Locos of the RTC

SINCE Privatisation in the mid-1990s, the distinction between the ‘departmental’ and ‘normal’ fleets has become blurred to the point of irrelevance as traditional non-revenue earning roles – like maintenance and renewal of the permanent way, track testing and rolling stock commissioning – have become money earners for freight operators, infrastructure specialists and locomotive owners.

Although Network Rail retains a small group of dedicated locos for special duties, the 1970s and 80s were the quintessential era of the departmental locomotive. Barely a depot or works open day went by without one or more of the famous red/blue-liveried fleet being there. The eclectic list of 97xxx and ADB, RDB and TDB-prefixed machines at the rear of our dog-eared stock books, often the final survivors of long-withdrawn loco types, was guaranteed to provoke a deep fascination.

Despite their open day ubiquity, there were actually only four red/blue machines and one of those had only a tenuous departmental role as a depot shunter (the others being a ‘24’ and two ‘46s’). However, they skewed the perception of the fleet as one formed primarily for powering colourful research test trains around the national network – but the reality was somewhat less glamorous. While many did work these formations, over half of the survivors on the departmental roster only ever had static or non-tractive roles for testing, training, carriage heating, as dead loads or as power unit transporters. Others were transferred to the 97xxx departmental locomotive series for use on large scale engineering projects, often becoming the last of their class in service. One last hurrah before withdrawal – but also one that benefited the preservation movement. Without having their lives extended by departmental use, we would arguably be missing a ‘24’, ‘28’, three ‘40s’, a prototype HST power car, and two ‘46s’.

This survey will confine itself to the story of the main line departmental fleet in British Rail days, and the first part will take a look at powered locomotives, while the second instalment will cover everything that no longer moved under its own means. The Privatisation era, shunters or former shunters and the Class 501 driving motor cars converted as battery-powered tractor units will have to wait for another time.

THE EARLY DAYS

“The RTC was set up in 1963 to improve the understanding of the wheel-rail interface following a spate of high-profile wagon derailments”

The history of departmental locomotives stretches back into the Victorian era, as the larger railway companies had a need for shunting locomotives at workshops or at larger permanent