rolling stock : class 20

Class 20/0 (20001-20228)

built : 1957-1968 / weight : 73t / max speed : 60mph / air and vacuum

History

Placed with English Electric, the initial order from British Railways was for 20 locomotives which was later extended time and time again to reach the final total of 228 locomotives; built at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows and Robert Stephenson in Darlington. Initially allocated to East London, once the entire fleet of 228 locomotives had been delivered to BR the fleet became truly nationwide with allocations in Scotland, the Midlands and the Eastern region.

The fleet led a pretty uneventful career throughout their successful working life and after the Class 37s, were regarded as some of the most successful diesel locomotive designs - despite having only one cab which led to poor sighting when running 'bonnet' first. Heavy overhauls were carried out on some of the class which led to a radical change in appearance in addition to internal reliability modifications. This saw them carry on in mainstream traffic until the early 1990s when Class 60s entering traffic saw a cascade of traction which rendered much of the fleet redundant.

However, the mid-1990s saw one operator, Telecommunications arm BRT (later Racal BRT and then Racal), took on a small fleet of Class 20 locomotives allocated to Bescot to work cable laying trains around the country. After an initial period of operation with BRT and hire to other operators such as Transrail, the locomotives fell into disrepair and were eventually sold to new operator Direct Rail Services and conversion into the Class 20/3 subclass.

Current Duties

Inevitably with such a large number of locomotives in the class, many were sold by BR for preservation to private owners, most of which are in service on preserved lines around the country.

An interesting development over the last two years has been the emergence of a new locomotive spot hire market with companies such as FM Rail and Cotswold Rail dominating. One operator, Harry Needle Railroad Company has built up a fair sized fleet of Class 20s which are slowly being returned to active traffic for spot hire and contract work. Lafarge Blue Circle Cement has been one such customer which has a Class 20 on hire at its Hope cement works in the Peak District.

Class 20/3 (20301-20315)

rebuilt : 1995-1998 / weight : 73t / max speed : 60mph / air only / multiple within DRS fleet

History

The formation of a new company, Direct Rail Services, a subsidiary of BNFL Ltd, for the transport of materials used within the industry was met with a need for locomotives. A comprehensive strip down and rebuild of 5 locomotives from Class 20/0 status was awarded to Brush Traction, Loughborough. Reclassified as Class 20/3 and fitted with a new type of multiple working system the first locomotive emerged in 1995, allocated to Sellafield TMD in the North West.

Success of the new company and the securing of further work led to another order for ten rebuilt locomotives being awarded to RFS (E) Doncaster (now known as Wabtec). These locomotives differed slightly in external appearance with a black roof as opposed to the light blue which was used for the first batch of conversions. The last locomotive entered traffic in late 1998 and the fleet has remained static at 15 examples, now allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor depot.

Current Status

Previously the mainstay of the DRS fleet, the Class 20s have been relegated to third place after the Class 66s and then Class 37s. Nevertheless, the fifteen locomotives still see regular use on nuclear flask trains around the country. In late 2005, a contract for the supply of locomotives and drivers to Network Rail for the annual autumn leaf clearance trains saw locomotives revisiting old haunts of East Anglia along with new ones such as North Wales.

Class 20/9 (20901-20906)

rebuilt : 1989 / weight : 73t / max speed : 60mph / air only / multiple with 31/33/37 fleets

History

The Class 20s were the first class to enter mainline traffic under private ownership with the sale of six locomotives to Kilmarnock-based Hunslet Barclay. The locomotives were overhauled, some were fitted with additional fuel tanks and were offered for spot hire. Immediately snapped up, the locomotives were used on the weedkiller trains operated by Chipman Rail on behalf of British Rail.

The ending of Chipman's contract with Railtrack for weedkilling trains saw the removal of the Hunslet fleet of 20s from traffic and sale to Direct Rail Services as additions to its fleet of refurbished Class 20s. These six locomotives were given a standard overhaul and sent out to work on the mainline. However, the cost of fitting TPWS saw the small subclass stored in 2003 with disposal over the next two years to spot hire operator Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC).

Current Status

Two locomotives from this subclass are currently main line registered - 20901 and 20905 - which make the occasional foray onto the main line on spot hire from owners HNRC.

Last Updated 23-12-2005