The British Rail Class 09 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 arrang ...

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 ...

designed primarily for

shunting Shunting may refer to: * Ribosome shunting, a mechanism in protein biosynthesis * Shunting (rail), a rail transport operation * Shunting (neurophysiology), a concept in neurophysiology * Shunting (sailing), a maneuver for sailing upwind See a ...

and short-distance freight trips along branch lines. The 26 locos are nearly identical to the more numerous Class 08 shunting locomotives but have different gearing, giving a higher top speed of 27.5 mph (44 km/h) at the expense of a lower

tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term t ...

. They were introduced from 1959 to 1962 and latterly operated in the

Southern Region of British Railways The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south ...

, although some of the class were originally allocated to depots in the Midlands and North. Further locomotives were converted from Class 08 in 1992 and, following this and

privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

in 1997, the class has been distributed much further afield.

Passenger operations

Although not normally considered for passenger work, Class 09s were recorded working passenger trains between Clapham Junction and Kensington Olympia when the booked Class 33 diesel was unavailable. They were also used on Railtours which needed to depart

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 ...

heading along the West Coastway Line or ''vice versa''. To achieve this the 09 worked between Brighton and Preston Park, allowing the main tour locomotive to work the train forward via the Cliftonville tunnel and Hove. The connection to the West Coastway Line at Brighton can only be used by four car trains due to the arrangement of the

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

and track.

Liveries

Post-Privatisation

The following liveries have been carried since the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

: * 09006/007/019/024 carried Mainline Freight livery * 09008 in EWS livery * 09025 in Connex Livery * 09204 in

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Railfreight grey and is currently in the Knottingley area working at EWS Depot

Sub-classes

The original 26 locomotives (built 1959–1962) became sub-class 09/0 when further locomotives were modified from Class 08s in 1992 which became subclasses Classes 09/1 and 09/2. There were variations, which were given the following TOPS design codes:

Class 09/0

Classes 09/1 & 09/2

Preservation

12 members of the class have been preserved * 09001 Ex DB Schenker 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) i ...

( Heritage Shunters Trust) * D3668 (09004) at Swindon & Cricklade Railway * D3721 (09010) at South Devon Railway * D4100 (09012) ''Dick Hardy'' at Severn Valley Railway * 09015 at

Avon Valley Railway The Avon Valley Railway (AVR) is a three-mile-long heritage railway based at Bitton station in South Gloucestershire, England, between Bristol and Bath and is operated by a local group: The Avon Valley Railway Company Ltd. The railway follows t ...

* 09017 at

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 ...

* 09018 at Bluebell Railway * 09019 at

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which i ...

* 09024 at East Lancashire Railway * D4113 (09025) at

Lavender Line The Lavender Line is a heritage railway based at Isfield Station, near Uckfield in East Sussex, England. History The Lavender Line was originally part of the Lewes to Uckfield Railway opened to the public on 18 October 1858. This independen ...

* 09026 ''Cedric Wares'' at Spa Valley Railway * 09107 at Severn Valley Railway

Model railways

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, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

produced a range of Class 09s in OO gauge. Hornby Railways and Bachmann have also produced 00 gauge models of Class 09 locomotives.

References and sources

References

Sources

* *

External links

SEMG gallery
{{British Rail Locomotives 09 English Electric locomotives C locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1959 Diesel-electric locomotives of Great Britain Shunting locomotives