The British Rail Class 29 were a class of 20 diesel-electric Bo'Bo' locomotives produced by the re-engining of the British Rail Class 21

British Rail Class 21

The British Rail Class 21 was a type of Type 2 diesel-electric locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for British Railways in 1958-1960....

 units. The units were designed for both passenger and freight trains. The outwardly similar Class 22

British Rail Class 22

The British Rail Class 22 or "Baby Warship" was a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotives designed for the Western Region of British Railways and built by the North British Locomotive Company. They were very similar in appearance to the Class 21 diesel-electrics...

 shared no mechanical parts with the 29s.

Background

The machines were produced from 1963 onwards from the North British

North British Locomotive Company

The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

 Class 21

British Rail Class 21

The British Rail Class 21 was a type of Type 2 diesel-electric locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for British Railways in 1958-1960....

 by replacing the original unreliable licence-built MAN

MAN B&W Diesel

MAN Diesel SE was a provider of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications. MAN Diesel employs over 7,700 staff, primarily in Germany, Denmark, France, the Czech Republic, India and China...

 of the Class 21s with Paxman Ventura V12 engine

V12 engine

A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....

 at Paxman's Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

 works.

The first unit to be re-engined was D6123, a further 19 machines were re-engined in 1964-1965 at Polmadie, along with other modifications including the fitting of four-character headcode displays in the nose ends. After rebuilding, they returned to service from Eastfield depot in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

.

Withdrawal

Although these offered more power and much improved reliability over the original Class 21s, they did not survive much longer, due to their small class size and the use of a non-standard high-speed diesel engine. D6108 was withdrawn in May 1969 and scrapped by McWilliams of Shettleston in 1971, while the other 19 were withdrawn between April and December 1971 and scrapped at BR's Glasgow Works in 1971-72. No Class 21, 22 or Class 29 locomotives survive today.

Numbering

The rebuilt locomotives were numbered:

• D6100–03
• D6106–08
• D6112–14
• D6116
• D6119
• D6121
• D6123
• D6124
• D6129
• D6130
• D6133
• D6134
• D6137

Models

Hornby

Hornby Railways

Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...

 produced a OO gauge

OO gauge

OO gauge or OO scale model railways are the most popular standard-gauge model railway tracks in the U.K. This track gauge is one of several 4mm-scale standards used, but it is the only one to be served by the major manufacturers...

ready-to-run Class 29 in the late 1970s in BR green and blue liveries.

External links

• Paxman Ventura engine - at Richard Carr's Paxman History pages