Built between 1962 and 1968, the Class 47 Co-Co Diesel-Electric locomotive was once the most numerous class of mainline diesel in Britain with 512 examples. 310 locomotives were constructed by Brush Traction in Loughborough, and the remaining 202 at Crewe. The locomotives were used for passenger and freight operations beginning in 1962 in the BR Green livery, before being repainted into the BR Blue colour scheme before further diversification saw them painted in all manner of liveries.
Strong performers, these locomotives were among some of the largest to be employed by British rail. The first five withdrawals were all due to accident damage with the first planned decommissioning taking place in February 1986. As withdrawals began, ostensibly due to a lack of parts the withdrawn engines in turn solved this issue, and therefore the Class 47 disappeared slowly once withdrawals began.
In 2023, 30 of the class remain operational on the national network with West Coast Railways being the largest operator, 17 are stored, 33 have been converted to the Class 57 and an additional 32 have been preserved.