D318/40118 The locomotive is owned by D318 Ltd., and based at the Birmingham Railway Museum, Tyseley, Birmingham. The 16SVT Society act as custodians of the locomotive, and deal with fund raising from sales stands etc. Please visit the 40118 website for the latest restoration news.
40118 was also built at the factory of Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn in Darlington, allowing the production capacity at Vulcan Foundry to build the 22 production Deltics. Of the RSH batch, it was the last to be withdrawn, outliving 40124 by over 2 years.
As with many of the class 40's, 40118 spent much of its life out of the public gaze hauling freight trains in and around the north and north west of England. It was none the less a favourite with the Class 40 enthusiasts, working various passenger trains over a long career. The loco featured in 'Robbery', the 1967 film about the 'Great' Train Robbery of 1963. With continuing fascination about the events, 40106 and 40135 have since also been filmed portraying the part of D326 on the ill-fated Royal Mail Train, most notably 40106 in the hit movie 'Buster'.
After first withdrawal from BR service, the loco was reinstated in 1985 (with 40012, 40060 and 40135) for the Crewe remodelling work. The engine carried a new number, 97408, officially allocated to BR Headquarters. It was withdrawn in September 1985, only to be reinstated once more - in November 1985. It remained in traffic until 26th February 1986 when, after 25 years and one day, it was finally withdrawn from traffic. It was purchased on 22nd September 1988, and moved by rail from Leicester fuel point to Tyseley on 31st October amp; 1st November 1988.
Final withdrawal from BR was due to two major faults: a seized cam-follower, causing a damaged camshaft, and a collapsed bearing on number 5 traction motor. The motor armature had seized, totally destroying the gear wheel on the axle. The pinion cog on the armature was then cut off by BR to enable the engine to remain in traffic on reduced power. Poor storage between withdrawal and purchase also resulted in damage to the engine block. The coolant had not been drained and this froze, punching a six-inch by six-inch hole in the free end of the block.