The British Rail Class 05 is a class of

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

diesel-mechanical A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

shunters built by

Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & S ...

from 1955 to 1961. They were used on the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and Scottish Regions of British Railways. The first two batches were delivered as 11136-11143 (later renumbered D2550-D2557) and 11161-11176 (later renumbered D2558-D2573). Subsequent locomotives were delivered, new, as D2574-D2618. The

British Rail Class D2/5 The British Rail Class D2/5 was a locomotive commissioned by British Rail in England. It was a diesel powered locomotive in the pre-TOPS period built by Andrew Barclay with a Gardner engine. History The Eastern and North Eastern Regions (E&N ...

built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. were reported in several sources as having received the

TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...

class number 05, though this was in error, and they are not listed as such in the latest works by Marsden, 2011.

Overview

Most were withdrawn early (due to a surplus of shunting locomotives, resulting from the network cuts of the 1960s) and replaced by classes 03 and 04, with the exception of D2554, which was transferred to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, in 1966, to aid the electrification of the

Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...

. Owing to its apparent suitability for working on the island, it was retained in working order and given the

number 05001. It was transferred to departmental stock in 1981, being given the number 97803, and remained in service until 1985, when it was withdrawn and sold to the

Isle of Wight Steam Railway The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the Isle of Wight. The railway passes through of countryside from to station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depot ...

Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backers ...

has a similar-looking industrial example numbered DL26, but it is not a BR class 05. It is one of a batch of four built by Hunslet in 1958 with a 264 hp National Gas engine and a higher bonnet line. DL26 and its sister DL25 worked in the NCB East Midlands area at Pleasley Pit, from where it was acquired for preservation. It is currently painted in original green livery but with an early BR emblem on the cab sides. It was the main shunter on the site until the arrival of a Class 08, and it still sees occasional use for shunting. It cannot be used on passenger trains due to its lack of vacuum brakes. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway's own 05 001/D2554 can be seen frequently but it cannot run passenger trains, due to the Island's unique vintage air braked

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

Technical details

The engine is a Gardner 8-cylinder, 4 stroke 8L3 of 204 hp (152 kW) connected to a Hunslet 4-speed

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

through a Hunslet

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

friction clutch. Final drive is via a Hunslet reversing gearbox and

jackshaft A jackshaft, also called a ''countershaft'', is a common mechanical design component used to transfer or synchronize rotational force in a machine. A jackshaft is often just a short stub with supporting bearings on the ends and two pulleys, gear ...

Preservation

D2587 as preserved in 2012. Four class 05 locomotives have been preserved: * D2554 "Nuclear Fred" at

. This engine has, at various times, carried the numbers 11140, 05001 and 97803 * D2578 "Cider Queen", privately preserved by the D2578 Locomotive Group at Moreton Business Park, Herefordshire. * D2587 by

Heritage Shunters Trust Heritage Shunters Trust (HST) is a trading name of ''The South Yorkshire Railway Co. Ltd.'' which was founded in 1989. Overview HST is a railway preservation society and is the only preservation society that specialises in the preservation of ...

* D2595 at

Ribble Steam Railway The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge Heritage railway, preserved railway in Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston, Lancashire, Preston Docks. The railway began by h ...

Models

Class 05 is being made as a ready-to-run model in OO gauge by Silver Fox Models, 4mm OO gauge by Heljan (August 2015) and in 7mm O gauge in September 2017.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Images of 05001 at Sandown in 1976
*

* ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/cookephotography/2227365032/ Picture of 05001 at Sandown {{British Rail Locomotives 05 Hunslet locomotives C locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1955 Standard gauge locomotives of Great Britain