Class 47/4 47555 'The Commonwealth Spirit' BR RF Distribution European

From the maker

The Class 47 was British Railways’ most prolific class of main-line diesel locomotive and so it’s no surprise that high fidelity models of these ever-popular machines are available in N Scale as part of the flagship Graham Farish range. Such was their success that Class 47s served on the front line of BR services for many decades and even in the 1990s, some 30+ years after their introduction, they were still being used for top link services, like hauling the Royal Train or in this case, as part of the fleet used for freight services via the then brand new Channel Tunnel linking the UK and the mainland Europe. The Railfreight Distribution European livery, as distinguished by the large lettering on the bodyside and blue roof, was introduced in the mid-1990s and was applied to distinguish those locomotives allocated to traffic flows serving Dollands Moor and the Channel Tunnel Freight Services, which used the Channel Tunnel from its opening in 1994. Class 47/4 No. 47555 ‘The Commonwealth Spirit’, which was something of a celebrity with spotters and enthusiasts, was one of the locomotives selected for this pool and was repainted resplendently into the new livery by Tinsley which added its Yorkshire Rose depot motif to the cab sides in the process. ‘The Commonwealth Spirit’ takes full advantage to the recent upgrades that have benefited the Graham Farish Class 47, namely the technical advancements which see the model boasting a Next18 DCC decoder interface, pre-fitted speaker, cab lighting (when used on DCC) and independent control of the directional lights at each end. The Next18 interface and pre-fitted speaker are put to full use in this SOUND FITTED model, bringing an added dimension to your model railway straight out of the box! DETAIL VARIATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS MODEL GRAHAM FARISH CLASS 47 SPECIFICATION MECHANISM: DETAILING: LIGHTING: DCC: SOUND: LIVERY APPLICATION: SOUNDS F0 - Directional Lights - On/Off (plus Light Switch Sound) F1 - On - Warm Engine Start / On, Off - Failed Engine Start / On, Off, On - Cold Engine Start F2 - Brake F3* - Horn (Playable) F4* - Two-Tone Horn F5 - Heavy Load F6 - Coasting (Manual notch Down if F22 On) F7 - Maximum Revs (Manual notch Up if F22 On) F8** - On - Coupling Up / Off - Uncoupling F9 - Flange Squeal (Speed Related) F10 - Fan Noise F11 - Air Dump F12 - On - Guard’s Whistle / Off - Driver’s Response Horn F13 - Cab Lights On/Off No. 1 (plus Light Switch Sound) F14 - Cab Lights On/Off No. 2 (plus Light Switch Sound) F15 - Auto Uncouple Cycle F16 - AWS Horn F17 - AWS Bell F18 - On - Sound Fades Out / Off - Sound Fades In F19 - Mute (Latch) / Volume Cycles 6 Levels (Trigger) F20 - No. 1 End (Fan) Directional Lights Off F21 - No. 2 End (non-Fan) Directional Lights Off F22 - Manual Notching Logic On/Off (control with F6 & F7) F23 - Spirax Valve F24 - Station Announcement F25 - On - Driver’s Door Open / Off - Driver’ Door Shut *Alternative Horn sounds and behaviour can be selected via CV changes ** Alternative coupling sounds can be selected via CV changes Analogue Users: Please note that any automated drive sounds will be played when this model is used on analogue control (DC) straight from the box! CLASS 47 HISTORY Towards the end of the 1950s, British Railways began planning a new fleet of diesel locomotives and after investigating several prototypes, BR decided to place an order with Brush Engineering for 20 locomotives during February 1961. The resulting design became the iconic Brush Type 4 Diesel locomotive, a practical, versatile design with a very distinctive cab. Powered with a Sulzer engine and initially rated at 2,750hp, the locomotive could achieve a top speed of 75mph with a tractive effort of 55,000lb. Building commenced in January 1962 and the first locomotive No. D1500 appeared in late September of the same year with test runs on the London Midland Region and Western Region. The design was a success and BR went on to order a total of 512 with continuous production through to early 1967, forming the largest single class of main-line diesel locomotives in the UK. During this time and subsequent years, several variations appeared with an increase in speed and tractive effort to 95mph and 62,000lb respectively. Originally fitted with four character train reporting head-codes, these changed to marker lights, with the addition of high intensity lights and roof aerials in the late 1980s. Other variations involved the fitting of different types of steam heating boiler for early BR coaching stock, later replaced with electric train heating for use with modern rolling stock. The numbering system started with four figures but changed to five with the introduction of the TOPS coding system which saw the locomotives classified as Class 47 Diesels with variations such as 47/0, 47/2, 47/3, 47/4 and 47/7. By the end of the 1990s, half of the Class 47 fleet had been withdrawn or scrapped, 33 have been converted into Class 57 locomotives and several have been preserved, including the original No. D1500, now numbered 47401.

Text as published by the maker.