English Electric’s 1934 diesel-electric shunter No. 7079 for the LMS proved highly successful and led to further orders across all the “Big Four” railways. Its lineage fed directly into British Railways’ push, after 1948 nationalisation, to create a standardised large shunting locomotive. Drawing heavily on the LMS 350 hp design but incorporating improvements and flexibility for different engines and electrical equipment, the resulting BR standard 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunter—later known as the Class 08—entered production in 1952 as No. 13000.
Between 1950 and 1962, 1,193 locomotives were built at several BR workshops, with multiple engine/electrical pairings and a higher-geared variant for the Southern Region that became the Class 09. The locomotives evolved through different liveries, safety markings and braking systems, and by the 1970s were allocated TOPS classifications: Class 08, 09 and 10. As yards declined in the 1980s–90s, the fleet shrank, though hundreds survived into privatisation.
Today, around 250 examples remain in service or preservation, with some still working for Freightliner and others being converted for modern green traction, proving the enduring flexibility of the original design.