Class 73 'Electro-Diesel' Profile and Models

Class 73 'Electro-Diesel'

73122 at Bournemouth in October 1987. ©Phil Richards

The Class 73s are highly unusual electro-diesel locomotives built between 1962 and 1967, that can operate either from an on-board 600hp diesel engine or from 650/ 750V DC third-rail. Until the introduction of the Class 88, the 73s were unique in their electro-diesel functionality following the withdrawal of the Class 74. They produce significantly more power when on third-rail, so rarely leave the Southern regions - however, some are currently used on the Caledonian Sleeper service in Scotland. Later in life, some were converted to the 73/9 subclass which provided them with the AAR system for multiple working as well as new engines. Many are still in service to this day, whilst eight have been preserved.

(Information provided via Wikipedia)

Type of Locomotive

 Electro-Diesel

Builder

 73/0: British Railways Eastleigh Works
73/1: English Electric at Vulcan Foundry

Build Dates

 1962 to 1967

Total Built

 49

Tractive Effort

 73/0: 34,100 lbf (Diesel) and 42,000 lbf (Electric)
73/1: 36,000 lbf (Diesel) and 40,000 lbf (Electric)

Power Output

 Electric: 1,600 hp
Diesel: 600 hp

Top Speed

 73/0: 80mph
73/1: 90mph

Wheel Configuration

 Bo-Bo

Operated By

 British Rail
Caledonian Sleeper
Eurostar
EWS
FM Rail
Gatwick Express
GB Railfreight
Merseyrail
Network Rail
RT Rail
Southern
South Western Railway
Transmart Trains

Main Duties

 Mixed Traffic

In Service Until

 Present

Surviving Examples

 39

 

OO Gauge (1:76 Scale)
trainModels Produced
Logo for Lima
Lima OO Gauge (1:76 Scale) Class 73 'Electro-Diesel'

DCC compatible but no socket. Pancake motor


DCC Ready. 8-pin socket
Logo for Dapol
Dapol OO Gauge (1:76 Scale) Class 73 'Electro-Diesel'

DCC Ready. 21-pin socket
compare_arrowsCompare these models
format_paintLiveries Produced
Pullman livery sample Pullman
(1920 - present)
BR non-standard livery sample BR non-standard
(1948 - 1994)
BR green with late crest livery sample BR green with late crest
(1957 - 1972)
BR electric blue livery sample BR electric blue
(1959 - 1968)
BR blue livery sample BR blue
(1965 - 1990)
Freightliner (BR) livery sample Freightliner (BR)
(1968 - 1994)
BR large logo blue livery sample BR large logo blue
(1978 - 1994)
Intercity livery sample Intercity
(1982 - 1994)
NSE - Network SouthEast livery sample NSE - Network SouthEast
(1986 - 1994)
Departmental grey livery sample Departmental grey
(1988 - 1994)
Civil Engineers 'Dutch' livery sample Civil Engineers 'Dutch'
(1990 - 2000)
Merseyrail livery sample Merseyrail
(1994 - present)
Mainline Freight livery sample Mainline Freight
(1994 - 1996)
Eurostar livery sample Eurostar
(1994 - present)
EWS - English Welsh and Scottish livery sample EWS - English Welsh and Scottish
(1996 - 2009)
Gatwick Express livery sample Gatwick Express
(1996 - 2008)
South West Trains livery sample South West Trains
(1996 - 2017)
Fragonset livery sample Fragonset
(1997 - 2006)
GBRf - GB Railfreight livery sample GBRf - GB Railfreight
(2001 - present)
Southern Rail livery sample Southern Rail
(2001 - present)
Network Rail livery sample Network Rail
(2002 - present)
View All Products Produced
N Gauge
trainModels Produced
Logo for Dapol
Dapol N Gauge Class 73 'Electro-Diesel'

DCC Ready. 6-pin socket
format_paintLiveries Produced
Pullman livery sample Pullman
(1920 - present)
BR green with late crest livery sample BR green with late crest
(1957 - 1972)
BR electric blue livery sample BR electric blue
(1959 - 1968)
BR blue livery sample BR blue
(1965 - 1990)
BR engineers yellow livery sample BR engineers yellow
(1970 - 1994)
BR large logo blue livery sample BR large logo blue
(1978 - 1994)
Intercity livery sample Intercity
(1982 - 1994)
NSE - Network SouthEast livery sample NSE - Network SouthEast
(1986 - 1994)
Civil Engineers 'Dutch' livery sample Civil Engineers 'Dutch'
(1990 - 2000)
Railtrack livery sample Railtrack
(1994 - 2002)
Mainline Freight livery sample Mainline Freight
(1994 - 1996)
Gatwick Express livery sample Gatwick Express
(1996 - 2008)
EWS - English Welsh and Scottish livery sample EWS - English Welsh and Scottish
(1996 - 2009)
South West Trains livery sample South West Trains
(1996 - 2017)
GBRf - GB Railfreight livery sample GBRf - GB Railfreight
(2001 - present)
Network Rail livery sample Network Rail
(2002 - present)
View All Products Produced
O Gauge (1:43 Scale)
trainModels Produced
Logo for Heljan
Heljan O Gauge (1:43 Scale) Class 73 'Electro-Diesel'

DCC Ready. ESU XL decoder socket
format_paintLiveries Produced
Pullman livery sample Pullman
(1920 - present)
BR blue livery sample BR blue
(1965 - 1990)
BR large logo blue livery sample BR large logo blue
(1978 - 1994)
Intercity livery sample Intercity
(1982 - 1994)
NSE - Network SouthEast livery sample NSE - Network SouthEast
(1986 - 1994)
Civil Engineers 'Dutch' livery sample Civil Engineers 'Dutch'
(1990 - 2000)
EWS - English Welsh and Scottish livery sample EWS - English Welsh and Scottish
(1996 - 2009)
GBRf - GB Railfreight livery sample GBRf - GB Railfreight
(2001 - present)
Network Rail livery sample Network Rail
(2002 - present)
View All Products Produced