D6566 (33 048) and D6575 (33 057) are Class 33 locomotives, which were originally known as ‘Type 3’. There were 98 that were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company between 1960 and 1962. They both entered service on the Southern Region of British Railways in August 1961. The class is of diesel-electric design and was the first design to incorporate dual braking (air and vacuum) and Electric Train Heating as standard equipment.
D6566 worked mixed traffic on the Southern Region for 34 years until withdrawal in 1995. After a two-year period in store, it was acquired by one of the DEPG founder members. The locomotive arrived at Williton in May 1997 and worked its first train on the West Somerset Railway in October of that year, marking the first use of a (subclass) Class 33/0 in preservation.
D6575 also worked mixed traffic on the Southern Region for 35 years until withdrawal in 1996 following a bogie fire that damaged No. 2 traction motor and the electrical wiring at No.1 cab end. The loco passed through several owners during the following nine years, before being acquired by the owner of D6566 as a source of spares, arriving at Williton in September 2005 in a dilapidated state.
The loco was deemed as repairable and was restored by the DEPG, before going to Loughborough and then the East Somerset Railway for repairs, before entering service on the West Somerset Railway in 2012.
Technical Specification
- Engine: Sulzer 8LDA28 8-cylinder in-line turbocharged diesel
- Transmission: 4 x Crompton Parkinson traction motors
- Weight: 73 Tons
- Length: 51 ft
- Output: 1,550 hp at 850 rpm
- BR Power Rating: Type 3
- Speed: 85 mph
- Fuel Capacity: 800 gallons
- Wheels: Bo-Bo
Locomotives Status: Both Operational
ADDRESS
West Somerset Railway,The Railway Station,
Minehead Somerset,
TA24 5BG
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