class-09-shunter

The BR Class 09 was a series of 26 diesel-electric 0-6-0 shunting locomotives built at British Railways Horwich Works between 1959 and 1962, designed as a higher-speed development of the standard Class 08 shunter specifically for use on the Southern Region of British Railways where the longer distances between yards and the particular operating patterns of the SR network made a faster shunter preferable to the standard Class 08's 15 mph maximum. The Class 09 used essentially the same English Electric 6KT diesel engine and traction motor arrangement as the Class 08 but was geared for a maximum speed of 27 mph rather than 15 mph, giving it the ability to make more rapid inter-yard trip movements on the SR while retaining full shunting capability.

The difference between the Class 08 and Class 09 is purely a matter of final drive gearing: the same mechanical and electrical components are fitted, with the higher gear ratio giving the Class 09 nearly double the top speed at the cost of reduced tractive effort at very low shunting speeds. For the Southern Region's requirements — where shunters often needed to travel between yards at reasonable speed on the third-rail electrified network — the Class 09's higher maximum speed was a significant operational advantage over the Class 08.

Two examples are preserved: 09017 and 09024, both on heritage railways and representing this SR-specific variant of the ubiquitous Class 08 design.