Class 20's working on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway .
The locomotive is a Class 20 which was built in the 1950s and 1960s at the Vulcan Factory and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns, the Class 20s soon gained the nickname “Choppers” for their distinctive sound.
British Rail Class 20
The Class 20 is a class of diesel locomotive introduced and operated by British Railways between 1957 and 1968. 228 Class 20s were built to to haul light passenger and freight trains and thirty-nine survive today.
Construction and Introduction
The Class 20s were one of the pioneering diesel locomotive built for British Railways, with the first locomotive entering serice in 1957. The construction was split between English Electric in Newton-Le-Willows and RSH in Newcastle. The design was similar to locomotives in other countries with a single cab and long bonnet containing the power unit and electrical equipment. Following the lack of success of similar locomotives built by other suppliers, more Class 20s were ordered, with 228 in traffic by 1968.
Initial duties
Single Class 20s could be found on a variety of light freight services in the London suburbs, South Yorkshire and the Scottish Lowlands. Problems with driver visibility and a lack of work for smaller locomotives such as the Class 20 from the late 1960s onwards resulted in the locomotives running in pairs, with both cabs facing outwards. Most Class 20s were transferred to work heavy coal trains in Scotland and Northern England.
Replacement and new duties
In the early 1980s, more powerful freight locomotives such as the Class 56 and 58 were introduced, replacing the Class 20 on coal trains. Many were withdrawn from service but a small number were retained where lightweight locomotives were required. New roles were found for some withdrawn Class 20s including summer passenger work to seaside destinations, Channel Tunnel construction, Weedkilling trains and four were sold to a private operator in France.
Privatisation and current use
Direct Rail Services was formed in 1995 and used Class 20s as its main locomotive type in its first years. Private Operators such as Harry Needle have also made use of the lightweight, reliable design on freight duties, Rail Head Treatment trains and the transfer of new rolling stock across the UK. The locomotives have remained in use beyond their 60th year and are also a popular locomotive on the UK's preserved railways.
Some Class 20s were used on the construction of the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1 and some even made their way to France to work for the Compagnie des chemins de Fer Départementaux (CFD) in industry there, although these have since been repatriated. ... DRS initially had a fleet of 15 operational Class 20/3 locomotives.
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