The Class 50 was built in the late 1960s, and initially hired by British Rail from English Electric, to power the remaining non-electrified portions of the West Coast Main Line from Crewe to Scotland [1] on passenger trains and freight. The Class 50, a development of the English Electric DP2 prototype, often worked these WCML trains in pairs (though they could also work in multiples of three) to provide sufficient performance to match the timings of the electric locomotives that they shared their trains with. The locomotives were bought outright by BR in 1973 but by the mid-1970s were being displaced from the WCML due to the completion of electrification and the arrival of the Class 87. The Class 50s were sent to Western Region to work in the south and south west of England.
GB Railfreight liveried 50 049 at Kidderminster Town
Information
Number built:
50
Built:
1967-68
Builder:
English Electric, Vulcan Foundry
Motor:
English Electric 16CSVT diesel
Power:
2, 700 hp (2, 013 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
Co-Co
At first the reliability of the Class 50 was poor with failures often due to problems with the then-novel electronic systems fitted. Crews joked that they were called the Class 50 as there was only a 50:50 chance that they would make it to their destinations! [2] The Class 50 received a full refurbishment in the late 1970s/early 1980s to improve reliability by removing little used and redundant equipment such as the slow speed control.
Much of the locomotives' time was spent on west of England express passenger trains out of London Paddington and London Waterloo and other passenger services. This made them vulnerable as multiple units became the favoured mode of people mover in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the supply of work dried up. There were attempts to utilise the class for slower freights and one locomotive was modified with lower geared bogies though the experiment was not a success.
The Class 50 was withdrawn from BR service by 1994, though no less than eighteen have been preserved (thirty six percent of the fleet) and several are mainline certified. The Class 50s were the first class of diesel locomotive to only carry BR blue livery (and later variations) though one preserved locomotive has been given a "what might have been" BR green livery. One British Rail exception came in the 1980s when one Class 50 was renamed Sir Edward Elgar and repainted in Brunswick Green to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the GWR.
Also in GBRf livery, 50 007 at Bewdley
Network South East livery is carried by 50 026 at Kidderminster Town
50 049 when it carried BR large logo livery
50 007 approaches Highley
50 034 at Kidderminster Town
[1] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 4 and 5 (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 67 [2] Michael Welch, Diesels on the Western (Capital Transport, 2013) p. 107
The Class 69 is a rebuild of the Class 56 with an EMD 710 engine and updated controls and some equipment (similar to those used on the Class 66). GB Railfreight ordered the rebuilds from sixteen Class 56s they bought in 2018, some of which had been out of service for some time. Ten were rebuilt in the initial batch with an option for six more added later on.
The first Class 69 began trials on the Severn Valley Railway in early 2021. The locomotives began to enter service in 2022. The first seven locomotives were withdrawn from service in early 2023 to address some issues but following modifications were returned to service.
As well as GB Railfreight livery, a number of Class 69s have been completed in versions of heritage liveries.
69 010 on test at Derby, still in undercoat, later it was finished in GB Railfreight blue
69 005 approaches Kidderminster hauling two Class 73s
The High Speed Train (HST), powered by a Class 43 powercar at either end of the train, is arguably the most successful diesel powered high speed train in the world. The HST bought 125mp/h speeds to British Rail Inter City expresses in the late 1970s, helping to revitalise long-distance rail travel when it was at a low ebb. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say the HST changed the face of rail travel in the UK once and for all and helped stem a seemingly unstoppable decline. The futuristic streamlined shape of the power cars (which can surely be considered a British design classic) quickly became the face of BR publicity [1]. The HST was an instant hit with the public with passenger numbers on the HST services rising by fifteen percent within the first two months of operation. The HST still holds the official speed record for a diesel hauled passenger train of 148 mp/h.
43 185 in Intercity livery (operated by GWR) at London Paddington
Information
Number built:
197
Built:
1976-82
Builder:
BREL Crewe
Refurbished by Brush Traction (2006-9)
Engine:
(Original) Paxman Valenta 12RP200L diesel
(Refurbished) Paxman 12VP185 or MTU 16V4000 R41R diesels
Power:
(Valenta) 2, 250 hp (1, 678 kW)
(12VP185) 2, 100 hp (1, 565 kW)
(MTU) 2, 250 hp (1, 676 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
Bo-Bo
The Intercity 125 High Speed Train was introduced in October 1976 [2] following trials earlier in the decade with the prototype HST Class 41/252. Originally, the HST was designated a diesel electric multiple unit with units allocated to Western Region numbered Class 253 and those on Eastern Region Class 254.
However, in the 1980s the power cars were allocated the TOPS number Class 43 (the original Class 43 was the "Warship" diesel-hydraulic locomotive), they are after all proper locomotives capable of independent operation (though this is fairly rare in practice), the Mark 3 coaches they haul/propel differ from loco-hauled Mark 3s with different electric systems and a lack of buffers and can only work properly with Class 43s. The Class 43 only has a driving cab at the streamlined end, the prototype Class 41 also had auxiliary cab controls for shunting at the other end but this was not continued with the production power cars.
Ironically, the HST only came about because of a lack of funds for electrification of more main line routes after the completion of the West Coast Main Line [3]. The HST was devised as a stop-gap... that has so far lasted over forty years! Although they have been slowly replaced from some of their original routes they have been cascaded onto other routes and should continue to serve well into the 2020s. In the mid to late 2000s the fleet was heavily refurbished with the original Paxman engines replaced mostly by MTU units [4] though some have also been fitted with Paxman VP185 diesels since the early 1990s.
The Class 43 has also been exported to Australia where power cars heavily based on the Class 43s powered the XPT which is still in service [5]. In the late 1980s a small number of Class 43s were taken out of service, fitted with buffers, and formed driving van trailers for the new Class 91 which replaced the HST on the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. Once purpose built DVTs had been built the modified Class 43s were returned to service [6]. Withdrawn power cars have been exported to Mexico and Nigeria.
The Class 43 currently serves with ScotRail and has served with a number other companies in the privatised era including GWR and Cross Country. The ScotRail sets are shorter than older sets to enable improved acceleration. There are also a number of full-length HST sets in use for rail holidays and tours. Some cars are also in service with Network Rail in the New Measurement Train and other departmental uses.
Colas operated 43 272 hauls a test train through Chepstow
Cross Country 42 239 at Birmingham New Street
43 018 preserved in original BR livery at Crewe Heritage Centre
GWR 43 029 at Newport
The New Measurement Train at Sheffield
[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 99 [2] Brian Haresnape, High Speed Trains (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 51 [3] Colin J. Marsden (ed.), "The Production HSTs", Modern Locomotives Illustrated No. 208 August-September 2014 (The HST Part 1: The BR Days) p. 28 [4] Colin J. Marsden, Traction Recognition (Second Edition) (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 34 [5] Marsden, MLI 208 p. 71 [6] Marsden, Traction p. 36
As the LMS/BR Black 5 and Class 47 were to previous generations, the Class 66 is to this one: the universal locomotive that can be seen pretty much anywhere on the national railway network. With a huge fleet of 480 built (most of which are still in service) available it handles the bulk of freight traffic. Indeed more than any other class it is the face of British rail freight. The Class 66 was based conceptually on the Class 59, a US/Canada built freight locomotive bought in small numbers by private companies to haul trains in the latter days of British Rail. The 66 uses the same body shell meaning there are many aesthetic similarities to the 59 but the 66 has a different engine model and traction equipment [1].
The Class 66 was initially ordered by EWS (now part of DB Cargo) in the early days of rail privatisation, the first order was for 250 with subsequent carry-on orders continuing until 2016 when the final batch arrived in the UK. No further new 66s are likely due to changes in EU emission rules. Similar locomotives have been built by EMD for operators in Europe and elsewhere, some of these being later imported to join the British fleet.
The very final Class 66, 66 779, was painted in British Railways lined green and named "Evening Star" after the last steam locomotive built for British Railways [2].
Sub-class
Details
66/0
Original 250
66/3
Extra locomotives now operated by DRS
66/4
DRS and Freightliner operated
66/5
Freightliner operated
66/6
Freightliner operated, re-geared for heavier trains, lower top speed
66/7
GB Railfreight operated
66/8
Colas operated
66/9
With lower emissions engine
The Class 66 is currently operated by DB, Colas, Freightliner, GB Railfreight and DRS. The vast majority are still in service, two have been written off following accidents.
DB 66 041 waits for a signal at Sandbach
Freightliner 66 538 heads through Rugeley Trent Valley
Freightliner 66 517 passes Water Orton
Freightliner 66 543 and 566 rest at Crewe
Another Freightliner loco, 66 545 passes Brondesbury
[1] Colin J. Marsden, Traction Recognition 2nd Edition (Ian Allan, 2008) p. 66 [2] "GBRF Names Last 66 Evening Star", Railways Illustrated No. 161 (July 2016)
With electrification a distant dream, British Rail's Western Region turned instead to Continental style light weight diesel-hydraulic locomotives with fast-running engines in the 1950s to replace steam. The Class 42 was a licence-built version of German Federal Railway's V200 locomotive [1], modified to fit within the smaller British loading gauge. Two batches of locomotive were built, the Swindon built Maybach powered Class 42 and the North British Locomotives built MAN powered Class 43.
D821 at Kidderminster Town
Information
Number built:
38
Built:
1958-61
Builder:
BR Swindon
Engine:
2 Bristol Siddeley Maybach MD650 diesels
Power:
2, 200 hp (1, 641 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
B-B
The Class 42 was powered by two Maybach diesels built under licence by Bristol Siddeley. The first few locomotives were limited to 2,000hp due to limitations with the transmission though most of the class was rated at 2,200hp. One locomotive was fitted with a pair of Paxman 12YJXL diesels and was rated at 2,400hp. The Class 42 looked very similar to the V200 class though originally British Railways wanted it to look different, their designs were later used on the Class 52 [2].
The locomotives had a successful entry into service, Western Region found they could comfortably handle heavier trains than the Class 40. However there were problems with riding at high speeds which resulted in speed restrictions until bogie modifications could be carried out in 1960 [3]. Most of the class were named after Royal Navy ships and hence the nickname of the class became "Warships".
As with the other diesel-hydraulic designs the Class 42 was doomed once British Rail, in it's drive for standardisation and rationalisation, had sufficient diesel-electric motive power to take over the Class 42's duties. Withdrawals began in 1968 and were completed by 1972 [4]. Two Class 42s have been preserved.
D832 Onslaught at Wirksworth
D821 at Bridgnorth in BR maroon
D832 at Duffield
D821 cab
D821 at Bewdley
[1] John Jennison & Tony Sheffield, Diesel Hydraulics of the 1960s and 1970s (Ian Allan, 2014) p. 4 [2] David Lawrence, British Rail Designed 1948-97 (Ian Allan, 2016) p. 107 [3] Brian Haresnape, Western Region Diesel-Hydraulics (Ian Allan, 1982) p. 28 [4] Pip Dunn, British Rail Main Line Locomotive Specification Guide (Crowood Press, 2013) p. 80
The Class 47 is the largest single class of mainline diesel locomotive built for British railways with a total of 512 built in the 1960s [1]. They became the standard Type 4 diesel locomotive and have operated over all parts of British railways on passenger, freight and engineering services. Most have now been withdrawn but there are still around thirty in mainline service plus others in preservation. Thirty-three have also been rebuilt and re-engined as Class 57s.
47 580 at Crewe
Information
Number built:
512
Built:
1962-68
Builder:
Brush / BR Crewe
Motor:
Sulzer 12LDA28-C diesel
Power:
2, 580 hp (1, 920 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
Co-Co
The Class 47 was built to allow British Railways to finally withdraw steam traction on mainline services by 1968 and became the definitive second generation diesel locomotive for BR.
Originally they were a follow-on from the Class 45/46 Peaks and indeed the first twenty Class 47s replaced the last twenty Class 46s on order [2] with some of the equipment used (and in subsequent locomotives) was chosen because it was left over from the "Peak" production. The Class 47 had an uprated version of the Sulzer 12LDA28 powerplant but had a flat front as mandated by British Rail and took advantage of improvements in technology especially in terms of weight savings to be a Co-Co not a 1Co-Co1.
There were some teething problems as might be expected with such a big class, the Sulzer diesels needed to be derated to 2, 580hp to reduce wear and tear on the engine, but the Class 47 soon became the mainstay of heavy duty services. Five locomotives were fitted with the Sulzer V12 12LVA24 engine and classified as Class 48 though were later converted back into "normal" Class 47s.
Sub-class
Details
47/0
Original with train steam heating boilers
47/3
Dedicated freight locos with no train heating
47/4
Fitted with electric train heating
47/6
Single loco fitted with Rushton 16RK3CT engine testing for later Class 56
47/7
Fitted for push-pull services
47/8
Fitted with extra fuel tanks
47/9
47/6 loco later fitted with engine to test for Class 58
Surviving Class 47s are still used on a variety of services such as charters, spot-hires and engineering services. Over thirty have been preserved to date many in working order. One Class 47 has even worked charters in Hungary. When the class was being built in the 1960s few would have suspected that might happen! [3]
West Coast 47 237 at Tyseley
ROG 48 813 at Derby
47 773 in BR green livery at Tyseley
West Coast 47 804 at Birmingham New Street
GBRf 47749 (with 56081) at Derby
[1] Colin J Marsden, Traction Recognition (Ian Allan, 2011) p. 40 [2] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 4 and 5 (2nd Edition) (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 52 [3] "47 375 named Falcon", Railways Illustrated No.166 (December 2016) p. 10
Following on from the success of the ten Class 44 pilot scheme Type 4 diesels, British Railways went ahead with a production order which was split between 127 Class 45s and fifty six Class 46s (there were originally going to be twenty more built but the order was changed to the Class 47 instead). The Classes 45 and 46 are very similar, mainly differing from the electrical equipment used, Crompton Parkinson for the 45 and Brush for the 46 [1].
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].
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.
46 010 at Kidderminster Town
D182 at Kidderminster Town again
46 035 at Rowsley South
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
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
The first of the "Peaks", the Class 44 was the most powerful batch of diesels built in the British Railways Modernisation Plan diesel pilot-scheme, but also the heaviest! [1] Weighing in at 133 tons (and that was with some modifications to reduce weight) the Class 44 were imposing locomotives with their 1Co-Co1 bogie wheel arrangement ,which had extra load bearing wheels (similar to the Class 40 and the Bulleid prototype main line diesels). The Class 44 derived a lot of it's internals from the LMS prototypes 10000/1 and the SR Bulleid locomotives 10201-3.
D4 at Kidderminster Town
Information
Number built:
10
Built:
1959-60
Builder:
BR Derby
Engine:
Sulzer 12LDA28 diesel
Power:
2, 300 hp (1, 715 kW)
Wheel arrangement:
1Co-Co1
Although there were some early issues with the bogies, which could crack or catch fire if maintenance was lax, the Class 44s were a successful design and were followed on by the uprated series production Class 45 and 46. All three classes of locomotives are known as the Peaks, the name due to the Class 44s being named after British mountains.
When they first entered service they were used on express passenger services. They were supplanted by more powerful machines after a few years and spent most of their careers, especially on their final years, on freight duties in the London Midland Region area [2]. Scrapping began in the late 1970s as the Class 44s were surplus to requirements, with the last leaving service in 1980 [3]. Two have been preserved.
D8 at Rowsley South
Another view of D8
D4 arrives at Kidderminster Town
Nose view of D8
D8 stands ready for a new service
[1] Brian Haresnape, Early Prototype & Pilot Scheme Diesel-Electrics (Ian Allan, 1981) p. 77 [2] John Vaughan, Diesels on the London Midland (Ian Allan, 1981) p. 62 [3] John Glover, BR Diary 1978-1985 (Ian Allan, 1985) p. 47
