Power type Diesel-electric Total produced 26 (09/0) Number rebuilt 12 (7 09/1 + 5 09/2) | Build date 1959, 1961-62 (09/0) Rebuild date 1992-93 (09/1, 09/2) | |
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Builder British Railways' Darlington Works, Horwich Works |
The British Rail Class 09 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel locomotive designed primarily for shunting and also short distance freight trips along branch lines.
Contents
The 26 locos are similar to the Class 08 shunting locomotives but have different gearing, giving a top speed of 27.5 mph (44 km/h) at the expense of a lower tractive effort. They were introduced from 1959 to 1962 and latterly operated in the Southern Region of British Railways, although some of the class were originally allocated to depots in the Midlands and North before transferring south. Further locomotives were converted from Class 08 in 1992 and, following this and privatisation in 1997, the class has been distributed much further afield.
Class 09/0
The original 26 locomotives (built 1959-62) became sub-class 09/0 when further locomotives were modified from Class 08 in 1992 which became subclasses Classes 09/1 and 09/2. There were variations, which were given the following TOPS design codes:
Classes 09/1 & 09/2
These locomotives were modified from Class 08 in 1992. TOPS numbers were 09 101 – 09 107 and 09 201 – 09 205. The design codes were as follows:
Passenger operations
Although not normally considered for passenger work, Class 09s were recorded working passenger trains between Clapham Junction and Kensington Olympia due to unavailability of the booked Class 33 diesel.
They were also used on Railtours which needed to depart Brighton heading along the West Coastway Line or vice versa. To achieve this the 09 worked between Brighton and Preston Park, allowing main tour locomotive to work the train forward via the Cliftonville tunnel and Hove. The connection to the West Coastway Line at Brighton can only be used by four car trains due to the arrangement of the points and track.
Post-Privatisation
The following liveries have been carried since the privatisation of British Rail:
Preservation
10 of the 26 "class 09" diesel shunter locomotives have been preserved