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10201

Southern Railway 10201 Diesel-Electric 1Co-Co-1

Designed by Oliver Bullied for the Southern Railway. The 1,750bhp 10201-10203 were built by British Railways at Ashford appearing in 1950. 10203 didn't appear until 1954, but with a modified engine producing 2,000bhp. The later English Electric Class 40 was virtually mechanically the same as 10203. Surprisingly, the first two locomotives were designed for a maximum speed of 110mph! However, an alteration to the gear ratios to improve mixed traffic performance reduced the maximum speed to 90mph. All three were withdrawn in 1963, but it wasn't until 1968 that they were cut up.

My take on these locomotives is a Silver Fox resin body. As usual, I have removed the moulded hand rails and replaced them wire separate wire ones. The chassis is a Lima Class 40.

As usual, I build a kit and an RTR version is announced. Kernow Model Rail Centre announced that they were to produce a model in 2000. It took seven years for the model to appear in November 2017. It is a very good well researched model with working light and even features some engine detail through the large side windows. However, it is rather pricey and I'll stick with my kit.