D1661 ‘North Star’ (also known as 47 077, 47 613 and 47 840) was built at Crewe Works in 1965 to a design that had been developed by Brush Traction, in conjunction with British Railways.
It was allocated to Landore in February 1965, before being reallocated to Old Oak Common in April 1973. It moved to Cardiff Canton in October 1976 and Bristol Bath Road in May 1988, before it was withdrawn in May 2007.
The locomotive carries the distinction of being the last locomotive scheduled to haul a cross-country express service on the UK network in August 2002.
The locomotive was purchased by DEPG in 2007 for preservation and on leaving main line service, went first to Brush Traction at Loughborough for a light overhaul, a repaint into original two-tone green livery and for the reinstatement of dual braking. In May 2007, the loco worked a final special charter train from Derby to Minehead.
Between 2007 and 2018, D1661 regularly worked on the West Somerset Railway.
The loco was withdrawn from service at the end of the 2018 season due to deterioration of the bodywork, in particular the roof, and has since been repaired and has been outshopped in British Railways blue, carrying her TOPS designation 47 077 and the familiar British Railways double-arrow logo and red-backed nameplates, replicating the livery that she carried when allocated to Cardiff Canton depot in the late 1970s.
Technical Specification
- Engine: Sulzer 12LDA28C 12-cylinder twin-bank turbocharged and intercooled diesel
- Transmission: 6 x Brush TM64-68 traction motors
- Weight: 118 tons
- Length: 64 ft
- Output: 2,580 hp at 800 rpm
- BR Power Rating: Type 4
- Speed: 95 mph
- Fuel Capacity: 1,295 gallons (long-range tanks fitted in 1989)
- Wheels: Co-Co
- Tractive Effort: 60,000 lbs (maximum)
Locomotive Status: Operational
The loco is currently on hire to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
ADDRESS
West Somerset Railway,The Railway Station,
Minehead Somerset,
TA24 5BG
TELEPHONE
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