LMS Route: Evesham to Birmingham

Kings Norton Locomotives: mrkn1177

British Railways Brush Type 4 Co-Co D1543 passes through Kings Norton on an up express to New Street station on 3rd August 1969. The Brush Type 4 locomotives were a class of diesel-electric locomotives that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 of the locomotives, later categorised as Class 47s, were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British mainline diesel locomotive. They were fitted with the Sulzer 12LDA28C twin-bank twelve-cylinder unit producing 2,750 bhp (2,050 kW) - although this was later derated to 2,580 bhp (1,920 kW) to improve reliability - and have been used on both passenger and freight trains on Britain's railways for over 40 years. Despite the introduction of more modern types of traction, as of 2008 a significant number are still in use, both on the mainline and on heritage railways. As of March 2012, 88 locomotives still exist as Class 47s, with further examples having been converted to other classes; 27 are engaged on active work on the mainline.

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