| British Rail Class 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 12104 at Stratford MPD in July 1967 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The British Rail Class 11 was applied to a batch of diesel shunting locomotives built from April 1945 to December 1952, based on a similar earlier batch built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) between 1934 and 1936.
An initial batch of twenty locomotives was built during World War II, fourteen of which were built for the War Department, with the first ten of these (70260–70269) subsequently going to the Nederlandse Spoorwegen post-war as NS 501–510. LMS numbers 7120–7126 went straight into LMS stock, and a follow-up batch was built, 7129 being the last diesel shunter to be built for the LMS. British Railways continued to build the class from 1948 to 1952, using numbers M7130–M7131 and 12045–12138. 7120–7129 and M7130–M7131 became BR numbers 12033–12044. The whole class of 12033–12138 became Class 11. Locomotives up to 12102 were built at LMS/BR Derby and 12103–12138 at BR Darlington.
Close to 100 almost identical machines were built by English Electric and supplied to Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) as their 500 Class & 600 Class diesel locomotives. In addition to the exported 501–510 mentioned above, 500 Class also included 511–545. Sixty-five of the 600 Class locomotives were built by English Electric between 1950 and 1957, numbered 601–665, at either Dick, Kerr & Co. Works (601–610) in Preston or Vulcan Foundry Works (remainder) in Newton-le-Willows. A further batch of 15 locomotives were exported without engines so that they could be fitted as such in the Netherlands. These were numbered 701–715.
Another export order was to Australia, with 16 locomotives built in 1951 but with the design modified for use on 5 ft 3 in gauge railways. The Victorian Railways bought ten, which were designated as F class, and six were bought by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria for shunting on sidings connected to Victorian Railways tracks. [1]
One member of Class 11 was built for transporting British soldiers in the former Nazi-occupied countries. Throughout the liberation period it travelled through France, Belgium and the Netherlands before finally reaching Germany. It was then used for transporting British troops and for shunting, and was occasionally used on a few branch lines until 1957. The reason for this was that after the war the newly founded Deutsche Bundesbahn was slowly building up its locomotive fleet. As the more powerful German engines began to roll out, the Class 11 diesel was used less and in 1953 it was withdrawn. It stood in Hamm Engine shed, in West Germany, until it was bought by Danish State Railways in 1957. It was then renumbered to DSB ML 6 and liveried in the dark green that the Danish diesel shunters were painted in. It served on shunting duties in Copenhagen yards until 1973, when it was finally withdrawn for good; it was scrapped in 1974 in Hedehusene in Denmark. [2]
The diesel engine is an English Electric 6-cylinder, 10-inch bore by 12-inch stroke (254 mm by 305 mm); 4-stroke, 6KT and the traction motors are two: EE506 axle-hung, nose-suspended, force-ventilated traction motors with 21.7:1 double reduction gear drive. The main generator is an English Electric EE801, 441 A at 430 V.
The 106 locomotives of British Railways were withdrawn between May 1967 and November 1972.
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 106 | 5 | 12068, 12104/07/23/29. |
| 1968 | 101 | 17 | 12034–37/39–44/72, 12119–20/24/26/37–38. |
| 1969 | 84 | 24 | 12033/38/45–48/57/59/64/66–67/70/86/92/95, 12100/12/16 [lower-alpha 1] –17/25/31/33/35. |
| 1970 | 60 | 11 | 12050/54/62/81/89/91, 12101/06/14–15/28. |
| 1971 | 49 | 40 | 12049/51–53/55–56/58/60–61/65/69/71/73 12075–78/80/82–85/87–88/90/93–94/97–99, 12102–03/05/08/11/18/21–22/36. |
| 1972 | 9 | 10 | 12063/74/79, 12103 [lower-alpha 2] /09–10/27/30/32/34. |
Sixteen locomotives were sold to the National Coal Board, and were used in the North East England, South Wales and the Kent Coalfield. [4]
| Locomotive Number | Company | Disposition |
|---|---|---|
| 12049 | Day & Son, Brentford Town Goods Depot [5] | Scrapped |
| 12052 | National Coal Board (NCB), Widdrington Disposal Plant [5] | Scrapped |
| 12054 | A.R. Adams Ltd., Newport Docks [5] | Scrapped |
| 12060 | NCB, Philadelphia Loco Shed [5] | Scrapped |
| 12061 | NCB, Natgarw Coking Plant [5] | Scrapped |
| 12063 | NCB, Natgarw Coking Plant [5] | Scrapped |
| 12071 | NCB, Natgarw Coking Plant [5] | Scrapped |
| 12074 | NCB, Swalwell Disposal Point [5] | Scrapped |
| Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) | ||
| 12082 | U.K.F. Fertilisers Ltd., Ince Marshes [5] | Scrapped |
| 12083 | Tilcon Ltd., Swinden Limeworks, Skipton. [5] | Preserved - Battlefield Line |
| 12084 | NCB, Bates Colliery [5] | Scrapped |
| 12088 | NCB, Swalwell Disposal Point [5] | Preserved - Aln Valley Railway |
| HNRC | ||
| 12093 | NCB, Widdrington Disposal Point [5] | Scrapped |
| 12098 | NCB, Philadelphia Loco Shed [5] | Scrapped |
| HNRC | ||
| 12099 | NCB, British Oak Disposal Point [5] | Preserved - Severn Valley Railway |
| 12119 | NCB, Philadelphia Loco Shed [5] | Scrapped |
| 12122 | NCB, British Oak Disposal Point [5] | Scrapped |
| 12131 | NCB, Snowdown Colliery [5] | Preserved - North Norfolk Railway |
| 12133 | NCB, Philadelphia Loco Shed [5] | Scrapped |
Only one of the LMS examples is preserved being:
The following BR examples of Class 11 diesel shunters are preserved:
A switcher locomotive, shunter locomotive, or shifter locomotive is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually move trains over long distances, instead they typically assemble trains in order for another locomotive to take over. Switchers often operate in a railyard or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short branch lines or switching and terminal railroads.
The British Rail Class 01 diesel locomotive is a short wheelbase 0-4-0 diesel-mechanical design intended for use in areas with tight curves and limited clearance.
The British Rail Class 04 is a 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class, built between 1952 and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops.
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 British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotives built by British Railways (BR). As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since their introduction in 1952, however, the nature of rail traffic in Britain has changed considerably. Freight trains are now mostly fixed rakes of wagons, and passenger trains are mostly multiple units or have Driving Van Trailers, neither requiring the attention of a shunting locomotive. Consequently, a large proportion of the class has been withdrawn from mainline use and stored, scrapped, exported or sold to industrial or heritage railways.
The British Rail Class 10 diesel locomotives are a variant of the standard Class 08 diesel-electric shunter with a Lister Blackstone diesel engine and General Electric Company plc (GEC) traction motors. The locomotives were built at the BR Works in Darlington and Doncaster over the period 1955–1962, and were withdrawn between February 1967 and June 1972.
The British Rail Class 12 is a diesel locomotive built primarily for shunting duties around London.
The British Railways Class D3/7 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel electric shunting locomotives built as LMS Nos. 7080–7119. The class were built from May 1939 through to July 1942 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at their Derby Works using a diesel electric transmission supplied by English Electric.
The SR Z class was an 0-8-0T 3-cylinder tank engine designed by Richard Maunsell and intended for heavy shunting on the Southern Railway, the first eight entering into service in 1929. It was a successful design and would have been built in greater numbers, but an order for a further ten was cancelled in 1930 due to the reduction in freight traffic as a result of the Great Depression.
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.
The Great Western Railway purchased two diesel shunters, and ordered a further seven immediately prior to Nationalisation, which were delivered to British Rail in 1948–49. The two shunters used by the GWR were numbered 1 and 2, while a series commencing at 501 was planned for the new locomotives ordered in the 1940s. British Rail renumbered both its inherited and new locomotives in a series commencing from 15100.
The British Rail Class 97/6 0-6-0 diesel shunting locomotives were purpose-built for departmental duties by Ruston & Hornsby at Lincoln in 1953 (97650) or 1959 (97651-654). There are minor technical differences between 97650 and the 1959 batch.
LMS diesel shunter No. 1831 was an experimental diesel hydraulic shunter built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1931/3, which pioneered diesel shunting in the UK.
The NS Class 600 were a class of 65 shunting locomotives built by English Electric in England between 1950 and 1957 for Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). The first 10 were built at Dick, Kerr & Co, Preston and the remaining 55 at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows. They are very similar to the British Rail Class 11. Twenty-three locomotives were later fitted with radio remote-control, and renumbered in the range 671–693.
The Midland Railway 1377 Class was a class of 185 0-6-0T tank locomotives. They were introduced in 1878 by Samuel W. Johnson, and were almost identical to the 1102 class of 1874; the latter having fully enclosed cabs, while the 1377 class were built without a rear to the cab and only a short cab roof, hence their nickname "half-cabs". They were given the power classification 1F.
The F Class are a class of diesel locomotive shunters built by Dick Kerr Works for the Victorian Railways between 1951 and 1953. They are similar to the British Rail Class 11 and NS Class 600 shunting locomotives also built by English Electric during this period, but modified for use on the VR's 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge.
LMS diesel shunter 7050 is an experimental 0-4-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive, introduced by the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1934 and which remained in service with that railway for six years. It was later acquired for military use and is now preserved at the National Railway Museum.
The British Rail Class D3/6 were diesel shunters designed in 1934/5 by English Electric for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. (LMS)
British Rail Class D3/10 was a single experimental diesel-electric shunter locomotive commissioned by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in England, and later taken over by British Railways.