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LMS: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth
LMS: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street

Water Orton Station: mrwo1762

Two unidentified English Electric Type 1 locomotives pass through Water Orton station towards Derby on a very wintry day

Two unidentified English Electric Type 1 locomotives pass through Water Orton station towards Derby on a very wintry day. In total, two hundred and twenty-eight locomotives of the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968. As seen above, the locomotives were originally numbered from D8000 to D8199 and D8300 to D8327 and to railway enthusiasts they were known as 'Choppers', a name derived from the distinctive beat that the engine produced when under load which resembles the sound of a helicopter. These Bo-Bo locomotives, later categorised under TOPS as Class 20, produced 1,000 horsepower and could operate at up to 75 mph. Being designed for work light mixed freight traffic, they have no train heating facilities and had a single cab at one end. As seen above it was common to find them paired together at the nose, with their cabs at opposite ends, ensuring that the driver could quite clearly see the road ahead.

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