The British Rail Class 27 is a diesel locomotive built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) during 1961 and 1962.

[1] Original allocations were D5347–D5369 to Glasgow Eastfield, D5370–D5378 to Thornaby and D5379–D5415 to London Cricklewood for Tilbury Boat trains and Cross-London freight services.

By September 1986, the final vacuum brake only locomotives had been withdrawn, regular duties on passenger services had ceased and only twenty-one of the class remained, allocated entirely to Eastfield depot.

By the late 1960s, the Swindon-built Inter City DMUs operating the Edinburgh Waverley - Glasgow Queen Street express service were becoming unreliable.

The push-pull sets were replaced in 1980 by single Class 47/7s at one end of a rake of Mark 2 carriages and a DBSO.