Sulzer Type 2 (BR Class 25)
Developed throughout the early to late 1960s, the Sulzer Type 2 (later known as Class 25) diesel locomotive became a mainstay of our socialist cousins in the British Railways. With a top speed of 90 mph (145 kph) and an impressively powerful engine, these mighty little machines were ordered in their hundreds, with more than 300 being built in all. Albeit retired by 1987, these locomotives were used on a variety of freight and passenger workings.
To top it all off, they were referred to as ‘Rats’, for how numerous they are. Like rats, these machines were legion, working together to achieve a common goal- Socialism, the British Rail way!
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Sarcastic Adder diatribe aside, I figured I’d create a neat little model of the most prolific diesel locomotive on the UK rail network up toward the dying days of British Rail. These should serve you well for a wide variety of work, be it single or double-headed freight work.
I did consider making the 25/0 originally, with the gangway door, but that proved to be a bit of a nightmare to get the shape for correct so I decided instead to work on the 25/2 subclass.
Years Available: 1961-1975 (Production ceased in 1967, but I decided to extend out to ’75 as they were still being modified that late)
Nation: United Kingdom (USD)
Top speed: 90 mph (145 km/h)
Engine power: 932 kW
Weight: 74.2 Tonnes
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British Railways Two-Tone Green: Based on D7612 as preserved, was a fairly common scheme for Derby’s 25/2 buildout.
British Rail Blue: The final 16 locomotives came in this scheme as standard, repainting was done on other locos in class in the late 70s.
Intercity Swallow: Fictional, but based on the ETHEL (Electric Train Heating Ex-Locomotive) units, which were converted Class 25s. Three such machines were built, though they did not carry the Intercity branding as applied here.
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I do intend on adding a few more liveries later, I decided three would suffice for initial release so that I can finally get this uploaded, having started working on it back in November!
Railfreight Sectorisation-era Livery
Network SouthEast Livery
Intercity Scotrail Livery (potentially historical, I believe some of these locos were in Scotrail livery at one stage).
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With that done, I’m going to move away from diesels for a little while and onto something a little more… electrifying.
