Tuesday, May 17, 2022

British Railways 'warship'

Unit D503 in the days of green livery plus an apron of yellow.

From keymodelworld.com

"THE D600 CLASS OF diesel-hydraulics, all of which were named after warships, were one of the earliest attempts to find a satisfactory solution to the requirement for a mid-power locomotive. Although intended to become one of the diesel standard classes, their design satisfied no one, and production was soon halted in favour of a new revolutionary model, which was to become the ‘Warship’ that we all know and love today.

"In the years following the austerity of the Second World War all four of the British railway companies were examining ways of improving efficiency by replacing steam with more modern forms of traction. The London Midland & Scottish, the Southern and the London and North Eastern all took their inspiration from the USA where there was already widespread use of diesel-electric locomotives while the Great Western decided to examine the possibilities of gas-turbine propulsion – a radical new source of power undergoing rapid development in the aviation sector.

"Following nationalisation in 1948, diesel development was largely in the hands of former LMS men, which led to development of the successful English Electric prototypes 10000-10001 into locomotives such as the Class 37 and the Class 40. Such locomotives did not find universal favour, however, with the primary cause for concern being their very low power to weight ratio – particularly in relation to the Class 40s which had to use a 16 wheel 1-Co-Co-1 chassis to convey the massive bulk of the design without exceeding axle load limits.

"Engineers on the Western Region were convinced that a better solution was to be found in Europe where the idea of lightweight high-speed power units driving hydraulic transmission was gaining ground. Further advantages could also be gained by fitting such engines into lightweight bodywork with pre-stressed sides, which therefore left the maximum horsepower available for working a train."

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