D0280 Falcon was a single prototype diesel-electric locomotive, built for British Railways in 1961. It was one of a series of three prototypes: Falcon, DP2 and Lion, eventually leading to the Class 47 and Class 50. A requirement was expressed by the BTC at a meeting on 15 January 1960 for new Type 4 designs of Co-Co arrangement, which would be lighter than the earlier 1Co-Co1 locomotives such as the Peak classes, produced under the Pilot Scheme.
The British Rail Class 47 or Brush Type 4 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Brush's Falcon Works in Loughborough and at British Railways' Crewe Works between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British mainline diesel locomotive.
The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and previously as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62. They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. Construction of the first locomotive was completed in the final week of September 1957, and the handing-over took place on 31 October. The first Class 31 entered service in November 1957, after the launch of the Class 20 locomotive and was one of the Pilot Scheme locomotives ordered by British Railways to replace steam traction.
The British Railways Class 24 diesel locomotives, also known as the Sulzer Type 2, were built from 1958 to 1961. One hundred and fifty-one were built at Derby, Crewe and Darlington, the first twenty of them as part of the British Railways 1955 Modernisation Plan. This class was used as the basis for the development of the Class 25 locomotives.
Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec.
The British Rail Class 26 diesel locomotives, also known as the BRCW Type 2, were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) at Smethwick in 1958-59. Forty seven examples were built, and the last were withdrawn from service in 1994. Like their higher-powered sisters, the BRCW Classes 27 and 33, they had all-steel bodies and cab ends with fibreglass cab roofs. They were numbered D5300-D5346.
HS4000 Kestrel was a prototype high-powered mainline diesel locomotive that was built in 1967 by Brush Traction, Loughborough, as a technology demonstrator for potential future British Rail and export orders. The locomotive number is a combination of the initials of Hawker Siddeley and the power rating of its Sulzer diesel engine, making it the most powerful locomotive built by the company.
D0260, named Lion, was a prototype Type 4 mainline diesel-electric locomotive built in 1962 by a consortium of Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, Sulzer the engine maker and Associated Electrical Industries, at BRCW's Smethwick works in Birmingham.
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
The British Rail Class 45 or Sulzer Type 4 are diesel locomotives built by British Railways' Derby and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962. Along with the similar Class 44 and 46 locomotives, they became known as Peaks.
The British Rail Class 25, also known as the Sulzer Type 2, is a class of 327 diesel locomotives built between 1961 and 1967 for British Rail. They were numbered in two series, D5151-D5299 and D7500-D7677.
The SNCF Class BB 9300 was a class of French 1500V DC electric locomotives built by Schneider-Jeumont/CEM between 1967 and 1969. They were later mainly used on passenger services around Marseille, Avignon, Nîmes, Narbonne and Toulouse, and all had been withdrawn by 2014.
The British Rail Class 46 is a class of diesel locomotive. They were built from 1961 to 1963 at British Railways' Derby Works and were initially numbered D138–D193. With the arrival of TOPS they were renumbered to Class 46. Along with the similar Class 44 and 45 locomotives, they became known as Peaks.
The British Rail Class 29 were a class of 20 diesel-electric Bo-Bo locomotives produced by the re-engining of the NBL Type 2 units. The units were designed for both passenger and freight trains.
British Railways 10800 was a diesel locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company for British Railways in 1950. It had been ordered by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1946 but did not appear until after the 1948 nationalisation of the railways.
British Rail Class D3/14 was a diesel-electric locomotive built by the London and North Eastern Railway at its Doncaster Works. It had a Petter engine, and Brush Traction electricals. It was absorbed by British Railways on nationalisation, but was withdrawn in the pre-TOPS era.
The SNCF Class A1AA1A 68000 is a class of diesel-electric locomotives of the SNCF. Originally a class of 80 locomotives, they were built for both passenger and freight service. They were ordered on 7 June 1961, the first entering service on 13 December 1963 at Chalindrey depot. A further 5 were added by refitting members of the similar AGO powered Class A1AA1A 68500 with Sulzer engines, thought to be those formerly used in the BR Class 48 locomotives, D1702–1706. Subsequently, 13 members of the class were rebuilt as Class A1AA1A 68500, 1 in 1963 and 12 in 1993. The last was withdrawn from traffic in 2005, with the exception of 68081 which has been preserved at the Cité du Train.
The BB 63000 is a diesel-powered centre cab freight shunting locomotive used by French rail operator SNCF. First introduced in 1953, various batches, with increasingly more powerful engines, were built up till 1964. Along with its successors, classes BB 63400 and BB 63500, together totalling over 800 locomotives, it could be found all over France.
This article covers the History of Sulzer diesel engines from 1898 to 1997. Sulzer Brothers foundry was established in Winterthur, Switzerland, in 1834 by Johann Jakob Sulzer-Neuffert and his two sons, Johann Jakob and Salomon. Products included cast iron, firefighting pumps and textile machinery. Rudolf Diesel was educated in Augsburg and Munich and his works training was with Sulzer, and his later co-operation with Sulzer led to the construction of the first Sulzer diesel engine in 1898. In 2015, the Sulzer company lives on but it no longer manufactures diesel engines, having sold the diesel engine business to Wärtsilä in 1997.
The SNCF Class A1AA1A 68500 is a class of 28 mixed traffic diesel locomotives originally intended for operating main line freight services on the Paris – Chalindrey – Belfort route. They are similar to the Class A1AA1A 68000 but with an AGO engine rather than the Sulzer fitted to the latter. 5 members of the class were rebuilt as A1AA1A 68000 by replacing the AGO prime mover with Sulzer engines, thought to be those formerly used in the BR Class 48 locomotives, D1702–1706. Subsequently, 13 members of the class 68000 were rebuilt as 68500 in 1993. The last was withdrawn from traffic in July 2011.
