British Rail Class 33

BRCW Type 3 British Rail Class 33
A Class 33 at Woking, c. 1978
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Serial number DEL92–DEL156, DEL169-DEL189, DEL157-DEL168 Build date 1960–1962 Total produced 98
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Bo′Bo′  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Wheel diameter 3 ft 7 in (1,090 mm) Minimum curve 4 chains (80.47 m) Wheelbase 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m) ​  • Bogie 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) Length 50 ft 9 in (15.47 m) Width Class 33/0 and 33/1: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) Class 33/2: 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) Height 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) Loco weight Class 33/0 – 73.8 long tons (75 t; 83 short tons) Class 33/1 – 77.6 long tons (79 t; 87 short tons) Class 33/2 – 74.4 long tons (76 t; 83 short tons) Fuel capacity 800 imp gal (3,600 L; 960 US gal) Prime mover Sulzer 8LDA28 Generator DC generator Traction motors DC traction motors Transmission Diesel electric MU working ★ Blue Star, 33/1 SR MU System Train heating Electric Train Heat Train brakes Dual (Air & Vacuum)
Performance figures Maximum speed 85 mph (137 km/h) Power output Engine: 1,550 bhp (1,156 kW) At rail: 1,215 hp (906 kW) Tractive effort Maximum: 45,000 lbf (200 kN) Continuous: 26,000 lbf (116 kN) Brakeforce 35 long tons-force (349 kN)
Career Operators Former British Rail (Southern and Eastern Regions) Direct Rail Services English, Welsh & Scottish Fragonset Railways Current West Coast Railways Various British heritage railways Class D15/1, D15/2; 15/6, 15/6A; Class 33, Class 34 (reserved, not used), Class 83/3 Numbers D6500–D6597; later 33001–33065, 33101–33 119, 33201–33212 Nicknames Cromptons (All locomotives) Bagpipes (33/1s only) Slim Jims (33/2s only) Axle load class Route availability 6 Disposition 3 still in service, 24 preserved, 2 stored, remainder scrapped

The British Rail Class 33, also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton, is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives, ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.

They were produced as a more powerful Type 3 (1,550 bhp) development of the 1,160 bhp Type 2 Class 26. This was achieved, quite simply, by removing the steam heating boiler and fitting a larger 8 cylinder version of the previous 6 cylinder engine. This was possible because of the traffic requirements of the Southern Region: locomotive-hauled passenger traffic depended on seasonal tourist traffic and was heavier in the summer, when carriage heating was not needed. In the winter, their expected use was to be for freight. Thus, they became the most powerful BR Bo-Bo diesel locomotive.^[1] The perennially unreliable steam heating boiler could also be avoided.

A total of 98 were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) and they were known as "Cromptons" after the Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment installed in them.^[2] Like their lower-powered BRCW sisters, the Class 26 and Class 27 locomotives, their bodywork and cab ends were of all steel construction. They were very similar in appearance to Class 26 locos, but carried Southern Region two-digit headcode blinds between the cab windows.

The original (1957) number sequence was D6500–D6597.^[2]