The British Rail
Class 33 also known as the
BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of
Bo-Bo diesel
locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the
Southern Region of
British Railways between 1960 and
1962.
A total of 98 class 33s were built by the
Birmingham Railway
Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW), and they were called
"Cromptons" after the
Crompton
Parkinson electrical equipment installed in them.Like their
lower-powered BRCW sisters (BR Classes
26 and
27), their bodywork and cab ends were
of all steel construction.
The original (1957) number sequence was D6500—D6597.
Early years
They began service on the South-Eastern Division of the Southern
Region but rapidly spread across the whole Region, and many were
used much further afield - an example being the weekly Cliffe
(Kent) to Uddingston (Glasgow) cement train which was worked
throughout by a pair of the locomotives.
This service gained
some notoriety when the derailment of a north-bound train resulted
in the destruction of DP2, the
Class 50 prototype, near Thirsk
N.Yorkshire. They were built with the ability only to supply
the new type of
electrical train
heating, not the more traditional steam heating which most
passenger carriages then used, so in the early years their use as
winter-time passenger locomotives was restricted to the more modern
passenger carriages. Early delivery problems and a shortage of
Steam locomotives resulted in many class 24 locomotives being
borrowed from the Midland Region. The Southern region was
un-accustomed to the high maintenance required and they rapidly
became unpopular but pairing of them with class 33 while
electrically heated Mk1 coaching stock was delivered (with class 24
providing steam heat) was common. With the advent of modern stock
and warmer seasons, class 24 was sent back home with the Southern
as pleased to see them gone of them as the Midland were to have
them back.
Class 33s today
Most of these locomotives have now been withdrawn from active duty,
though some of preserved members are in
railtour services with heritage spot hire rail
companies
West Coast Railway
Company and
Cotswold Rail, whilst
others remain operational on preserved
heritage railways.
Sub-classes
There were three different types, later known as Class 33/0, 33/1
and 33/2.
Class 33/0 - standard locomotives
A total of 86 were built as standard locomotives, and the remainder
of this type which were not converted into Class 33/1 (see below)
were classified 33/0 under the
TOPS numbering
scheme as 33001-33065.
The remaining two locomotives did not survive
long enough to receive TOPS numbers: in 1964, D6502 ran through
signals at Itchingfield
near Horsham
on a freight
working, running into another freight train that was ahead of it -
damage was so extensive that the loco was cut up on site.
In 1968,
D6576 was involved in a collision at Reading
, but was not considered worth repairing and was cut
up at Eastleigh Works.
Class 33/1 - push-pull fitted locomotives
While
third rail electrification was expanding
on the Southern region, it was not considered to be justified to
extend beyond Bournemouth
, and so in 1966, D6580 was fitted with experimental
push-pull apparatus and high-level
brake pipes and jumper
cables to make it compatible with Multiple Unit stock.
Tests were carried out on the
Oxted Line
using a 6-coach rake of unpowered multiple unit coaches (designated
TC, the T standing for Trailer). The use of this equipment removed
the necessity for the locomotive to run around to the front of its
train at each terminus, as it could be controlled from the driving
position of a TC unit and hence could propel its train from the
rear. This prototype was the only member of Class 33 to run in
green livery with this Multiple Unit control equipment (not to be
confused with preserved members of Class 33/1 that have been
repainted into green). Following successful completion of trials,
D6580 and eighteen other members of the class entered Eastleigh
works in
1968 to be converted Class 33/1,
fitted with a modified version of the
push-pull apparatus (fully compatible with
Class 73 Electro-Diesels) and
painted in the new
BR corporate blue with
full yellow ends. With the advent of TOPS, these modified
locomotives were numbered 33101–33119 and settled into sterling
work, proving themselves highly useful and reliable. Early during
the roll-out of
TOPS,
Class 34
was earmarked for these modified Class 33 locomotives but was never
used.
Class 33/2 - narrow-bodied locomotives
For the
Hastings Line, the last 12
locomotives were built with bodies which were narrower than
standard to fit the narrower "Hastings" profile, a change that cost
BRCW dearly. The whole body structure had to be re-designed and new
construction
jigs constructed by BRCW.
Already in financial trouble, they were never likely to recoup the
design costs on such a small production run and this hastened their
demise as a locomotive builder. These locomotives acquired the
nickname 'Slim Jims'.
Push-pull operation
Trains
operating on the line started at London
Waterloo
, where they were powered by third-rail electric traction via Winchester and
Southampton until Bournemouth. They generally consisted of
twelve car trains with a
4
REP electric multiple unit at the rear while the leading units
would be a pair of unpowered
4TC. At Bournemouth, the REP at the
rear would be detached and the TCs were taken on to Poole and
Weymouth by a
Class 33/1. The
electric unit remained at Bournemouth or returned to London with
another train. At Weymouth, rather than the 33/1 running round the
TCs, it propelled them back to Bournemouth where they would be
attached to a waiting London bound REP. Occasionally only one TC
would be taken to Weymouth with the other being left with the REP
at Bournemouth.
The section of route from
Weymouth to the ship terminal at
the
quay is actually
tramway, following, and largely in the middle of,
the harbour road. The quay spur did not pass through the station
proper, but diverged westwards at the throat; thus it was not
possible for
boat trains to call at
Weymouth station. Boat trains were usually made up of conventional
coaching stock and the locomotive would
run-round its train on arrival at the
sea-terminal. In later years, 4TC units were employed which, being
able to control the locomotive remotely, removed the necessity for
the run-round.
The usual configuration was 4TC+4TC+Loco with the locomotive at the
seaward end. Light traffic would result in 4TC+Loco, and in rare
operational circumstances 4TC+Loco+4TC was noted. The 4TC+Loco+4TC
combination was not preferred, as it led to operational
difficulties and inconvenience to waiting passengers who found
themselves confronted with the side of the locomotive when their
train has drawn to a halt.
This external link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vssr2Uf1DM shows
operational footage from the 1980s note the bell and beacon. The
casual abandon with which road users and train jockey for position
is also of note - such action would be unthinkable in modern
HSE-aware Britain! The second external link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6XEVvVRB_4 shows the novel methods
used to remove fouling vehicles and the police escort in absence of
the bell and beacon on a railtour.
Tramway safety
Any trains operating over public thoroughfare tramway are required
to be fitted with warning equipment for the general public. Two
warning units were built and housed in a cabinet at the track side
of the quay spur at the throat of Weymouth yard. This equipment
comprised a yellow box which fitted on a lamp bracket on the cab
front, and had an amber rotating
beacon and
bell which served to warn street traffic and pedestrians. The bell
did not ring continuously but could be controlled by the driver.
Each member of Class 33/1 and all TC stock had a small socket where
the bell/beacon units plugged in and drew power from the train
systems. Trains for the quay would halt at the station throat, and
the warning equipment was attached and tested by the
train guard. In addition, trains on the tramway
were escorted by railway staff with flags, clearing the route of
people and badly parked cars all the way to the point at which the
tramway reverted to conventional track adjacent to the station. On
arrival at the ship terminal the guard would move the warning
equipment to the other end of the train in readiness for the return
journey.
Gallery
Image:D33025.jpg|Class 33/0 33 025
Sultan at
WeymouthImage:33103_derby_130407_d.adkins.jpg|A side view of a
Class 33/1, number 33103, stabled at Derby on 13 April 2007. This
loco is in
Fragonset livery.Image:33208 at
Dorchester.jpg|Class 33/2 No. 33 208, one of those built with
narrower bodies, at Dorchester with a nuclear flask train
Preservation
24 examples have survived into preservation (all of them in
England).
A list of preserved Class 33 locomotives and their locations is
available here
-http://preserved-diesels.co.uk/engines/index_33.htm
References
Sources
External links
Wikis
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