British Rail Class 25 - Background

Background

The Class 24 locomotives were the precursor of the Class 25 design but after the delivery of their first few units it became apparent that the speed ceiling of 75 mph (121 km/h) was unduly restrictive and the provision of a bit more power would be advantageous. In the course of normal development the power output of the Sulzer six-cylinder engine had been increased by 90 hp to give a continuous traction output of 1,250 bhp (930 kW) at 750 rpm by the introduction of charge air cooling and the first locomotives to use this became known as Class 25 locomotives.

The Class 25 locos were primarily designed for freight work, but a significant number were fitted with boilers for heating passenger trains. Throughout the 1970s they could be found at work across the whole of the British Rail network although the Eastern and Southern Regions never had an allocation. Though regular performers into the early 1980s on Crewe–Cardiff passenger trains, they are best known in that respect for their use on the summer Saturday trains to Aberystwyth, a task they relinquished in 1984. The final Class 25 locomotive was withdrawn from service in March 1987.

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