Title: British Rail Class 50 - Wikipedia
Headings: British Rail Class 50
British Rail Class 50
Contents
Description
Development
Production
Service
Refurbishment
Accidents and incidents
Fleet list
Portuguese locomotives
Preservation
List of preserved locomotives
Model railways
Gallery
References, literature and notes
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

Content: 21.8 short tons)
Loco weight
115 long tons (117 t; 129 short tons)
Fuel capacity
1,540 imp gal (7,000 l; 1,850 US gal)
Prime mover
English Electric 16 CSVT
Engine type
246 litres (15,000 cu in) Diesel engine
Traction motors
6 English Electric type 538/5A axle-hung nose-suspended 400 hp (300 kW) traction motors
Cylinders
16
MU working
■ Orange Square
Train heating
Electric Train Heat
Train brakes
Dual ( Air and Vacuum)
Performance figures
Maximum speed
100 mph (161 km/h)
Power output
Engine: 2,700 bhp (2,010 kW)
Tractive effort
Maximum: 48,500 lbf (216 kN)
Continuous: 33,000 lbf (147,000 N)@ 23.5 mph (37.8 km/h)
Career
Operators
British Rail
Numbers
D400–D449; later 50001–50050
Nicknames
Hoovers
Axle load class
Route availability 6
Withdrawn
1987–1994
Disposition
18 preserved, remainder scrapped
The British Rail Class 50 is a class of diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph. Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50s were initially on a 10-year lease from English Electric Leasing, and were employed hauling express passenger trains on the, then non-electrified, section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland. Initially numbered D400 - D449 and known as English Electric Type 4s, the locomotives were purchased outright by British Rail (BR) at the end of the lease and became Class 50 in the TOPS renumbering of 1973. The class gained the nickname "Hoovers" because of the noise made by the clean air plant at the No.2 end, prior to refurbishment, which was likened to that of a vacuum cleaner, a name believed given to them by the staff at Paddington Station.