British Rail 10800

British Railways 10800 was a one-off diesel-electric locomotive built by the North British Locomotive Company for British Railways in 1950. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway had ordered it in 1946, but it did not appear until after the 1948 nationalisation of the railways, so it became the first British Railways mixed-traffic diesel-electric locomotive. George Ivatt designed it as a possible replacement for steam locomotives on secondary and branch lines, and it was the first British road switcher; its single cab, with the long bonnet forward, gave the driver a poor view of the road ahead. During a brief time on the Southern Region between 1952 and 1954 it gained the nickname The Wonder Engine. It was successful enough for British Railways to order two classes of similar locomotives in 1955. In 1961 Brush Traction bought it and rebuilt it as the AC transmission prototype Hawk, which ran until 1968 and was scrapped around 1976.