Hello!
Recently, I learned that two Brush Traction diesel shunting locomotives are currently in use at the Skopje Lisiche depot in North Macedonia.
Thank you for bringing us this news of surviving Brush locomotives in North Macedonia.
The main sources of Brush locomotive building history are written by George Toms, who worked for Brush. He wrote a book
Brush Diesel Locomotives 1940-1978. The first edition was published in 1978 and there was a substantially revised second edition published in 2008.
George Toms also compiled the
Brush Diesel & Electric Locomotives Works List published by the Industrial Railway Society in 1999.
What follows is my interpretation of what George Toms has written in these books.
The history of these locomotives actually goes back to 1958, and is very complicated.
In 1958 the Brush Traction (BT) Falcon Works at Loughborough was occupied with building main line locomotives for British Railways (BR), and distancing itself from working with Bagnalls of Stafford. But Brush Traction was also interested in providing locomotives to industrial users, especially steel works. BT started to build 0-4-0 locomotives, with frames and mechanical parts made by Beyer Peacock (BP), and assembled by BP at their works in Gorton in Manchester. The first of these was for Steel Company of Wales for their Orb Works at Newport. This had works number BT91 and BP7856. 5 more locomotives were assembled by BP at Gorton even though there were no buyers for them (BT99-103/BP7857-7861). These were used by both Brush at Loughborough, Beyer Peacock at Gorton, and as demonstrators. BR bought one of the five (BT100/BP7861), which became D2999 and worked from Stratford in London until 1967. The parts for 10 more locomotives were held in stock but not assembled into locomotives until required, though they were allocated works numbers BT109-118 and BP7869-7878.
5 sets of parts were used to fulfil an order from Parkgate Iron & Steel in 1960, and another for a single locomotive for Renishaw Iron in 1962. At this point 4 sets of parts were still unused.
The Skopje Steelworks order was for 6 locomotives and placed in 1963. This was met by using the remaining 4 sets of parts, plus 2 of the 4 remaining locomotives that had been assembled in 1958. The assembly was done at Beyer Peacock at Gorton in 1964, including changing power units in the 1958 built locomotives. The locomotives were delivered by sea from Birkenhead to Thessaloniki.
Each locomotive has 3 works numbers, a 1958 BT number, a 1964 BT number, and a BP number. It is the 1964 BT numbers that are carried over to the running numbers.
George Toms had access to the best available primary sources but he is still not sure that the numbers below are matched up correctly:
Locomotives assembled from parts in stock:
BT604 (BT109) BP7869
BT605 (BT112) BP7872
BT606 (BT110) BP7870
BT607 (BT111) BP7871
Locomotives built in 1958 and reconditioned:
BT608 (BT103) BP7860
BT609 (BT99) BP7857
George Toms usually gives quite a lot of technical specifications, but doesn't say much about the Skopje Steelworks locomotives. However, he does say that they were delivered with Cummins NT355 power units rated at 275bhp at 1900rpm, and Brush electrical equipment. George Toms also says that Skopje Steelworks already had some earth moving equipment with similar Cummins power units.
There will be some books that have technical details for BR's D2999, which was BT100/BP7861, but I don't have anything suitable here. However, the Steel Company of Wales Orb Works locomotive survived and is preserved at the Middleton Railway in Leeds, disguised as D2999. They have a page on their website about the locomotive here:
middletonrailway.org.uk
Brush/Beyer Peacock No.D2999 ‘No.91 Alf’
Alf was built in Gorton, Manchester, by Beyer-Peacock in 1958 and was given the works No.7856. It was built for the Steel Company Of Wales (Orb Steel Works) who had ordered numerous Brush Traction designed shunters previously.
Alf follows a standard Brush design and as such wears Brush works plates. It was the first Brush-Beyer-Peacock locomotive to be built and was the first Brush designed diesel-electric not to be built by Bagnalls of Stafford.
Of course changing the power unit will change a lot of the technical details.
It would be good to hear any more information that you have on these locomotives.
