British Rail Class 12
Encyclopedia
The British Rail
Class 12 is a diesel locomotive
built primarily for shunting
duties around London.
shunters based on the English Electric
6KT 350 hp (260 kW) diesel engine. The first experimental batch (BR numbers 15201-15203) were designed by Richard Maunsell
of the SR in 1937 and were later classified D3/12
. These locomotives were Oliver Bulleid
's development of Maunsell's original design, but were significantly lighter. They featured Bulleid's distinctive Boxpok
wheels, and incorporated a number of details from the diesel-electric shunters
produced by the London Midland and Scottish Railway 1936-39. They were built at the BR Ashford Works
over the period 1949–1952 and numbered 15211–15236. They later became Class 12, but no locomotives survived long enough to acquire Class 12 TOPS
numbers.
is an English Electric
6-cylinder, 4-stroke, 6KT and the traction motor
s are 2 x EE506 axle-hung, nose-suspended, force-ventilated traction motors with 17.5:1 double reduction gear drive. The main generator
is an EE type EE801/7D, flange-mounted single bearing rated at 490 kW.
, and remained there for much of their working lives. Later some examples were used as works shunters at Ashford
, Brighton
and Eastleigh.
, Royal Tunbridge Wells
.
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Class 12 is a diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
built primarily for shunting
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
duties around London.
History
This was the second batch of Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
shunters based on the English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
6KT 350 hp (260 kW) diesel engine. The first experimental batch (BR numbers 15201-15203) were designed by Richard Maunsell
Richard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the Southern Railway in England until 1937....
of the SR in 1937 and were later classified D3/12
British Rail Class D3/12
British Rail class D3/12 was a class of three experimental diesel-electric shunting locomotives designed by Richard Maunsell of the Southern Railway in 1937...
. These locomotives were Oliver Bulleid
Oliver Bulleid
Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid was a British railway and mechanical engineer best known as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway between 1937 and the 1948 nationalisation, developing many well-known locomotives.- Early life and Great Northern Railway :He was born in Invercargill,...
's development of Maunsell's original design, but were significantly lighter. They featured Bulleid's distinctive Boxpok
Boxpok
A Boxpok is a steam locomotive wheel that gains its strength through being made of a number of box sections rather than having traditional solid spokes . Being hollow, they allow better counterbalancing than conventional drivers, which is important for fast locomotives...
wheels, and incorporated a number of details from the diesel-electric shunters
LMS diesel shunters 7059-7068
LMS diesel shunters 7059-7068 were 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunters built by Armstrong Whitworth in 1936. Maker's numbers D54-D63. The diesel engine was an Armstrong-Sulzer 6LTD22 of 350 bhp at 875 rpm . There was a single Crompton Parkinson traction motor with a rating of 231 hp or...
produced by the London Midland and Scottish Railway 1936-39. They were built at the BR Ashford Works
Ashford railway works
Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...
over the period 1949–1952 and numbered 15211–15236. They later became Class 12, but no locomotives survived long enough to acquire Class 12 TOPS
TOPS
Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...
numbers.
Technical details
The diesel engineDiesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
is an English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
6-cylinder, 4-stroke, 6KT and the traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s are 2 x EE506 axle-hung, nose-suspended, force-ventilated traction motors with 17.5:1 double reduction gear drive. The main generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
is an EE type EE801/7D, flange-mounted single bearing rated at 490 kW.
Operational details
The locomotives were designed for use in the two south London marshalling yards at Norwood Junction and Hither GreenHither Green railway station
Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London, United Kingdom. Hither Green is a busy commuter station with services to several London termini and destinations to the southeast Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither...
, and remained there for much of their working lives. Later some examples were used as works shunters at Ashford
Ashford railway works
Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...
, Brighton
Brighton railway works
Brighton railway works was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dating the more famous railway works at Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon...
and Eastleigh.
Withdrawal
The entire class was withdrawn between 1968 and 1971 and most were cut up soon afterwards. The only surviving locomotive of the class is 15224, located at the Spa Valley RailwaySpa Valley Railway
The Spa Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway that runs between Tunbridge Wells, High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge railway station, where it links with the Oxted Line. En route it crosses the Kent and East Sussex border, a distance of 5 miles , along the former Three Bridges to...
, Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
.