Spa Valley Railway

Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email: enquiriesatspavalleyrailway.co.uk
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(Photo ©J. Nye)

BR Class 33/0 No. 33063 'R.J. Mitchell'

Built - Birmingham Railway. Carriage & Wagon Works, Smethwick
Introduced to Traffic - 6th January 1962
Engine Specification - 8 Cylinder Sulzer
Wheel Arrangement - BO-BO
Tractive Effort - 45,000 lbs
Weight - 76.5 tons
Length - 50' 9"
Maximum Speed - 85 mph
Pre-TOPS Number - D6583

The class were developed as part of the BR Modernisation Plan, Southern Region, and were ordered in 1957, and first appeared in 1959. There were three sub-classes 33/0 (original design), 33/1, (Push-Pull) and 33/3 which were built 8 inches narrower for the narrow tunnels on the Hastings line. Nicknamed 'Cromptons' because of their Crompton-Parkinson electrical equipment, they were the first mainline engines to carry Electric Train Heating.

A versatile class that could perform any duty including passenger express and boat trains, as well as all sorts of freight. They played a major part in moving a lot of material for the channel tunnel construction in the 1990s. Unfortunately this was one of their last duties for the class as withdrawal had been going on since the late 1980s. This continued until the late 1990s.

D6583 was first assigned to Hither Green from January until it moved to Eastleigh in the following September. Re-numbered 33063 in 1974 as part of the TOPS classification, it then saw another spell at Hither Green before moving for the last time to Stewarts Lane on 24/11/85. It was here it received a 73A shedcode plate. Stored here in November 1995, it was officially withdrawn from service on 13/2/1997. Sold in March 1997 and stored at Blue Triangle Buses Depot in Rainham, Essex, 33063 was sold to the South East Locomotive Group along with sister 33065 in January 2000 and moved to the East Kent Railway in the following March. First started on 2 July 2000, it was restored to 1970s BR Blue in the August.

33063 was withdrawn from service in late 2004 pending body work repairs. The locomotive entered the shed at Tunbridge Wells following wheel turning at Temple Mills, where it got tantalisingly close to main line once again, in February 2005. Following major repairs to the bodysides and a repaint, 33063 re-appeared in September 2005 with a new livery and a name. The engine appeared in Construction livery, the first for a Crompton in preservation, and was named 'R. J. Mitchell' in a special naming ceremony.

The name, after the designer of the Spitfire, fills a gap in a naming scheme initiated by Eastleigh works in the 1990s to name the Cromptons after things to do with the Spitfire aircraft. R. J. Mitchell was never used so 33063 was named in a special ceremony on the 3rd September 2005 by the Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, and included a Spitfire flypast.

33063 is now based at the railway alongside sister Crompton 'Sealion' as part of the decision by the owning group to make the Spa Valley Railway their operating and maintenance base for the foreseeable future. The railway only require the use of one Crompton; therefore, the spare is available for hire/gala visits to other railways. For more information please contact SELG by email:- secretaryatselg.co.uk

The locomotive was withdrawn from service in early 2007 having suffered traction motor flashovers. The group removed the defective bogie and replaced the motors with two refurbished spares, undertaking a thorough bogie clean and repaint at the same time. The loco's return to revenue earning traffic, was at the Nene Valley Railway's Autumn diesel gala in October 2007.

Livery - Construction 3 Tone Grey Livery

Current Status - In Service

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