British Rail Class 40

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D202 at Liverpool Street in original green livery, 1963.

40 142 at Edinburgh Waverley, 14 September 1977.

Class 40, no. 40135 at Crewe Works open day on 1 June 2003.This locomotive is preserved on the East Lancashire Railway.

Class 40, no. 40145 at Carlisle on 27 August 2004, whilst working a charter train. This locomotive is preserved on the East Lancashire Railway.

The British Rail Class 40 diesel locomotive (originally known as the 'English Electric Type 4'), was built by English Electric from 1958-62. Two hundred members of the class were built, and they were for a time the pride of the British Rail early diesel fleet. The locomotives shared many aspects (though not external appearance) with the earlier prototype Southern Railway Diesel; No.10203. They were originally numbered in the range D200-D399, and were painted in the standard BR Green livery. Despite their initial success, however, by the time the last examples were entering service they were already being replaced on some top-link duties by more powerful locomotives.

The class was built in three batches. Numbers D200-D324 were built with steam-age 'disc' headcode markers, which BR used to identify services. Numbers D324-D344 were built with split headcode boxes, which replaced the markers, and consisted of two two-character roller blinds. Finally D345-D399 were built with centre headcode boxes, as the nose doors (which concealed a seldom-used retractable gangway connection) were discontinued.

Every locomotive in the range D210-D235 bar D226 (later 40010-035 and 40026) were named after cruise ships operated by the companies Cunard, Elder Dempster, and Canadian Pacific. Examples included Aquitania, Lancastria, and Lusitania. 40 026 was to carry the name Media but never did so.

The Class 40s operated in most areas of British Railways (except the Western and Southern Regions). The majority were based at Northern depots, such as Carlisle Kingmoor, Manchester Longsight, Edinburgh Haymarket, Wigan Springs Branch, Thornaby, Gateshead and York.

[edit] BR Service and Withdrawal

The 'heyday' of the class was in the early 1960s, when they hauled top-link expresses on the West Coast Main Line and in East Anglia.

From 1973, locomotives were renumbered to suit the TOPS computer operating system, and became known as 'Class 40'. Generally locomotives were renumbered in sequence into the range 40001-199. However, the first built, number D200, was renumbered 40122, which was vacant as number D322 had been written-off in an accident.

The class provided sterling service for over twenty years, and in later life were mainly to be found hauling heavy freight trains in the north of England and Scotland. Their last regular use on passenger trains was on the North Wales Coast Line between Holyhead, Crewe and Manchester.

Locomotives started to be taken out of use in the mid 1970s, as they were by then considered under-powered. The last locomotives were taken out of regular service by 1985. However, four locomotives were subsequently returned to service as Class 97 departmental locomotives, numbered 97405-408. They were used to work engineering trains for a remodelling project at Crewe. These were withdrawn in 1986/87, but three were subsequently preserved.

The first-built locomotive, D200, was returned to use by British Rail in 1983, painted in its original green livery. It was used to haul excursion and charter trains across the network. It was eventually withdrawn in 1988, and presented to the National Railway Museum.

Other locomotives of note were number D326, which was the engine used to haul the train involved in the Great Train Robbery in 1963, and number 40106, which retained its original green livery throughout its career, and was later named Atlantic Conveyor, after the ship of the same name sunk in the Falklands War.

[edit] Preservation

Seven locomotives have been preserved on heritage railways, including the first built, number D200.

[edit] In fiction

Two Class 40 1Co-Co1s appear in The Railway Series of children's books by Rev. W. Awdry and the TV spin-off Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The locomotives concerned were "The Diesel" (D4711) and "Old Stuck Up".

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British Rail Class 40