R3373 BR Class 71 E5001 BR Green Locomotive
The early 1950s were a time of great plans and modern ideas, not least where the railways were concerned, but still recovering from the financial effects of the Second World War, many of these plans had to be implemented in a measured way. Electric traction was seen by the newly nationalized British Rail to be the answer and so attention was focused on new routes in the Southern Region, where third rail electrification had been in place since 1923. Much of BR’s Southern Region passenger traffic could be accommodated by the use of EMUs, but to cover the motive power requirement for 900 ton freight services, as well as the “Night Ferry” and “Golden Arrow” workings, a new electric locomotive was required. The design specification was based on the experience gained in the previous fifteen years, through the operation of Bullhead’s CC1 & CC2, Class 70 locomotives. By adopting the continental practice of reducing the weight, without sacrificing tractive effort, a smaller engine could be built, resulting in a 750v DC, 77 ton, Bo-Bo locomotive, 24 of which were built by BR’s Don caster works between 1958 and 1960. Numbered E5000 E5023 as built (E5000 was subsequently renumbered to E5024 in December 1962), the type was classified by BR Southern Region as HA.
