Before the demise of the Birmigham Railway Carriage & Wagon Works three very similar orders were filled in the Type 2 & 3 range. Very similar in appearance and marked principally by internal differences - the Class 26's carried the 6LDA28A power unit, the Class 27's featured the uprated 'B' model, whilst the Class 33's carried an 8LDA28, the bigger power unit accomodated because the Southern Region didn't require train heating boilers to be fitted into the Class 33's.

The Classes initially were spread far & wide, the Class 26's split between the suburban services of Kings Cross and the Highland Lines. The Class 27's called the Midland mainline home, whilst a small batch graced Thornaby depot. Trouble with the North British products on the Scottish Region saw the entire Class 26 fleet quickly moved to the Scottish Region. A number of Class 27's also went north to fill in on the West Highland lines, it would be several more years before they too were all allocated to Scottish depots. The Class 33's were synonymous with the Southern Region, allocated to Eastleigh & Hither Green, though they were familiar sights on the inter-regional Bromford Bridge oil tanks and the infamous Cliffe - Uddingston cement workings over the ECML.

Class 26's

On a gloriously wet May 16 1981, when it would have surprised no one if Noah & The Ark had materialised on the flooded streets of Glasgow, a visit was made around Glasgow Works. Despite sodden note books and shoes overflowing with water the locomotives awaiting repair still succumbed to the hardiest of the photographers. Captured on film here is a slightly battle scarred 26046. Still with a bright future ahead our next visit to Glasgow Works found 26046 in the main erecting shop with evidence of much new sheet metalwork to the cab area.

Class 27's

	With many of the new Class 27's allocated to depots at the southern end of the Midland mainline, they were frequent visitors to Derby Works for overhauls until all members of the class were transferred to Scotland. The first casualty was D5383, seriously damaged in a collision at East Langton on August 20 1965. Withdrawal came in January 1966, repairs considered uneconomic. Seen here at Derby Works, date unknown, D5383 awaits its fate.
	Heavily cannibalised and displaying fire damage above both bogies 27006 stands dumped at Eastfield on June 5 1976.
	A broken cab window, dented metalwork and scraped paint reveal 27010, seen here at Eastfield on June 28 1978, has been involved in a minor collision. From the condition of other Class 27's seen on visits to Scotland it is quite likely that this damage would be repaired by the depot, allowing the locomotive to return to traffic much sooner than if sent to the main Workshops.
	27031 reveals the reason for its early demise, considerable fire damage to the bogie and body. Its next in line for the cutters torch on this gloomy June 29 1978. In the background the remants of 40072 succumb to the scrappers at Glasgow Works.
	The substantial stonework of Perth station keeps fire damaged 27033 away from the eyes of BR's fare paying passngers. Seen here on April 7 1979 27033 would live to fight another day, its damage rectified by the repair crews at Glasgow Works
	The remoteness of some of the lines travelled by the Class 27's meant problems were considerable if failures occurred. Although fitted with fire fighting equipment, if this failed to extinguish the flames outside help was often some distance away. In this view of 27044 at Eastfield on June 29 1980 it appears that the fire took serious hold of this locomotive.
	When the Class 27's took over the Glasgow - Edinburgh push-pull service they were no spring chickens, with the intensive workings soon revealing maintenance problems. Despite the higher levels of preventative maintenance they were still prone to fires. Here withdrawn 27201 stands at Polmadie on February 24 1979, presumably becoming a parts source for other Scottish Type 2's.
	27202 awaits the scrapman at Glasgow Works on October 4 1980, having sustained damage similar to that of 27201.
	After sustaining considerable damage in a collision in Glasgow 27203 was moved to Derby Works for repair and is seen here on December 22 1982 shortly after arrival. Derby were none too keen to effect its repair, leading to its withdrawal in May 1983. It lingered at Etches Park until Vic Berry was contracted to clear Derby Works/Etches Park of any remaining scrap locomotives

Class 33's

	The remains of 33036 rest at Slade Green July 14 1979.

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