GWR/Brown Boveri Prototype Gas Turbine Locomotive Profile

Brown Boveri Prototype Gas Turbine Locomotive

Introduced in May 1950, the locomotive was a gas turbine powered locomotive ordered by the GWR from Brown Boveri of Switzerland, as an option to steam and diesel traction. Although ordered by the GWR, the loco was not delivered until after nationalisation in 1949. The GWR also bought a gas turbine loco, Numbered 18100, from Metropolitan Vickers to compare against the Brown Boveri loco. After trials on the BR system, the loco was sold to the International Union of Railways, Vienna Arsenal as a trial and test locomotive. The loco was bought by Waterman Railways in 1995 and returned to the UK where it was restored at the Crewe Heritage Centre where it can be found today.

BUILT: 1949 by Brown Boveri, Switzerland.

ENGINE: Gas Turbine 2,500hp.

NUMBER SERIES: 18000 (Works No. BB4559).

PREVIOUS NUMBERS: Nil.

TRANSMISSION: .

MAX SPEED: 90mph.

TRACTIVE EFFORT: 60,000lb.

WEIGHT: 115 tons.

WHEEL ARRANGEMENT: A1A-A1A.

QTY BUILT : 1
FLEET STRENGTH: NIL (Loco Sold but now preserved in the UK)

Data taken from the PC TOPS Locomotive Database System by Milburn Associates
Unless stated otherwise Photographs in this section are © copyright of Milburn Associates. Permission to use these images in railway society newsletters, etc., can be obtained by e-mailing the Thin Controller.

[18000] [JPEG Image of 18000 size 13K]

Brown Boveri Gas Turbine Locomotive Number 18000, in British Railways Black Livery.

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Last revised: 10 November 1998