The
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
Class 31
diesel locomotive
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 whee ...
s, also known as the Brush Type 2 and previously as Class 30, were built by
Brush Traction
Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec.
History
Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works
Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...
from 1957-62. They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. Construction of the first locomotive was completed in the final week of September 1957, and the handing-over took place on 31 October.
The first Class 31 entered service in November 1957, after the launch of the
Class 20 locomotive and was one of the Pilot Scheme locomotives ordered by British Railways to replace steam traction.
Engines
They were originally built with
Mirrlees Mirrlees is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Hope Mirrlees (1887–1978), English translator, poet and novelist
*James Mirrlees (born 1936), Scottish economist
See also
* MAN Diesel
MAN Diesel SE was a German manufacturer of ...
JVS12T (D5500–D5519) and engines and Brush electrical equipment, but the engines were not successful and in 1964 D5677 was fitted with an
English Electric
N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail)
The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...
12SVT engine (similar to the 12CSVT used in the
Class 37 but without an intercooler) rated at . The trial proved successful, and between 1965 and 1969 the entire class was re-engined. The de-rated engine was used as it was the maximum the electrical system could accept.
Classification
The Mirrlees-engined locomotives were originally known as Class 30 under
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 ...
, with re-engined examples joining Class 31.
The class was originally intended for service on the
Eastern Region, but gradually became common in both the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia.
London Midland was created as a result of Gov ...
regions too.
Sub-classes
Several sub-classes of Class 31 exist:
* 31/0 - First batch of locos, fitted with Red Circle electro-magnetic
control equipment - withdrawn in the late 1970s as non-standard.
RA 5
* 31/1 - The standard locomotive, fitted with Blue Star electro-pneumatic control.
RA 5
* 31/4 - As Class 31/1 but fitted with Brush
Electric train heating
In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...
(ETH) apparatus, index 66.
RA 6
* 31/5 - Former 31/4 with the ETH isolated for Civil Engineers Department use. RA 6
* 31/6 - Standard locomotive through wired for ETH but without ETH apparatus. RA 5
Class 31/0
![Brush Type 2 D5513 (8315199876)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Brush_Type_2_D5513_%288315199876%29.jpg)
These first 20 locomotives, originally numbered D5500–D5519,
were always easily recognisable as they did not have the headcode box mounted on the roof above the cab, leading to the nickname "Skinheads". They were also nicknamed "Gurglers" from the noise of their engines, and "Toffee Apples" from the shape of the control key which had to be taken from cab to cab when changing ends. These pilot scheme locomotives were non-standard in having Electro-Magnetic Multiple-Working control equipment, and were limited to . After being involved in a serious collision D5518 was rebuilt in September 1967 as a standard locomotive, with indicator boxes, and blue star coupling code
They were allocated to
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
n sheds throughout their service, ending up allocated to
Stratford, their initial shed, and latterly sporting that depot's trademark silver roof. Upon withdrawal four locomotives
were converted at
Stratford into train pre-heating units. Locomotives 31 013, 31 002, 31 014 and 31 008 were renumbered ADB968013 to ADB968016 in the order given; ADB968014 was allocated to Bounds Green depot on the Great Northern main line and ADB968015 was based at
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
, while the remaining two were allocated to
Stratford.
Class 31/1
![31 Sharnbrook](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/31_Sharnbrook.jpg)
The first few locos externally had much in common with the original 31/0s as twenty lacked the roof mounted headcode box (D5520–29/35/39/42/47/51/52/55/56/59/62), and fifteen were also limited to (D5520–D5534), but were otherwise the same as subsequent locos. The whole sub-class had
steam heating
A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces.
...
boilers fitted, had the Blue Star Electro-Pneumatic multiple-working controls as found on many other BR classes. The Class 31/1s could be found on a variety of secondary and relief passenger duties as well as parcels and freight traffic. While used in
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, with locos allocated to
Stratford and
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
depots, they were found throughout the
Eastern Region of BR with
Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
sporting a large allocation along with the depots at
Tinsley,
Immingham
Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby.
The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...
and
Thornaby
Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Tees's southern bank. It is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 24,74 ...
. Locos were also allocated to
Bristol Bath Road and
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of Hammersmith, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London.
Together with neighbouring Park Royal, the area is intended to become the UK's largest regeneration scheme, the scale of which has led to ...
on the
Western Region, where they could be found working passenger trains as far west as Barnstaple and Paignton. In the early 1980s
Healey Mills and
Bescot
Bescot is an area of Walsall in the West Midlands of England.
It is served by Bescot Stadium railway station, adjacent to which is Bescot depot where locomotives are maintained. The Banks's Stadium was built in 1990 for Walsall F.C.
The area ...
on the
Midland Region also gained an allocation as replacements for
Class 25s.
Class 31/4
![31418 Birmingham NS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/31418_Birmingham_NS.jpg)
The Class 31/4s, numbered from 31 400 to 31 469, were conversions of 31/1s to which
electric train heating
In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...
(ETH) was fitted. They had an ETH index of 66, equivalent to 330 kW, which was sufficient to power trains of up to eleven
Mk 3 carriages. This allowed them to pre-heat long trains moving between depot and a station for a service to be worked by a larger locomotive. When passenger services were worked 31/4s they rarely exceeded four or five carriages. 330 kW accounted for about a third of the total electrical power output. When ETH was being supplied, the traction power output of the 31/4 subclass was therefore limited to around two-thirds of that of the non-ETH variants; this did not help the performance of an already somewhat underpowered locomotive.
Class 31/5
![Peterborough](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Peterborough._-_geograph.org.uk_-_61099.jpg)
In the late 1980s with increased use of "Sprinter" type units on previously loco hauled diagrams, there were ETH fitted Locomotives to spare and with this in mind, some Class 31's were selected to have their ETH cables removed from the front buffer beam. This was done to try to prevent passenger sectors of BR borrowing the locomotives from the Freight sectors, and to cut down on maintenance of surplus equipment. The re-numbering was achieved by simply adding 100 to the existing TOPS number i.e. 31 407 became 31 507. When the re-numbering was taking place, most locos were still in standard BR Blue livery and the 4 in the number was painted over and a 5 placed over the top. Some of the sub-class were painted into Civil Engineers all over Grey livery, although most were subsequently painted into the "Dutch" Yellow and Grey livery. Only 31 530 (Sister Dora), 31 544 (
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station.
History
Inception ...
) and 31 568 (The Engineman’s Fund) were named when numbered as a 31/5. 31 544 was also notable as the only one of the sub-class with the original "skinhead" style cabs without the route indicators on the roof.
Class 31/6
Only two locomotives (31601 and 31602, formerly 31 186 and 31 191 respectively
) received this modification, performed during their time with Fragonset Railways. This modification means they are through wired for Electric Train Heating (ETH) but cannot actually provide it. This means they can be coupled to a train behind another locomotive, and the front locomotive is still able to heat the train via the wiring on the 31/6. 31601 is now preserved at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway where it regularly operates trains
while 31602 was scrapped after being withdrawn.
Operation
Initial deliveries of Class 31/0 locomotives were to
Stratford depot in east London and deliveries continued with Class 31/1 locos going to 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
North Eastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
regions. Class 31s were first used on the
Western Region in 1969 when No. 5535 was allocated to
Old Oak Common
Old Oak Common is an area of Hammersmith, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London.
Together with neighbouring Park Royal, the area is intended to become the UK's largest regeneration scheme, the scale of which has led to ...
to work Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) trains into
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
.
Nicknames
The class were given a number of nicknames. The Class 31/0s were known as ''Toffee Apples'', due to the shape of the control lever. More common names for the whole class were ''Goyles'' (short for "gargoyles" referring to the ugliness of the design),
''Peds'' ("Another derogatory name associating the locos with pedal cars in terms of speed and pulling power")
and ''Gurglers'', after the sound they made.
Accidents and incidents
![Damaged Class 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Damaged_Class_31.jpg)
* On 11 September 1975,
31 150 was involved in a head-on collision at
Corby
Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...
Tunnel, with a loose brake van and coke wagons.
This locomotive was the first of the class to be withdrawn.
* On 3 January 1976, locomotive 31 241 was hauling a parcels train when a light engine ran into its rear at Worcester Tunnel Junction. Time interval working was in force at the time.
* On 25 February 1979, locomotive 31 421 was hauling an engineering train that was working under a possession between and ,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. The adjacent line was open to traffic. A crane in the engineering train was foul of the other line when it was struck by a passing passenger train. One person was killed and nine were injured.
* On 9 March 1986, locomotive No. 31 436 was hauling a passenger train that was in a head-on collision with two light engines at ,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
due to a signalman's error. One person was killed. Lack of training and a power cut were contributory factors.
* On 20 February 1987, a freight train ran away and was derailed by trap points at North Junction, Chinley. Locomotive No. 31 440 was hauling a train that collided with the wreckage.
* On 28 October 1988 two unmanned Class 31 locos (31 202 and 31 226), presumably with brakes not fully applied, rolled off together along a short siding at North London's
Staples Corner. After demolishing the buffer stop they ran down the embankment on to the
North Circular Road
The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecting ...
, although nobody was hurt. The second loco of the pair landed on the roof of the leading one, remaining precariously balanced. They were both withdrawn after the incident.
Commercial operators
English, Welsh & Scottish
Before the introduction of
Class 66,
English Welsh & Scottish (EWS) took control of the Class 31s from the
Mainline Freight
Mainline Freight was a trainload rail freight operator based in Islington, London, England with operations extending to Yorkshire in the north and Somerset in the west. It was formed from part of British Rail's Trainload Freight division as pa ...
and
Trainload Freight
Trainload Freight was the sector of British Rail responsible for trainload freight services. The division was subdivided into four sub-sectors; coal, petroleum, metals and construction.
It was formed in 1988 from the trainload operations of Bri ...
companies. 31 255 became the locomotive for the EWS livery paint trials but never ran on the main line and spent its life at Toton until being preserved in January 1999. 31 466 was repainted into EWS colours for the
Toton TMD
Toton Traction Maintenance Depot or Toton Sidings is a large traction maintenance depot located in Toton, Nottinghamshire. The TOPS depot code for the depot is TO. Before TOPS, the shed code was 16A (18A prior to 1963).
Prior to the 2021 Integr ...
open day in May 1998 and soon became the only one of the class to be in traffic running in the EWS colours until being preserved in February 2001. In their final days of EWS ownership, 31 110 (scrapped at TJ Thompson's, Stockton in April 2007) was repainted into BR green in the summer of 1999 and featured its original number D5528 to mark the end of their working lives with EWS and worked the last EWS class 31 hauled railtour. The final four EWS locomotives were withdrawn in February 2001. Of the two EWS liveried locos, both 31 255 and 31 466 are preserved, 31255 based at the
Mid Norfolk Railway
The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" ...
and 31 466 based at the
Dean Forest Railway
The Dean Forest Railway is a long heritage railway that runs between Lydney and Parkend in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
The route was part of the former Severn and Wye Railway which ran from Lydney to Cinderford. The society that ope ...
.
FM Rail
![31454 stabled at Westbury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/31454_stabled_at_Westbury.JPG)
In 1998,
Fragonset Railways
FM Rail was a railway charter company based in Derby, England. The company was formed when spot hire company Fragonset Railways and charter operator Merlin Rail merged. It went into administration in 2006.
History
Fragonset Railways
Fra ...
purchased four redundant Class 31 locomotives from EWS. The first of these, no. 31 452, was quickly repaired and repainted in a new black livery with a red mid-body band. It was quickly followed by nos. 31 459 and 31 468. Several more locomotives were also purchased, and in 1999, the first of two modified Class 31/6 locomotives re-entered traffic.
The Class 31/6 31 601 (ex 31 186) & 31 602 (ex 31 191) subclass is essentially a modified Class 31/1 locomotive with through electric-train heating wiring. This enables a Class 31/4 and Class 31/6 to work in multiple and still heat the train, even if the no-heat Class 31/6 is attached to the carriages.
In 1999, Fragonset won a short-term contract with
Silverlink
Silverlink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the North London Railways franchise from March 1997 until November 2007. At the end of 2007 Silverlink Metro services were taken over by Lond ...
for two locomotives to work in
top and tail
A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when in ...
mode with two
Mk. 1 carriages on the
Marston Vale Line. This was to cover for the non-availability of
Class 117 and
Class 121 diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
s. The trial was a success, and in 2000 it was repeated in the summer timetable. The locomotives were retained until displaced by more modern
Class 150/1 units cascaded from
Central Trains
Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007.
Overview
Created out of the Central division of ...
.
By this time, the Fragonset Class 31 fleet had expanded considerably to include three Class 31/1s, three Class 31/4s and two Class 31/6 locomotives. Regular work at this time included use hauling
Class 317
The British Rail Class 317 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited in two batches, 48 sets being produced in 1981–82 and 24 sets in 1985–87. They were the first of several classes o ...
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s from
West Anglia Great Northern
West Anglia Great Northern, commonly shortened to ''WAGN'', was a train operating company in England. It operated the West Anglia Great Northern franchise between January 1997 and March 2004, as well as the Great Northern franchise between Apri ...
's
Hornsey depot to
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
for use with
Thameslink
Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
. As units were still maintained at Hornsey, this meant regular workings between the two depots to swap units when maintenance was due. 31468 was broken up for spares, finally being scrapped 6 June 2018.
Mainline Rail
After the demise of FM Rail, several of its Class 31s passed to
Mainline Rail
ECT Mainline Rail was a British railway rolling stock hire and maintenance company.
It was one of several 'new' companies that sprang up after the demise of FM Rail at the end of 2006. A subsidiary of Ealing Community Transport, it had a base at ...
, operated by
RMS Locotec
RMS Looctec is a railway company based in Wolsingham, England. It has specialised in industrial railway management, infrastructure maintenance, and rolling stock leasing; one major customer was its former sister company and rail freight operator ...
. As of November 2008, four 31/4s and one 31/6 are owned by RMS Locotec, which is a subsidiary of
British American Railway Services
British American Railway Services (BARS) was a British locomotive and spot hire company. It was a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings.
The company was established in 2008 to acquire the rail assets of Ealing Community Transport.
BARS subsidiar ...
.
Nemesis Rail
31 128, an ex-Fragonset locomotive, is now owned by
Nemesis Rail
Nemesis Rail is a railway maintenance and spot-hire company. It is presently based in a depot on Derby Road, Burton upon Trent, that was formerly a British Rail wagon works that had been closed in the 1990s.
Nemesis Rail was founded in January ...
, based at
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...
.
Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
operated a fleet of three Class 31/1 locomotives, nos. 31 105/233/285, and one Class 31/4 locomotive, 31 465 to haul test trains around the network. The locomotives were purchased from
Fragonset Railways
FM Rail was a railway charter company based in Derby, England. The company was formed when spot hire company Fragonset Railways and charter operator Merlin Rail merged. It went into administration in 2006.
History
Fragonset Railways
Fra ...
, and overhauled at its
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
workshops. They were repainted in Network Rail's then new all-over yellow livery. 31 285 and 31 465 were offered for sale by tender in July 2015, and 31 233 and 31 105 in August 2018.
Prior to operating its own locomotives, Network Rail's predecessor,
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of ...
, had hired two Class 31 locomotives from Fragonset. These two locomotives, nos. 31 190 and 31 601, were repainted in Railtrack's blue and lime green livery. With the overhaul and entry into service of Network Rail's own locomotives, these two engines were returned to Fragonset. (They are now owned by
British American Railway Services
British American Railway Services (BARS) was a British locomotive and spot hire company. It was a subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings.
The company was established in 2008 to acquire the rail assets of Ealing Community Transport.
BARS subsidiar ...
, based at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.)
No. 31 106, formerly ''Spalding Town'', is privately owned by Howard Johnston, and after a period of lease to Fragonset, FM Rail, and RVEL which included extensive main line running for 11 years, including working as far north as Oban in Scotland, is based at the Weardale Railway. After inspection, it was successfully started on 17 October 2017 and moved under its own power for the first time in four years. Johnston purchased three more of the class from EWS, but they acquired new owners; 31 107 (scrapped by
C F Booth
C F Booth Ltd is a family-owned scrap metal and recycling business based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.
Operations
Clarence Frederick Booth founded the business in 1920, as a metal purchaser and trader. Over the company's history, t ...
at Rotherham in May 2009, following a staged collision with a
Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...
on a
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
during
''Top Gear'' Series 9, Episode 5 in 2006), 31 289 (preserved at the
Northampton & Lamport Railway
The Northampton and Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly north of Northampton.
Overview
...
), and 31 301 (scrapped).
The last active Network Rail class 31 was 31233, with it operating its last test trains in March 2017.
In August 2018 Network Rail offered its final two class 31's (233/105) up for sale, both being sold into preservation.
Eastern Rail Services
31452
Preservation
Currently preserved
29 class 31 locomotives have been purchased, and preserved, for use on
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
s around the UK. Of note are the first built, no. 31 018, and the last built, no. 31 327. There were a further 10, which have subsequently been scrapped.
Note: * = "skinheads"
Preserved then scrapped
In addition, the following locomotives were previously preserved, but have since been scrapped.
* 31 113 ex-
Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway with its headquarters and main station at Chinnor in South Oxfordshire, England. It runs along the foot of the Chilterns escarpment. Although a few ...
- scrapped in June 2008 at EMR Kingsbury after death of owner
* 31 123 ex-
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds, England.
The GWSR has restored and reo ...
- scrapped in 2006 by A1A Locomotives
* 31 144 ex-
Weardale Railway
The Weardale Railway is an independently-owned British single-track branch line heritage railway between , Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Weardale Railway began services on 23 May 2010, but decided to run special trains r ...
- scrapped in 2014. Both cabs preserved by the South Wales Cab Group, Bridgend.
* 31 166 ex-
Wensleydale Railway
The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in stages by different railway companies and originally extended to railway station on the Settle-Carlisle line. Since ...
- scrapped in 2009
* 31 188 ex-
Wensleydale Railway
The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in stages by different railway companies and originally extended to railway station on the Settle-Carlisle line. Since ...
- scrapped in 2008
* 31 410 ex-
Stainmore Railway
The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) built a railway line linking the Stockton & Darlington Railway near Bishop Auckland railway station, Bishop Auckland with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (the West Coast Main Line) at Tebay ...
- scrapped in September 2014 at CF Booths Rotherham
* 31 421 ex-
Midland Railway Butterley
Midland may refer to:
Places Australia
* Midland, Western Australia
Canada
* Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Midland, Ontario
India
* Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
- scrapped in 2007 after deal fell through for loco to get power unit ex. 31 405
* 31 442 ex-
Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line.which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. ...
- scrapped in 2004
* 31 467 ex-
East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street railway station, Bury Bolton Street, ...
- scrapped in 2008 after being stripped by metal thieves.
* 31 468 ex-
Weardale Railway
The Weardale Railway is an independently-owned British single-track branch line heritage railway between , Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Weardale Railway began services on 23 May 2010, but decided to run special trains r ...
- scrapped in June 2018.
* 31 556 ex-
East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street railway station, Bury Bolton Street, ...
- scrapped in 2010.
Gallery
File:31018 at National Railway Museum.JPG, 31018, at the National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...
in York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, on 3 June 2004. This was the first locomotive of the Class to be built in 1957. It was withdrawn from service in 1976. It currently carries BR Blue
The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating u ...
livery. Note the absence of over-window head code panel, which were only omitted from the first few locomotives.
File:31271 'Stratford 1840-2001' at York Railfest.JPG, 31271 ''Stratford 1840-2001'', pictured on 3 June 2004 at the York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
Railfest held to celebrate the 200th anniversary of railways. Under the auspices of A1A Locomotives Limited, the locomotive will be spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons on the Llangollen Railway
The Llangollen Railway () is a volunteer-run heritage railway in Denbighshire, North Wales, which operates between Llangollen and Corwen. The standard gauge line, which is long, runs on part of the former Ruabon – Barmouth GWR route that c ...
in North Wales.
File:31128 'Charybdis' at Bristol Temple Meads.JPG, 31128 ''Charybdis
Charybdis (; grc, Χάρυβδις, Khárybdis, ; la, Charybdis, ) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. She, with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas. Scholarship locates her in t ...
'' at Bristol Temple Meads
Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...
on 23 July 2004. This locomotive was owned by Fragonset Railways
FM Rail was a railway charter company based in Derby, England. The company was formed when spot hire company Fragonset Railways and charter operator Merlin Rail merged. It went into administration in 2006.
History
Fragonset Railways
Fra ...
, but hired to Wessex Trains
Wessex Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wessex Trains franchise from October 2001 until March 2006, when the franchise was merged with the Great Western and Thames Valley f ...
to haul trains from Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
to Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and Weymouth.
File:31255 at Colne Valley Railway.jpg, 31255 at the Colne Valley Railway
The Colne Valley Railway is a heritage railway based at Castle Hedingham Station, near Halstead in Essex, England. The railway consists of a long running line, with a fully reconstructed station, signal box and railway yard.
History
The ra ...
in EWS livery
File:31414 at Wirksworth.JPG, InterCity liveried 31414 running brake van rides on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a long heritage railway in Derbyshire. The headquarters of the railway centre on Wirksworth station, and services operate in both directions between Wirksworth and Duffield and from Wirksworth to Rave ...
.
File:31270 Regional Railways livery.JPG, Regional Railways
Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''.
Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...
livery 31270 at Peak Rail
Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales.
The preserved railway line is over 3½ miles (5.6 km) in ...
, Rowsley
Rowsley () is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as at the 2011 census was 507.
It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the P ...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
.
File:31285 Rugeley.JPG, Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
31285 speeds through Rugeley
Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nort ...
working a test train.
File:DCR 31601 at Tupton.jpg, 31601 in Devon and Cornwall Railways
DCRail (DCR), legally named Devon & Cornwall Railways Limited, is a British train operator. It has been active as a freight operating company since May 2011.
DCR was founded in November 2003, and was as subsidiary of the British American Railway ...
green livery, working a Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
test train south of Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
.
Media
![31107 at Derby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/31107_at_Derby.jpg)
On 21 August 2006, Network Rail and the
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
programme ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' staged and filmed a crash between a Class 31 locomotive (31 107) and a family car in order to promote rail safety. The off-limits event was the first of its type for 10 years and took place at
Hibaldstow
Hibaldstow is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,433. It is situated on the B1206 road, south from Brigg and the M180. The site of the deserted medieval vill ...
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
near Scawby in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, where the B1206 road crosses the Barnetby–Gainsborough railway line. Two Class 31 locomotives and a parked
Renault Espace
The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...
were used during the crash.
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
's 31 233 was used to propel 31 107 up to a speed of . The rear locomotive slowed down to a stop and 31 107 continued to coast at a speed of 70–80 miles per hour into the road vehicle parked across the eastbound 'up' line. For the crash, locomotive 31 107 received a special black livery with the slogan "Level crossings — Don't run the risk" along the side in white lettering. The final 5 minute segment was originally scheduled for 4 February 2007 but was rescheduled, apparently due to a fatal crossing crash at Dingwall two days earlier. It was eventually aired on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
on 25 February 2007, shortly after the
Grayrigg derailment
The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg, Cumbria, in the North West England region of the United Kingdom. The accident investigation conc ...
. A repeat of the programme was pulled following a further level-crossing accident.
Locomotive No. 31 120 appears in
The Railway Series
''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...
book
Gordon the High-Speed Engine.
Model railways
The first models of Class 30 locomotives were produced by
Triang The term Triang can refer to
* Teriang, a town in Pahang, Malaysia.
* Tri-ang Railways, a British toy trains manufacturer.
* Lines Bros, a company using the Tri-ang brand name.
{{disambiguation ...
in TT scale, in 1960.
In 1962
Tri-ang launched its first version of the BR Class 31 (with headcode boxes) in
OO gauge
OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard-gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to 1 foot, ...
.
Airfix model railways also chose to produce a Class 31 when
Airfix
Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...
entered the model train market in 1975.
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
also produced a OO scale model, in both "skinhead" and headcode box versions.
Hornby
Hornby may refer to:
Places In England
* Hornby, Lancashire
* Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire
* Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere
* Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...
have produced a finescale OO scale model since 2004; both body styles are available in various liveries. Hornby have also produced a basic representation of the prototype as part of their Railroad range in BR Blue, and BR Green whilst past examples have carried a variety of liveries. On 23 February 2022 Accurascale announced their own OO model, due out in 2023.
An N Gauge model of the Class 31 is currently produced by
Graham Farish
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
Graham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.
History
The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway busin ...
(in both "skinhead" and headcode box versions) with re-tooling for an updated model taking place in 2012; Lima also produced an N scale model ("skinhead" only).
Heljan
Heljan A/S is a Danish model railway company based in Søndersø. Originally specialising in decorations and accessories for model railways, it has now also developed a substantial range of rolling stock. It has diversified into modelling the Bri ...
have released an O gauge model based on the 31s in their early condition, March 2013.
References and sources
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
The Class 31 Photo GalleryClass 31 gen site for photos, workingsVideo
{{Authority control
A1A-A1A locomotives
31
Brush Traction locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1957
British Rail departmental locomotives
Standard gauge locomotives of Great Britain
Diesel-electric locomotives of Great Britain