British Railways Swindon "Warship" Class locomotives - later BR class 42
British Railways operated these Maybach engined locomotives between August 1958 and December 1972. All were built to operate on standard gauge railways. (4ft 8½inches, 1435mm)
| Numbers | D800-D829, D831, D832, D866-D870 (Total - 37) |
| Engine | 2xMD650, 1035hp @ 1400rpm (D800-D802), 1135hp @ 1530rpm (Remainder of class), Some licence assembled by Bristol-Siddeley Engines Ltd |
| Transmission | Hydraulic: 2xMekydro K104, Some licence assembled by J. Stone, Ltd |
| Weight | 69 tons dry; 78.6 tons with full supplies |
| Maximum speed | 90 mph |
| Dimensions | Length over buffers: 60ft; Width over footsteps: 8ft10"; Height over ventilators: 13ft 0¾" |
| Capacities | Fuel: 800 gallons; Train heating boiler water: 940 gallons |
| Wheel Arrangement | B-B |
The design of these locomotives was based on the German V200 class locomotives, indeed they look like scaled down copies. All 37 locomotives were constructed at British Railways Swindon works, with engines supplied both from Maybach in Friedrichshafen and their UK licencee, Bristol-Siddeley Engines Ltd. The majority of the Mekydro K104 transmissions were also supplied from Germany, with a small number being assembled from German produced parts by the UK licencee, J. Stone Ltd. One locomotive, D830, was built at Swindon and was fitted with two Paxman YJXL V12's instead of MD650's. The two MD650's originally intended to be installed in D830 became spare engines. 33 similar locomotives were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company, although were fitted with MAN 12 cylinder engines and Voith LT306r transmissions. Swindon initially built three prototypes (D800-D802) which were completed in 1958. These prototypes were fitted with lower rated engines and transmissions, as well as the same control system fitted to the German V200, which made them incompatible with the rest of the class. All but two of the locomotives were given names associated with Royal Navy Ships, hence the "Warship" class name. The class were in service with British Railways from 1958 until 1972.
Two "Warships" survive in preservation, D821 which is owned and maintained by the Diesel Traction Group at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway - This locomotive was the first BR mainline diesel to be bought for preservation - and D832 which is privately preserved and maintained by the Bury Hydraulic Group at Bury on the East Lancashire Railway - This locomotive was the last "Warship" to be withdrawn from BR service, on 16th December 1972.
Current Status at 10th January 2009:
| Locomotive | Current location and status |
| D821 "Greyhound" | Not operational at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway |
| D832 "Onslaught" | Operational, stored for the winter. Currently on long term loan to the West Somerset Railway |
D832 has an operational train heating boiler
Liveries:
D821 is currently carrying all over BR Green without yellow warning panels - this livery was applied in 1994.
D832 is carrying BR Maroon livery with full yellow ends, which was applied in June 2002.