British Rail Class 53

British Rail Class 53 (Falcon)
D0280 at London King's Cross
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Brush Traction Serial number 280 Build date 1961
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC Co′Co′  • Commonwealth Co-Co Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Wheel diameter 3 ft 7 in (1,092 mm) Wheelbase 56 ft 4 in (17.17 m) Length 68 ft 10 in (20.98 m) Width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) Height 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m) Loco weight 115 long tons (117 t; 129 short tons) Fuel capacity 1,440 imp gal (6,500 L; 1,730 US gal) Prime mover 2× Maybach MD655 Traction motors Brush, 6 of Cylinders 12 (each engine) Train heating Spanner Mk III 2,500-pound (1,100 kg) per hour steam generator Loco brake Brakeforce: 59 long tons-force (588 kN) Train brakes Vacuum, later: Air
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 mph (161 km/h) Power output 2,880 hp (2,150 kW) Tractive effort 60,000 lbf (266.9 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Numbers D0280, later 1200 Axle load class Route availability: 7 (6 from 1969) Locale Eastern Region Western Region (from 1965) Withdrawn October 1975 Disposition Scrapped May 1976

D0280 Falcon was a single prototype diesel-electric locomotive, built for British Railways in 1961. It was one of a series of three prototypes: Falcon, DP2 and Lion, eventually leading to the Class 47 and Class 50.^[1] A requirement was expressed by the BTC at a meeting on 15 January 1960 for new Type 4 designs of Co-Co arrangement, which would be lighter than the earlier 1Co-Co1 locomotives such as the Peak classes, produced under the Pilot Scheme.

Brush had a licence to build the Maybach MD655 engine, as already used in the Western region diesel-hydraulics, although their licence limited them to diesel-electric locomotives.^[2] These engines were of lower weight than their competitors, which led Brush to consider using a pair of them, like the Western hydraulics. Design work began in 1959 under contract Nº 04/20600, before the BTC requirement had been issued.^[3]

British Rail later assigned Class 53^[4][5][6] and the running number 1200. While not in any sense a failure, the design was the victim of advances in locomotive technology (specifically, the power obtainable from single medium-speed diesel engines) and was never duplicated.