This article lists the wide variety of locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s and multiple unit

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

s that have operated on Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

's railway network, since Nationalisation in 1948.

British Rail

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...

 used several numbering schemes

British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification

A number of different numbering and classification schemes were used for locomotives and multiple units operated by British Railways , and this page explains the principal systems...

 for classifying its steam locomotive types

Steam locomotives of British Railways

The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four"....

 and other rolling stock, before settling on the TOPS

TOPS

Total Operations Processing System, or TOPS, is a computer system for managing the locomotives and rolling stock owned by a rail system...

 computer system in the late 1960s. TOPS has remained in use ever since.

For details of motive power types, listed by TOPS classification, see:

• List of British Rail modern traction locomotive classes
  • Diesel locomotives: Classes 01–69
  • DC electric and electro-diesel locomotives: Classes 70–79
  • AC electric locomotives: Classes 80–96
  • Departmental locos (those not in revenue-earning use): Class 97
  • Steam locomotives in use after 1968: Class 98
  • Miscellaneous locomotives, including builders' demonstrators.
• British Rail's shipping fleet: Class 99
  British Rail Class 99
  The British Rail Class 99 was a fleet of 14 ferries, mostly owned by Sealink, which carried rail vehicles between Britain and mainland Europe. When British Rail implemented the TOPS system for managing their operating stock, these ships were incorporated into the system in order to circumvent some...
  
  
• List of British Rail diesel multiple unit classes
  • Units with mechanical or hydraulic transmission: Classes 100–199
  • Units with electric transmission: Classes 200–299
• List of British Rail electric multiple unit classes
  • Overhead AC units: Classes 300–399
  • Southern Region DC third rail EMUs: Classes 400–499
  • Other DC EMUs: Classes 500–599
• List of British Rail departmental multiple unit classes: Classes 900-999

See also

• British Rail coach designations
  British Rail coach designations
  The London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway both developed a system of identifying railway carriages by means of alphabetic codes...
  
  
• Steam locomotives of British Railways
  Steam locomotives of British Railways
  The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four"....
  
  
• List of British Railways shed codes