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Class 56
Class 56: a diesel-electric locomotive (Co-Co (UIC Co'Co')), built by Electroputere (56001-030), BREL Doncaster (56031-114), BREL Crewe (56115-135), 1976-1984. A freight locomotive: not drawn yet (set FRT).
Drawing to come
- Type
- diesel-electric locomotive
- Builder
- Electroputere (56001-030), BREL Doncaster (56031-114), BREL Crewe (56115-135)
- Built
- 1976-1984
- In service
- since 1976
- Top speed
- 80 mph (129 km/h)
- Power
- 2,424 kW (3,250 hp); Ruston-Paxman 16RK3CT diesel; Brush TM73-62 motors · how it works
- Profile
- main-line
- Status
- Run down at Colas during 2025 (two stood down Feb 2025); DCRail has 56103 in traffic, 56091 stored and 56301 bought from preservation in Mar 2025. 16 rebuilt as Class 69. 2026 working count unknown.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Sources
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- British Rail Class 56 Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25infobox
- Colas confirms intention to reduce use of Class 56s during 2025 RAIL magazine, 2025-02-25Colas 10, run-down, DCRail
- British Rail Class 69 Wikipedia (secondary; must be paired), 2026-10-25Class 56 body dimensions in the 69 rebuild
unverified
- Wheel diameter not on the Class 56 page; the Class 69 page gives 3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm) for the rebuilt body (not recorded here).
- Bogie data not on the Class 56 page; see Class 69 (bogie wheelbase 4,100, pivot centres 14,480).
- 2,400 bhp (1,790 kW) at rail.
- Not drawn: no drawing yet; the dimensions are in freight_data and their sources in dimension_sources (set FRT, October 2026)
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