British Rail Class 26

BRCW Type 2 British Rail Class 26
26037 at Carlisle in the 1980s[when?]
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Serial number DEL45–DEL91 Build date 1958–1959 Total produced 47
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Bo'Bo'  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Wheel diameter 3 ft 7 in (1.092 m) Minimum curve 5 chains (100 m) Wheelbase 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m) Length 50 ft 9 in (15.47 m) Width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) Height 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) Loco weight D5300–D5319: 77.5 long tons (78.7 t; 86.8 short tons) D5320–D5346: 74 long tons (75.2 t; 82.9 short tons) Fuel capacity 500 imp gal (2,300 L; 600 US gal) Prime mover Sulzer 6LDA28-A Generator DC Traction motors four Crompton Parkinson DC traction motors Transmission Diesel electric MU working ★ Blue Star Train heating Steam (when fitted) Train brakes Originally vacuum only, all converted to air and vacuum (dual braked)
Performance figures Maximum speed 80 mph (130 km/h) Power output Engine: 1,160 hp (865 kW) @750 rpm At rail: 900 hp (671 kW) Tractive effort Maximum: 42,000 lbf (187 kN) Continuous: 30,000 lbf (133 kN) Brakeforce 35 long tons-force (350 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Numbers D5300–D5346; later 26001–26046 Axle load class D5300–D5319: Route availability 6 D5320–D5346: Route availability 5 First run 1958 Withdrawn 1972 (1), 1975–1994 Disposition 13 preserved, remainder scrapped

The British Rail Class 26 diesel locomotives, also known as the BRCW Type 2, were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) at Smethwick in 1958–59. Forty seven examples were built, and the last were withdrawn from service in 1994. Like their higher-powered sisters, the BRCW Classes 27 and 33, they had all-steel bodies and cab ends with fibreglass cab roofs.^{[citation needed]} They were numbered D5300-D5346.^[1]