British Railways D0226
D0226 in preservation at Haworth.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder English Electric at Vulcan Foundry Serial number English Electric: 2345 Vulcan Foundry: D226 Build date 1956
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Wheel diameter 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m) Loco weight 48 long tons (49 t; 54 short tons) Prime mover EE 6RKT Mk II Generator DC Traction motors English Electric, DC 1 off Transmission Diesel electric
Performance figures Maximum speed 35 mph (56 km/h) Power output 500 hp (370 kW) Tractive effort 33,000 lbf (146.79 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Numbers D226 (D0226 from August 1959) First run loaned 1957 Withdrawn October 1960 Disposition Returned to EE at Preston, to Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in March 1966

D0226 and D0227 were two prototype diesel shunting locomotives built in 1956 by English Electric at its Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows to demonstrate its wares to British Railways. They originally carried numbers D226 and D227, their Vulcan Foundry works numbers, but these were amended in August 1959 to avoid clashing with the numbers of new Class 40 locomotives.

They were both of 0-6-0 wheel arrangement and were fitted with English Electric 6RKT engines of 500 hp. They were painted black with an orange stripe along the middle of the bodyside, which turned into a 'V' at the nose end. The major difference between the two locomotives was that D0226 had diesel-electric transmission and D0227 had diesel-hydraulic transmission.

BR tested both locomotives at its Stratford depot in East London. D0226 has been preserved at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, but D0227 was scrapped.

D0226 in green livery at Haworth

Further reading

• Strickland, David C. (September 1983). Locomotive Directory: Every Single One There Has Ever Been. Camberley: Diesel and Electric Group. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-906375-10-5. OCLC 16601890. OL 27959920M. Wikidata Q105978499.
• Cox, J.A. (July 1966). "Diesel Prototype for Worth Valley". Railway Magazine. Vol. 112, no. 783. pp. 410–411.

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