Rhodesia Railways class DE2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rhodesia Railways class DE2
Power type Diesel
Builder English Electric
Career Rhodesia Railways
Class DE2
Number 1200 – 1234
First run June 22, 1955
Disposition most scrapped, two are preserved

Rhodesia Railways class DE2 are a type of diesel locomotive built for operations on Rhodesia Railways in the 1950s.

The first DE2, number 1200, entered service on 22 June 1955. Two batches were built by English Electric: numbers 1200 to 1222 by the Dick Kerr Works in Preston, and 1223-1234 by the Vulcan Foundry works, Newton-le-Willows in 1958. The power plant originally fitted was the EE 16SVT, but 8 were later fitted with ex-BR Class 40 V16 engines.

Class leader 1200 is now preserved in the Bulawayo Railway Museum, and 1207 at Sandstone Heritage Trust in South Africa.