#3654· BR-type 47
British Rail Class 47
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Brush Traction· from 1962· class of 512 Co-Co diesel electric locomotives
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4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Hugh llewelyn D1661 (5558595690): Hugh Llewelyn· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. 47474 BNS 1987 Steve Jones: Wikimedia Commons· CC BY 2.0
- 3. Class 47, no. 47366, on a westbound empty fly-ash train, west of Frisby on the Wreake, Leicestershire, Nigel Tout, 20.4.76: Nigel Tout ( http://www.nigeltout.com )· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Class 47 The Statesman: IDMacpherson1964· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 47 or Brush Type 4 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Brush's Falcon Works in Loughborough and at British Railways' Crewe Works between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British mainline diesel locomotive. They were fitted with the Sulzer 12LDA28C twin-bank twelve-cylinder unit producing 2,750 bhp (2,050 kW) – though this was later derated to 2,580 bhp (1,920 kW) to improve reliability – and have been used on both passenger and freight trains on Britain's railways for over 55 years.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 64 years ago, in 1962.
- Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
- 2.1 MW is about 24 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 19.2 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 24 years (1962–1986).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1962–1968
- in service from
- 1962
- retired
- 1986
- status
- in service
- number built
- 512
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Brush Traction, British Rail, Crewe Works
- operators
- British Rail, DB Cargo UK, Colas Rail, Direct Rail Services, GB Railfreight, Harry Needle Railroad Company, Riviera Trains, West Coast Railway Company, Rail Operations Group, Eastern Region of British Railways, North Eastern Region of British Railways, Southern Region of British Railways, London Midland Region of British Railways, Western Region of British Railways
- top speed
- 161 km/h
- power
- 2.1 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- length
- 19.2 m
- Dutch name
- BR-type 47
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3246420, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 47 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.