[user=17]Perry[/user] wrote:

[user=316]Gwiwer[/user] wrote:

As far as Class 20's are concerned, I rather like their boxy, rather brutish appearance. I plan on having one on my layout

You might need two, Perry, as they usually seem to go about in pairs.  One to pull the train and the other to pull the first loco along.  Not that they're under-powered at all ………

Am I perhaps detecting a slight undercurrent of not liking 20's - or is it just diesels in general? :cool wink

Perry

Not at all.  I quite like the unusual (for British locomotives) design of the 20's and the whistling note of the EE power unit.  It's just that with barely 900hp apiece available for traction they have trouble pulling the skin off a custard.

If they're so underpowered, why have they lasted so long in service ?  Are they cheap to build ?

They were the first main line diesel type to be ordered for mass production in Britain and as such were considered to have sufficient power for their time.

This quickly proved to be not the case and they were soon found normally coupled in pairs.  As well they were normally coupled nose to nose with cabs outermost to aid signal sighting by the crews who raised some objections to the restricted vision posed by the engine compartment when leading.   

They were simple, well built and very rugged and hence have lasted for much longer than many more recent types.

It may be no coincidence that some other English Electric-powered main line types have also significantly outlasted their contemporaries.