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| British Rail Class 04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Preserved BR class 04 locomotive D2246 at Buckfastleigh. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The British Rail Class 04 is a 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class, built between 1952 [1] and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops.
The prototype locomotive was built in 1947 and served as a departmental shunter at Hither Green depot as number DS1173, before being transferred to the capital stock list as D2341 in 1967.
The Class 04 locomotives were supplied by the Drewry Car Co., which at the time (and for most of its existence) had no manufacturing capability. Drewry sub-contracted the construction work to two builders both of whom built other locomotives under the same arrangement. Early locomotives which became D2200-41 (including DS1173) were built by Vulcan Foundry in 1952–56, and later examples D2242-2339 were built by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns in 1956–61.
A clear line of development can be seen in the Class 04 from the 0-4-0DM locomotives built by Andrew Barclay and Drewry/Vulcan Foundry in the early 1940s. Similar 0-6-0DM locomotives had been built before the first Class 04, and others were built for industrial use.
The design continued to develop during the construction period, although this was generally confined to minor changes, including the diameter of the wheels.
The first batch (four engines numbered 11100-11103, later D2200-D2203) were equipped for street-running (see below).
The second batch (six engines numbered 11105-11110, later D2204-D2209) were fitted with conical exhaust stacks (the first batch initially had a plain exhaust "hole", later having a long, thin, and straight exhaust pipe added) and shaped cab front windows (instead of the rectangular windows of the first batch); these changes continued on all subsequent batches.
From the fourth batch (commencing with 11121, later D2215) the small cab side window of the earlier batches was replaced with a much larger window, the rear half of which slid open. The wheel diameter was also increased from 3 ft 3 in to 3 ft 6 in.
From locomotive D2274 onwards, the wheel diameter was again increased, from 3 ft 6 in to 3 ft 7 in. The front running plate was cut out and the steps inset to provide a safer location for a shunter riding on the locomotive; to facilitate this, the locomotive straight air brake reservoir tank was relocated underneath the centre of the running plate. This is the version depicted by the Airfix/Dapol plastic kit.
The first four of these locomotives (11100-11103, later D2200-D2203) were fitted with side skirting and cowcatchers for use on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway and on the Yarmouth Docks tramway system, since British law requires locomotives running on unfenced street trackage to be so equipped for the protection of pedestrians and animals. At least two later engines (11111/D2210 and 11113/D2212) were also fitted with cowcatchers and skirting for use on the Ipswich docks tramway system.
The class was distributed throughout the British Railways system, but the significant decline in the traffic for which they were designed resulted in a large surplus of shunting engines on the network. With this reduction in the need for shunters it was decided to standardise on the Class 03 as a light diesel-mechanical shunter and the Class 08 and 09 as larger, diesel-electric shunters, leading to the withdrawal of the class 04 engines.
Mechanically they were identical to the Class 03, with the same 24 litre Gardner engine, 5-speed epicyclic gearbox and the same overall layout. They had a straight bonnet (US: hood) from the front to the rear-mounted cab, unlike the 03s which bulged higher towards the rear (over the larger fuel tank), and the cab's rounded roof met the sides at an angle instead of with a curve as in the 03, with a lip all the way round. The internal cab layout was almost symmetrical to allow the driver to work from either side as required.
The engine is a Gardner 8-cyl, 4-stroke 8L3 developing 204 hp (152 kW) at 1200 rpm, connected to a Wilson-Drewry CA5 R7, 5-speed epicyclic with RF11 spiral bevel reverse and final drive unit mounted on a jackshaft. The drive to the wheels was by coupling rods from the jackshaft.
The prototype (of 1947) was numbered DS1173 in departmental service. The first 60 production units (from 1952) were numbered in the sequences 11100–11103, 11105–11115, 11121–11135, 11149–11160, and 11212–11229. [2]
From 1957, new production units received numbers in the D-prefix ("Pre-TOPS") numbering series. All existing units were renumbered in the same series, sequentially from D2200 to D2259, with the new production units continuing from D2260 to D2340. [2] Finally, the prototype locomotive left departmental service and entered the service fleet, being re-numbered as D2341; thus the oldest example of the class was allocated the last number in the numbering sequence. [2]
The Class 04s were withdrawn from service earlier than the Class 03, being taken out of service between June 1967 and May 1972, with some sold for re-use by industry. Four were exported to Italy about 1972, with D2289 reported as still in service until 2012.
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 142 | 13 | D2203/07/54/63/66/73/75/88/90–92, D2303/39. |
| 1968 | 129 | 74 | D2200–02/08–09/13–14/18–22/24/26–28/30/32–36/38/40/45–46, D2250–52/55–57/59/62/68–70/81/86–87/98, D2301/04–09/11–16/18–29/31/34–38/40–41. |
| 1969 | 55 | 28 | D2204–06/15/25/29/31/37/42–43/47/53/64/67/71/74/76–77/83/85/96, D2300/02/10/17/30/32–33. |
| 1970 | 27 | 15 | D2210–12/44/48–49/58/60–61/65/72/78/82/97/99. |
| 1971 | 12 | 12 | D2216–17/23/39/41/79–80/84/89/93–95. |
| 1972 | 0 | 0 | D2217 (reinstated and withdrawn). |
21 examples of the class were preserved. Of these, 20 were BR Class 04 locomotives, and 1 was of the same type, but operated privately by the CEGB. One preserved engine, D2267, was scrapped in 2003, leaving 20 in preservation, including 19 originally operated by British Rail.
| Number | Image | Built | Original allocation | Current owner | Current location | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D2203 |  | 19/07/1952 | Mangapps Railway Museum [4] | Operational | Only surviving locomotive from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. Saw further use at Hemel Hempstead Lightweight Concrete Ltd. [5] | ||
| D2205 |  | 14/03/1953 | Thornaby | Heritage Shunters Trust | Rowsley South, Peak Rail | Undergoing restoration | Allocated to Middlesbrough Dock and sold to the Port Authority in 1969. Preserved at Kent and East Sussex Railway, then West Somerset Railway. Sold to the Heritage Shunters Trust in October 2012. |
| D2207 | 14/02/1953 | North Yorkshire Moors Railway | North Yorkshire Moors Railway | Operational | Full overhaul completed 2018. BR Green with Wasp Stripes. Usually based at Pickering C&W. | ||
| D2229 |  | 28/11/1955 | Heritage Shunters Trust | Rowsley South, Peak Rail | Stored, out of use | After sale by BR, operated by the National Coal Board at Manton Wood Colliery, Worksop. [5] | |
| D2245 | 12/11/1956 | Leeds Neville Hill | Private | Derwent Valley Light Railway (York) | Operational | Previously owned by the Derwent Valley Light Railway. [6] | |
| D2246 |  | 06/12/1956 | Devon Diesel Society | South Devon Railway | Operational | Saw further use at P.D. Fules Ltd., Crawley Coal Concentration Depot. [5] | |
| D2267 | 20/01/1958 | North Norfolk Railway | Scrapped | Saw further use at Ford Motor Co. Ltd., Dagenam. [5] Previously preserved, but scrapped at NNR around April 2003. | |||
| D2271 |  | 14/03/1958 | South Devon Railway | South Devon Railway | |||
| D2272 | 28/03/1958 | Heritage Shunters Trust | Peak Rail | Stored, out of use | Saw further use at British Fuel Co., Blackburn Coal Concentration Depot. [5] | ||
| D2279 |  | 15/02/1960 | East Anglian Railway Museum | East Anglian Railway Museum | Operational | Painted in BR Green with wasp stripes. Used regularly for shunting and on occasional passenger trains. | |
| D2280 | 1960 | Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway | Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway | Undergoing overhaul | Saw further use at Ford Motor Co. Ltd., Dagenham. [5] After many years stored out of use at the North Norfolk Railway, it moved to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and in 2019 was nearing end of overhaul at Toddington diesel depot. | ||
| D2284 | 25/03/1960 | Heritage Shunters Trust | Peak Rail | Stored, out of use | Saw further use at NCB Woolley Colliery [5] | ||
| D2289 | 00/00/1960 | Heritage Shunters Trust | Undergoing overhaul | ||||
| D2298 |  | 11/10/1960 | Buckinghamshire Railway Centre | Undergoing overhaul | |||
| D2302 |  | 31/10/1960 | D2578 Locomotive Group, Moreton Business Park | Saw further use at British Sugar, Allscott Factory. | |||
| D2310 |  | 22/12/1960 | Battlefield Line | Operational | Saw further use at Coal Mechanisation (Tolworth) Ltd., Tolworth Coal Concentration Depot [5] | ||
| D2324 |  | 26/04/1961 | Barrow Hill Roundhouse | Saw further use at the Southern Depot Co., NCB Coal Concentration Depot at Aylesbury. [5] | |||
| D2325 |  | 29/04/1961 | Mangapps Railway Museum | Operational | |||
| D2334 |  | 25/07/1961 | Heaton | Private | Mid-Norfolk Railway | Undergoing overhaul | Built by RS&H, at Darlington Works in 1961; allocated to Heaton from 25 July 1961; Percy Main (North Shields) from 8 June 1963; Gateshead from 30 January 1965; Darlington from 24 February 1968. Sold to National Coal Board 1968 for Manvers Main Colliery, then Wath, then Thurcroft, and finally Maltby. Sold for preservation in 1985. |
| D2337 | 30/08/1961 | Heritage Shunters Trust | Peak Rail | Stored, out of use | Saw further use at NCB Manvers Coal Preparation Plant & Colliery, where it gained the name "DOROTHY". [5] | ||
| 2574 (works number) |  | 10/12/1957 | Private | Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway | Operational | Never a BR loco, but the second of two built by RS&H after 11212 (DC/RSH 2572/7858, later D2242) and before 11213 (DC/RSH 2575/7862, later D2243), for industrial use at Willington Power Station. It is actually DC/RSH 2574/7860, but has been painted to impersonate D2260 (old style number 11230). The original D2260 was scrapped in 1983. |
A number of almost identical industrial locomotives were supplied to various private companies in the United Kingdom. One example (works number 2252) supplied to Adams Newport in 1948 is preserved at the Mangapps Railway Museum where it has been modified to recreate a Wisbech and Upwell Tramway Class 04, using the number 11104, which was not used in the actual class 04 numbering sequence. [7]
The Class 04 design was the basis of some related narrow gauge industrial engines built for export overseas. An example of this was the Tasmanian Government Railways V class which ran on 3 ft 6 in gauge, necessitating an outside frame design, which was the main visible difference. Western Australia also had a similar engine used by the power authority at the time also on 3 ft 6 in gauge.
Airfix produced a plastic (static) OO kit in the 1960s; this is still available in the Dapol range as kit number C60.
Bachmann produced an example in N and 00, 0 and 1 gauge. An HO gauge model was made to be used as the Thomas and Friends character Mavis.
In O gauge Vulcan produced a Kit and Bachmann produced ready to run models.
0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used on both tender and tank locomotives in versions with both inside and outside cylinders.
The British Rail Class 03 locomotive was, together with the similar Class 04, one of British Railways' most successful 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. 230 were built at Doncaster and Swindon works between 1957 and 1962, and were numbered D2000-D2199 and D2370-D2399. D2370 and D2371 were used as departmental locomotives and originally numbered 91 and 92 respectively.
The British Rail Class 05 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters built by Hunslet Engine Company from 1955 to 1961. They were used on the Eastern and Scottish Regions of British Railways. The first two batches were delivered as 11136-11143 and 11161-11176. Subsequent locomotives were delivered, new, as D2574-D2618.
The British Rail Class 06 is a class of 0-4-0 diesel-mechanical shunters built by Andrew Barclay Sons and Company from 1958 to 1960 for use on the Scottish Region of British Railways. They were originally numbered D2410–D2444 and later given the TOPS numbers 06001–06010.
The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & Sons Ltd.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) pioneered the use of diesel shunting locomotives in Great Britain. The variety of experimental and production diesel shunters produced by the LMS is summarised below.
Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England which was founded in 1875 and operated until it was taken over in 1962 by English Electric.
The New Zealand F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealand's railway network after the national gauge of 3 ft 6 in was adopted. The first locomotives built for the new gauge railways were two E class double Fairlies for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company. The F class was the first class ordered by the central government, and between 1872 and 1888, a total of eighty-eight members of the class were constructed.
Locomotives of New Zealand is a complete list of all locomotive classes that operate or have operated in New Zealand's railway network. It does not include locomotives used on bush tramways.
British Rail Class D1/1 was a class of shunting locomotives commissioned by British Rail in England. It was a diesel locomotive in the pre-TOPS period built by the Hunslet Engine Company with a 153 horsepower (114 kW) Gardner 6L3 engine.
The EMD G8 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive of which 382 were built between 1954 and 1965 for both export and domestic use. They were built by both Electro-Motive Division in the United States and by General Motors Diesel Division in Canada for use in ten countries, being equipped to operate on several different track gauges.
The Drewry Car Co was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contractors. It was separate from the lorry-builder, Shelvoke & Drewry, but it is believed that James Sidney Drewry was involved with both companies.
Rosebud Kitmaster is the brand name of a short-lived but critically acclaimed range of plastic assembly kits, manufactured in the United Kingdom by Rosebud Dolls Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire. Introduced from May 1959, the range rapidly expanded to include 34 models of railway locomotives and coaches in OO, HO and TT scales, and eventually, one motorcycle in 1:16 scale.
The DB Class V 60 is a German diesel locomotive operated by the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) and later, the Deutsche Bahn AG, which is used particularly for shunting duties, but also for hauling light goods trains. Seventeen locomotives were bought used by the Norwegian State Railways and designated NSB Di 5. Also the Yugoslav Railways bought used units, and designated them JŽ 734; they were subsequently designated Series 2133 by the Croatian Railways.
Steam traction was the predominant form of motive power used by the Deutsche Reichsbahn on its narrow-gauge railways. For certain duties diesel locomotives were also used, albeit these were usually second-hand or rebuilt engines.
The NZR DS class locomotive is a type of 16 diesel shunting locomotives built by the Vulcan Foundry and supplied by the Drewry Car Co from 1949–1955, for New Zealand Railways (NZR).
The NZR FA class was a class of tank steam locomotives that was built as a larger version of the NZR F class 0-6-0T. The requirements were for larger water and coal capacity on a locomotive that could handle grades better than the F class. Due to costs involved in producing new machines, NZR chose to rebuild existing machines with larger coal and water capacity, larger boiler and firebox, higher boiler pressure and larger diameter pistons. Seven F class engines were rebuilt between 1892 and 1897. Another seven were built new, one at Newmarket Workshops in 1896 and six at Addington Workshops in 1902–03.
The NZR DSA class locomotive was a type of 0-6-0DM diesel-mechanical locomotives built by three different manufacturers: W. G. Bagnall, Hunslet, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Vulcan Foundry for the Drewry Car Co. They were built between 1953 and 1967.
The Tasmanian Government Railways V class are a class of diesel locomotives operated by the Tasmanian Government Railways.
