British Rail Class 08

what is it?

The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel–electric shunting locomotives built by British Railways (BR). As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since their introduction in 1952, however, the nature of rail traffic in Britain has changed considerably.

who runs it

British RailInterCityNSNetwork SouthEastRERail Express SystemsFreightlinerEurostarDB Cargo UKGreat North Eastern RailwayNENational Express East CoastECEast CoastVTVirgin Trains East CoastLondon North Eastern RailwayMMMidland MainlineEast Midlands Trains

base stats

• speed 32 km/htop speed
• built 996made in total

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 74 years ago, in 1952.

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built

1952–1962

retired

1972

status

in service

number built

996

kind

Diesel–electric

traction

diesel

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

builders

Derby Works, Doncaster Works, Horwich Works, Crewe Works, Darlington Works

operators

British Rail, InterCity, Network SouthEast, Rail Express Systems, Freightliner, Eurostar, DB Cargo UK, Great North Eastern Railway, National Express East Coast, East Coast, Virgin Trains East Coast, London North Eastern Railway, Midland Mainline, East Midlands Trains

top speed

32 km/h

power

—

wheel arrangement

0-6-0

length

8.8 m

Dutch name

Class 08

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.