Ruston Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 I have been looking on Google for photos of Gardner engines, Drewrys and Class 04s. I got sidetracked and as one thing leads to another I found this locomotive. It's sort of thing that if someone made a model of I'd say it was the product of the fevered imagination of someone with too much time and a Hornby Smokey Joe chassis on their hands! The caption reads: The War Office battery-driven locomotive converted by Allens to diesel-electric drive and fitted with 5-cylinder 110HP at 1200 rpm airless injection diesel engine and d.c. generator. It is shown on the W.H. Allen Engineering Association website. The website only says this about it when talking about the period between the World Wars: Quote Forays into uncharted water were taken in the hope that it might improve their situation. One of these forays involved Allen diesels in railway locomotives. The War Department commissioned the conversion of one of their battery driven shunting locomotives to diesel power. This work was carried out at Bedford with a five cylinder 110hp engine running at 1200 rpm direct coupled to a dc generator. This loco ran for many years at the WD range at Shoeburyness. Does anyone know any more about it? Who originally built the battery locomotive that was converted? What did it look like? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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