Designed by Brush Ltd, a total of 512 locomotives, of what later became the Class 47, were built between 1962 and 1967 by Brush and BR Crewe. They were designed as Type 4 mixed traffic locomotives, in a second phase of diesel locomotive building by the British Transport Commission, and became the British standard Type 4 design.

Being a large class, which has had a long life, there are many variations due to modifications to batches and refurbishments. There are, consequently, five subclasses and the review model is based on a subject in the 47/4 subclass.

This includes the numbers 47401 to 47665 and these are locomotives with electric or dual heating systems. The first arrived in 1962 but many more conversions took place to enlarge this subclass.

The first Class 47 was withdrawn following accident damage in 1966 but a good number remain in traffic with various operators. Quite a large number have been preserved for use on heritage railways, while others have been rebuilt into Class 57 locomotives.