Amerton Railway > Locomotives > Diesel Locomotives > Deutz No. 19531

Deutz No. 19531

Builder: Deutz
No: 19531
Year: 1937

This small diesel loco was built by Deutz in Germany as their type OME 117F. She worked at a sugar mill in Coucy-le-Chateau in Northern France until she was bought by John Butler, who brought her to the UK in 1971 and preserved her on his line in Ripley, Surrey. This locomotive is now owned by Peter and Stephen Bell, and she arrived at Amerton in October 2009, barely able to run. She is currently stripped down and under restoration. The cab added in France has been removed, and the locomotive will be restored to its original appearance.

The OME 117F was built by Deutz from about 1932 until 1939 and was the smallest of a range of diesel locos. The single cylinder 12hp two stroke diesel engine is unusual, as it has a separate scavenge cylinder. There is a conventional friction clutch and 4-speed gearbox, with forward and reverse gears providing a speed range of 3 to 13Km/h. Other statistics are:
HP: 12
Weight: 2.8t
Livery: Black.

There is a local link to Stafford in that Bagnalls had entered into an agreement in the early 1930s to build Deutz locomotives under licence, and the first few built followed the original Deutz appearance. Only one type OME 117F is thought to have been built by Bagnalls in Stafford, although a number of larger Deutz locomotives were constructed. Inevitably the agreement with Deutz finished around 1938, just prior to the Second World War.