1904) p. 818