British Rail Class 20
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The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same power range to provide reliable locomotives. They were originally numbered D8000-199 and D8300-27.
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[edit] Overview
Designed around relatively basic technology, the 73-ton locomotives produce 1000hp and can operate at up to 75mph. Designed to work light mixed freight traffic they have no train heating facilities. Early locomotives were fitted with disc indicators in the style of the steam era. When headcodes were introduced in 1963 the locomotive's design was changed to incorporate headcode panels, although older locomotives were not retro-fitted. Unusually for British designs the locomotive had a single cab. This caused serious problems with visibility when travelling nose first, though in these circumstances the driver's view is comparable to that on the steam locomotives that the Class 20s replaced.
The Class 20 saw only limited service on passenger trains. A small number were fitted with a through pipe for steam heating, primarily for use in conjunction with a Class 37 locomotive on the West Highland Line. Otherwise, their use on scheduled passenger services was limited to use on summer relief services, particularly to Skegness and other holiday resorts in the east of England.
The shift of light mixed freight to the road network left British Rail with an oversupply of small locomotives. The Class 20s, however, could work in multiple and so handle heavier traffic. Most spent the majority of their working lives coupled nose to nose in pairs to provide a more useful 2000hp unit and to solve the visibility problems.
The success of the type 1 led to orders of a whole family of higher rated English Electric locomotives including class 37, class 40 and class 50.
Most have now (2005) been scrapped but a few remain with DRS and other minor and industrial operators. Several which are usually operated singly have been fitted with nose-mounted video cameras in order to solve the visibility problems.
DRS's fleet of Class 20/3s sees frequent work across the country in pairs, or with Class 37s, on nuclear flask trains, which the company specialises in. During autumn 2005 a pair of Class 20/3s was also used on a weedkilling train in the Anglia region.
In 2005 Harry Needle Railway Company (HNRC) acquired a large number of 20/0s and 20/9s from the DRS stored fleet. 20096 and 20905 were reinstated to mainline traffic and painted into a livery of two-tone grey. The pair worked passenger trains between Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft as part of the ACORP gala day, the first time unmodified Class 20s have worked a passenger train for many years. HNRC plans to return several more Class 20s to use in the near future, for use both on the main line and at industrial sites.
[edit] Industrial use
Several have been sold to industrial users such as Lafarge Cement. Some were used on the construction of the Channel Tunnel and Channel Tunnel Rail Link and some even made their way to France to work in industry there, although some of these were recently repatriated. Currently some Class 20s owned by HNRC are working trains within the Corus steel works at Scunthorpe. Some were also hired by Hunslet-Barclay to provide motive power for weedkilling trains. These trains sprayed a weedkiller onto the track bed.
[edit] Media
In the 1995 Bond film Goldeneye, British Rail Class 20 No. D8188 was used as an escape train, with the addition of armour plating to give the impression of a Russian armoured locomotive [1].
[edit] Preservation
The original member of the class is preserved as part of the National Railway Collection at the National Railway Museum in York and several others are preserved elsewhere.
[edit] External links
