London Underground diesel locomotives
| London Underground diesel locomotives | |
|---|---|
| Stock type | Deep-level tube |
| Notes/references | |
 London transport portal | |
Diesel locomotives have seen limited use on the London Underground, largely because exhaust gases cannot be discharged when the vehicles are working in tunnels. A prototype diesel engine numbered DEL120 was built in 1939 from two 1915 stock motor cars, which was expected to be part of a batch of ten, but experience with
DEL120
Design
The design of a prototype
Construction
The prototype, which was the first electro-diesel locomotive to be constructed in Britain, was completed in November 1940, and was painted in Metropolitan 'Lake', with gold lining. It was intended to build ten similar locomotives, to replace the fleet of steam engines, and a further 18 withdrawn motor cars were stored at Cockfosters depot with this in mind. The construction of further locomotives was delayed by the outbreak of the
Service
DEL120 entered normal service in 1941, but was not a success, as the complicated operating system resulted in frequent breakdowns and repairs. It was used initially around Watford, and was transferred to Hainault to work ballast trains after an overhaul in 1952. It was moved to Golders Green depot temporarily, to operate a works train while an experimental ground wheel lathe was installed. The diesel engine was removed in 1954, after which it was only used for shunting, initially at Hainault and later at Acton. It was not ideal as a shunting engine, as visibility from the cab was poor, and access difficult, and so it was idle from 1956, finally being scrapped in 1958.[1]
DL81-DL83
Three
The locomotives had a wheelbase of only 9 feet 8 inches (2.95 m), and this was too short to operate the track circuits. Since this made their use impracticable, each was permanently coupled to a tender, which consisted of a bogie removed from a redundant District line Q Stock car. The weight of the bogie was increased to 17 tons, and it was fitted with tripcocks and sleet brushes, so that it could be used for clearing snow and ice from the current rails. Although the tenders were permanently coupled to the locomotives, they carried separate numbers, and were identified as DT81, DT82 and DT83. The tender increased the wheelbase to 28 feet 6 inches (8.69 m).[2]
One locomotive was normally operational at each of the depots, with the third kept as a spare. Transfers between the works occurred when maintenance or repairs were necessary. Movement outside of the depots was severely restricted when the civil engineering department decided that the short wheelbase and 16-ton axle loading might cause overloading problems on a number of bridges.[2] Both the free end (front) of the locomotive and the tender were fitted with 'Ward' type couplers as well as normal buffers and couplings to allow them the couple to almost any Departmental rolling stock (at the time).
The locomotives had all been withdrawn from service by March 1993, as engineers trains were no longer operated from Neasden Depot.[3] Two locomotives were subsequently preserved; no. DL82 on the Mid-Norfolk Railway and no. DL83 on the Nene Valley Railway.[4] The third locomotive, no. DL81, was sold for further use with an industrial user.
| Number | Year Built | Builder | Type | Builder Number | Use | Sold to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL81 | 1968 | Rolls Royce | 0-6-0 | 10278 | Lillie Bridge shunters | Preserved at Rutland Railway Museum (Cottesmore) |
| DL82 | 1968 | Rolls Royce | 0-6-0 | 10272 | Neasden / Lillie Bridge | Preserved at Great Eastern Traction (Hardingham). |
| DL83 | 1967 | Rolls Royce | 0-6-0 | 10271 | Neasden / Lillie Bridge | Preserved at Nene Valley Railway |
Schöma
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Britta Lotta |
| 2 | Nikki |
| 3 | Claire |
| 4 | Pam |
| 5 | Sophie |
| 6 | Denise |
| 7 | Annemarie |
| 8 | Emma |
| 9 | Debora |
| 10 | Clementine |
| 11 | Joan |
| 12 | Melanie |
| 13 | Michele |
| 14 | Carol |
In connection with the construction of the
Following the completion of the Jubilee Line extension, ownership of the vehicles was transferred to London Underground Transplant. Numbers 1 and 5 have been modified by fitting Wedglock couplers so that they can be used to shunt tube stock, whilst numbers 3 and 6 have been fitted with emergency couplers.[7]
Leased locomotives
Class 66
Metronet contracted five newly built Class 66 locomotives from GB Railfreight in order to speed up track replacement works on the London Underground network. They were first used in August 2006, pulling engineering trains consisting of wagons and high-output track laying equipment nearly 440 yards (400 m) long. The locomotives are capable of hauling consists with a maximum length of 470 yards (430 m), thus reducing from 30 to 8 the number of trains needed to supply materials to relay a typical weekend possession of track, and as a consequence increasing the amount of track that can be renewed. One disadvantage of the heavier locomotives is that bridges on the District line needed to be strengthened to carry the extra weight. While working on the network, they are restricted to a maximum speed of 15 mph (24 km/h), since they are not fitted with tripcocks, and the signalling infrastructure is only designed to cope with trains having a maximum length of 150 yards (137 m).[8]
Sources
- Bruce, J. Graeme (1987). Workhorses of the London Underground. Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 0-904711-87-0.
- Hardy, Brian (1993). London Underground Rolling Stock (13th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-164-4.
- Hardy, Brian (2002). London Underground Rolling Stock (15th ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 978-1-85414-263-4.
References
- ^ a b c Bruce 1987, pp. 37–38
- ^ a b c Bruce 1987, pp. 38–39
- ^ Hardy 1993, p. 52.
- ^ "Corby Quarries 22 (DL83)". Nene Valley Railway. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "Rolling Stock Data Sheet 2nd Edition" (PDF). Transport for London. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ Hardy 2002, p. 56
- ^ Hardy 2002, p. 102.
- ^ "New GBRf fleet in action for Metronet Rail". The Railway Centre. 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 28 November 2006.
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