British Rail Class ES1

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British Rail Class ES1
Builder: British Thomson-Houston, with mechanical parts sub-contracted to Brush, for North Eastern Railway
Introduced: 1905
TOPS numbers: (NER) 1-2; (LNER) 6480-6481; (BR) 26500-26501
Operators: British Rail

British Rail Class ES1 was a class of two electric locomotives commissioned by the North Eastern Railway in 1905. They were of steeplecab design.

NER No.1, Locomotion museum, Shildon
NER No.1, Locomotion museum, Shildon

Both locomotives passed to the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923 and to British Railways in 1948. This was a class of electrically powered locomotives in the pre-TOPS period.

[edit] Specification

  • Numbers: (NER) 1-2; (LNER) 6480-6481; (BR) 26500-26501
  • Wheel arrangement: Bo-Bo
  • Introduced: 1905
  • Builder: British Thomson-Houston, with mechanical parts sub-contracted to Brush, for North Eastern Railway
  • Weight: 56 tons
  • Motors: 4x160hp, British Thomson-Houston
  • Total power: 640hp (477 KW)
  • Supply: 600V DC third-rail and overhead
  • Max speed: 25 mph (according to the National Railway Museum, who also state this is unverified)

[edit] Usage

These locomotives worked the one mile freight branch from Trafalgar Yard to Quayside Yard on Tyneside. This included a 1 in 27 gradient and a single line tunnel on a sharp curve which made it difficult to work with steam locomotives. Current was collected from a third rail in the tunnel and from overhead wires in the yards. The electric locomotives were replaced by diesel shunters when operations changed from electric to diesel on February 29th 1964 but number 26500 is preserved in the collection of the National Railway Museum, Locomotion.

[edit] Sources

  • The Electric Locomotives of the North Eastern Railway by K. Hoole, published by the Oakwood Press in 1988, ISBN 0 85361 367 2