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Class 25 D5207 (25057)
History
Sulzer Class 25/1 D5207/25057 - A Brief History-by Steve
Marshall
The class 25 type-2 diesel-electrics were a development of
the earlier ‘pilot-scheme' class 24s, and belonged to four
subclasses (25/0 - 25/3), distinguished mainly by control
circuit differences. The engine was a Sulzer 6LDA-28B
six-cylinder unit producing 1,250 h.p., compared to the
earlier design's 1,160 h.p., allowing a higher gearing and
therefore a higher maximum speed of 90 m.p.h. The AEI
253AY traction motors gave the class a tractive effort of
45,000 lbs, but as they were light-weight units originally
designed for metre-gauge locos, their reliability was
always suspect. The 25's were fitted with steam-heating
equipment, and carry a Stone vapor L4610 boiler at the
No. 2 end of the loco, with a water tank under the frames
between the bogies. Other dimensions include:- length
50'6”; weight 74 tons; wheel diameter 3'9”; and wheelbase
36'6”.
Early class 25s had similar body-shells to the class
24/2s, with cab-nose corridor-connection doors. The doors
were found to be unnecessary and were soon sealed to
prevent draughts, whilst later members of the class had a
remodelled front with three full-sized windows and no
doors. These later locos also had the body-side air-intake
grilles moved up to cantrail level, giving a neater and
more efficient design. Altogether 327 class 25s were
constructed between 1961 and 1967 at BR Derby, BR
Darlington and Beyer-Peacock's Gorton works. They were
initially numbered D5151- 5229 and D7500 - 7677.
The loco for the NNR appeared from BR's Derby works in
June 1963 as D5207 from order No. 4600. Its original
livery was dark green, with a grey green stripe at the
bottom of the bodywork, and small yellow warning panels at
each end. Most of the Derby-built 25/1s were initially
allocated to Toton depot, but in later years, they
dispersed to most parts of the BR system on passenger,
parcels, and particularly freight duties. Class 25s were
regular visitors to Norwich and Yarmouth during the 1970s,
when they hauled summer Saturday services from the
Midlands. Over the years D5207 lost its ‘D', acquired dual
air/vacuum train brakes, and received an all-over
rail-blue livery. Other changes included the isolation of
the train-heating boiler and the conversion of the
route-indicator box to show just two marker lights. Under
the TOPS system the numbers 25001- 25 327 were allocated
to the class; the 25/1s became 25026 - 082, with 5207
receiving 25 057. The loco spent the first 15 years of its
life on the LMR before moving to the WR's Laira depot in
May 1978. It returned to the LMR in November 1980. By the
1980s most of the class had gravitated to the north-west,
with many (including 25057) allocated to Crewe, although
they still managed to travel far and wide on trips to
Scotland and Wales.
During their service life the class 25's had two
recurring problems. The first was that the air-intakes
near the bottom of the locos' bodywork tended to suck a
lot of dirt into the engine compartment; this was cured by
moving the intakes to the roof on the 25/2s and 25/3s. The
second was traction-motor failures caused by the fact that
the continuous and one-hour current ratings were very
similar. This meant that motors could easily be overloaded
and damaged if the loco was hauling a heavy train and the
driver was not paying attention to the ammeter. The end
for the ‘mechanical rats', as they were affectionately
known by diesel enthusiasts, started in 1976 with the
first normal withdrawals. 25 057 was one of the last to go
when it departed from Llandudno Junction on Sunday March
15th, 1987, to travel back to Crewe where it was taken out
of service, three days after its official withdrawal date.
The next day the loco was hauled to the storage sidings at Basford Hall. The last class 25 in BR service was switched
off for the final time on March 23rd.
25 057 was sent to Vic Berry the scrap-merchant, and by
July 18th, had appeared in Leicester's Humberstone Road
yard, along with several other condemned members of the
class. In September the loco was moved to Berry's premises
at the ex-GCR Braunstone Gate goods yard, but was left
intact for possible resale, thus avoiding the famous
pyramid of class 25 and 27 bodies awaiting the cutter's
torch. Berry's became the graveyard of over sixty BR-Sulzer
type-2s, mainly those with heavy asbestos contamination.
25 057 was privately purchased for preservation in January
1988, but stayed at Leicester for several more months
waiting for asbestos removal work to take place (one of
the conditions of purchase). Originally it was thought
that the loco would go to the Great Central Railway, but
it eventually found a home at the Buckinghamshire Railway
Centre, Quainton Road. Nearly twenty others of the class
have now been saved and continue to work on various
preserved lines in England, Scotland and Wales, of which
25 057 is the second oldest.
25 057 arrived at Sheringham by road in April 1991 for a
reunion with the NNR's D5386, which as 27066, was stored
with the class 25 in Berry's sidings during the winter of
1987/8. After overhaul, 25057 entered traffic on the NNR
in 1993, sharing duties on the Holt section during dry
weather with D5386 and 37032, removing the
operating department's worries about failures. In 1997 the
loco was purchased from its private owner by the NNR. In
1998, it was repainted into its current livery or
experimental “intermediate” BR blue, with small yellow
warning panels, grey roof and heraldic BR crests.
This article first appeared in Joint Line, the Midland and
Great Northern Joint Railway Society's award winning
quarterly journal, which all members of the Society
receive.
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