Class 17 Profile and Models

D8568 near Bewdley in May 2017. ©Hugh Llewelyn

The Class 17 (aka "Clayton Type 1) was a Bo-Bo diesel produced for British Railways in the 1960s. They featured a single central cab, with low bonnets and were designed to mitigate visibility issues that the drivers had suffered with pilot-scheme Type 1 locomotives. The 17s initially found work out of depots across Scotland, initially at Polmadie and Haymarket but some did see use south of the border working out of depots in the North East and in the Eastern region. Unfortunately, their horizontally mounted Paxman engines proved to be incredibly unreliable, even after extensive modifications. Withdrawals of the class took place at the end of the 60s, with some locomotives working for only five years.

(Information provided via Wikipedia)

Type of Locomotive	Diesel-Electric
Builder	Clayton Equipment Company Beyer, Peacock & Co.
Build Dates	1962 to 1965
Total Built	117
Tractive Effort	40,000 lbf
Power Output	450hp (x 2)
Top Speed	60mph
Wheel Configuration	Bo-Bo
Operated By	British Rail
Main Duties	Freight
In Service Until	1971
Surviving Examples	1