The Railway

CLASS 03 No. D2133

In the 1950’s the freight network of Britain’s Railways included hundreds of miles of industrial and dock sidings, much of it with weight restrictions and/or tight curves restricting what locomotives could pass over it.

British Railways therefore took delivery of large numbers of smaller diesel shunting locomotives to tackle these jobs. The British Rail Class 03 locomotive was one of British Railways' most successful 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunters. 230 were built at Doncaster and Swindon works between 1957 and 1962, and were numbered D2000-D2199 and D2370-D2399 (later 03004 to 03399)

Taunton loco shed were allocated a batch of 03’s for work in such areas as Bridgwater Docks. D2133 was one of these and when the docks closed she was purchased by British Cellophane Ltd in Bridgwater to shunt in their internal rail system in the town. When rail traffic to the works ceased the engine was presented to the West Somerset Railway and is now normally used for shunting at Minehead. Apart from a few weeks sojourn in Swindon and Bristol Bath Road, the locomotive has not worked outside Somerset in its story to date. The Locomotive still exhibits a shedplate of 83B (Taunton)

Current Status: Operational

Technical Specification

Type: Diesel-mechanical

Engine: Gardner 8L3 (Same engine as the Class 04, Class 05 and Class 06)

Transmission: Wilson - Drewry CA5 R7, 5-speed epicyclic gearbox, RF11 spiral bevel reverse and final drive unit. Weight: 73 Tons

Length: 26 ft (7.92m)

Output: Engine: 204 hp (152 kW) At Rail: 152 hp (113 kW)

BR Power Rating: Type 1

Speed: 28.5 mph

Fuel Capacity: 300 imp. gal. (1400l)

Wheels: 0 – 6 - 0

History