British Rail's Class 27 comprised 69 diesel locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) during 1961 and 1962. They were a development of the earlier Class 26; both were originally classified as the BRCW Type 2.

Usage

Original allocations were to the Scottish Region, the Eastern Region, and the London Midland Region, but all soon ended up in Scotland. For many years they were extensively used on the West Highland Line. The last locomotives were withdrawn from service in 1987, being outlived by the older Class 26s, whose less powerful engines were more reliable.

Edinburgh-Glasgow

By the late 1960s, the Class 126 DMUs operating the Edinburgh Waverley - Glasgow Queen Street express service were becoming unreliable. They were replaced in 1971 by specially adapted Class 27s fitted with push-pull equipment to “top and tail” rakes of six Mark 2a carriages. At one end would be a Class 27/1, at the other a Class 27/2 (which provided train heating). The very intensive “push-pull” service was demanding on the locomotives and reliability started to suffer. The 27/2s, especially, appeared prone to fire damage, especially from their ETH alternators. The push-pull sets were replaced in 1980 by single Class 47/7s at one end of a rake of Mark 3 carriages and a DBSO. The spare Class 27s were then transferred for use on Edinburgh-Dundee semi-fast passenger services, until their replacement by Class 150 Sprinter DMUs in 1987.

Technical details

• Introduced: 1961
• Weight: 71-76 tonnes
• Engine: Sulzer 6LDA28-B of at 750 rpm
• Transmission: Electric, four GEC WT459 traction motors
• Maximum tractive effort:
• Driving wheel diameter:
• Coupling code: Blue star (electro-pneumatic)
• Train heating:
• As built, Steam generator
• Class 27/2, Electric, Houchin 120 kW alternator powered by Deutz 8-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine, type F8L413

Preservation

Eight locomotives have been preserved.

Numbers (current in bold)				Livery	Location
D5347	27001			BR Blue	Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
D5351	27005			BR Blue	Bo'ness and Kinneil railway
D5353	27007			BR Green	Mid-Hants Railway
D5370	27024			BR Green	Caledonian Railway (Brechin)
D5394	27050	27106		BR Green	Bo'ness and Kinneil railway
D5401	27056	27112		BR Green	Northampton & Lamport Railway
D5410	27059	27123	27205	BR Blue	Bo'ness and Kinneil railway
D5386	27066	27103	27212	BR Blue	Dean Forest Railway

References

Sources

• Marsden, Colin J. Motive power recognition:1 Locomotives. Shepperton: Ian Allen Ltd.
• Oakley, Michael BR Class 26/27 Diesels. Truro: D Bradford Barton.
• Tayler, A.T.H BR Locomotives:2 Sulzer Types 2 and 3. Ian Allan Ltd.
• Williams, Alan; Percival, David British Railways Locomotives and Multiple Units including Preserved Locomotives 1977. Shepperton: Ian Allen Ltd.
• Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1983 edition

External links

• 27056 Restoration in progress gallery
• Caledonian Railway Diesel Group, owners of 27024