British Rail Class 01

The British Railways Class 01 diesel locomotive is a class of 5 short wheelbase 0-4-0 diesel-mechanical shunters intended for use in areas with tight curves and limited clearance.
==History==
They were built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. in 1956. They were numbered 11503-11506, then D2953-2956, and two survived long enough to enter the BR TOPS system as 01 001 (D2954) and 01 002 (D2955). Their original depot allocation was to Stratford (30A). A fifth similar locomotive was built in 1958 for departmental stock (maintenance work). It was originally No. 81 but was renumbered D2956 in July 1967 after the original D2956 had been withdrawn.
The locomotives were very versatile, despite having only 153 horsepower (114 kW) available, and were small enough to operate on any railway on the BR standard gauge network (except for the small problem that they were limited to 14 1⁄4 miles per hour (22.9 km/h)). For a fleet of just five locomotives, they were also very reliable, although Stratford Docks, where they originally worked, was not noted for creating very hard labour.
===TOPS Era===
01 001 and 01 002 survived in BR service because they were required to service the Holyhead Breakwater, being the only locomotives light enough for that track. 01 001 was put into storage in 1973 and was cannibalised for spare parts to keep its sister loco in service. 01 001 was withdrawn in 1979, and 01 002 followed in 1981. 01 002 had last run when the Breakwater Railway closed in July 1980 both locomotives were scrapped in Holyhead Breakwater Shed the following year still carrying their original livery of British Railways black with black-and-yellow "wasp stripe" warning ends and the British Railways "unicycling lion" emblem; they were the last locomotives in BR service to do so.
==Technical Details==
Class 01 locomotives had a Gardner 6-cylinder in-line, 4-stroke 6L3 engine of 153 hp (114 kW) at 1,200 rpm connected to a Wilson SE4, 4-speed epicyclic gear box with a Vulcan-Sinclair type 23 rigid hydraulic coupling, and a Wiseman 15LGB reverse and final drive unit. The wheels were connected by coupling rods and driven by a jackshaft.
==Preservation==
Two pre-TOPS members survive in preservation, D2953 by Heritage Shunters Trust at Rowsley South, Peak Rail and the original D2956 on the East Lancashire Railway.
== Re-use of the '01' TOPS code ==
More recently, the sub-classification 01/5 has come into use to refer to small, privately owned shunters certified to run on the national network. As such, 01/5 is a collective grouping of a number of very different locomotives, having in common only that they are small, hitherto unclassified shunters of designs never given a BR classification.
==Gallery==
File:6176336700 8834560ab8 b.jpg
File:8217169728 785a65312d b.jpg
File:Diesel Group (8585627403).jpg
Category:Diesel locomotives
Category:British Rail locomotives
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Four-coupled locomotives
Category:0-4-0 locomotives
Category:Diesel switchers
Category:Built in 1956
Category:British Rail diesel locomotives
Category:0-4-0 locomotives‏‎
Category:Switcher locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Andrew Barclay locomotives
Category:Diesel-mechanical locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:B locomotives