page_title: British Rail Class 08
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: British Rail Class 08 / Operations
caption_attribution_description: Now a carpark!!
context_page_description: The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive built by British Railways. As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since their introduction in 1952 however, the nature of rail traffic in Britain has changed considerably. Freight trains are now mostly fixed rakes of wagons, and passenger trains are mostly multiple units, neither requiring the attention of a shunting locomotive. Consequently, a large proportion of the class has been withdrawn from mainline use and stored, scrapped, exported or sold to industrial or heritage railways.
  As of 2020, around 100 locomotives remained working on industrial sidings and on the main British network. On heritage railways, they have become common, appearing on many of the preserved standard-gauge lines in Britain, with over 70 preserved including the first one built.
context_section_description: As the standard general-purpose diesel shunter on BR, almost any duty requiring shunting would involve a Class 08; thus the many locations where 2 portions of a train were merged, or where additional stock was added to a train, were hauled (briefly) by a Class 08, thus the class was a familiar sight at many major stations and terminals.
caption: 08 509 in Rail Blue livery at Chesterfield Goods Yard
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