British Rail Class 48

The British Rail Class 48 was a diesel locomotive class which consisted of five examples, built at Brush Falcon Works in Loughborough and delivered between September 1965 and July 1966.^[1] They were part of the British Rail Class 47 order, but differed from their classmates by being fitted with a Sulzer V12 12LVA24 power unit producing 2,650 bhp (1,976 kW), as opposed to the standard 12LDA28C twin-bank twelve-cylinder unit of the remaining fleet.

In service

The locomotives, numbered in the D1702-D1706 series,^[2] mainly worked from Tinsley depot in Sheffield, on both passenger and freight work. In 1969, they moved to Norwich depot where they worked on express trains between there and London Liverpool Street.^[1] The 12LVA24 engine, however, was found to be unreliable, and the locomotives spent more time out of service than their standard counterparts. Engine failures were common, and repairs often expensive^[1] After conversion to class 47 they moved to Stratford depot, in East London, until they were displaced by examples fitted with electric train heating equipment. Subsequently, the batch went their separate ways, to several depots.

Rebuilding

Eventually it was decided not to continue with the 12LVA24 experiment, and it was decided to remove the engines and fit the standard 12LDA28 engines to the locomotives. D1702 was the first to be so treated at Crewe Works, using parts from D1908, withdrawn after a serious accident. It emerged in December 1969. All five locomotives had been so converted by early 1971, and then became standard Class 47s. The power units were sold to SNCF and used in their Class A1AA1A 68000 locomotives.

Further service and preservation

D1705 as preserved on the Great Central Railway.

The locomotives continued in service for many years afterwards, and were renumbered 47 114-47 118 to conform with British Rail's TOPS system in the early 1970s. Four of the locomotives were withdrawn from service between December 1990 and January 1991; the sole survivor, 47 114, survived until 2002 when it too was sidelined. However, there was to be a further lease of life for 47 117 (D1705) when it was bought for preservation by rail enthusiast and pop music producer Pete Waterman. It is now owned by the Type 1 Locomotive Association and works on the private Great Central Railway.^[3] There it has been restored to BR two tone green livery with its pre-TOPS number D1705, though of course it retains its Class 47 engine. It has also been named Sparrowhawk in the tradition of Brush Works policy of naming locomotives after birds of prey (qv Kestrel, Falcon, etc.), though it never carried this name in service. The other four locomotives have since been scrapped.

References

Sources

• Toms, George (1978). Brush Diesel Locomotives, 1940-78. Sheffield: Turntable Publications. ISBN 0902844482. OCLC 11213057. 

External links

• A photograph of D1705 as a Class 48 in 1969.