In 1957 the Western Region of BR identified a need for 400 Type 1
diesel locomotives for short-haul freight duties but it was 1964
before the first was introduced. General-purpose Type 1s were being
delivered elsewhere but WR management regarded these as too expensive
for their requirements. After completion of design work on the
‘Western’ locomotives, Swindon turned to creating a cheap
‘no-frills’ Type 1. At 65% of the cost of the Bo-Bo alternative,
the Swindon 0-6-0 represented a better ‘fit’ for the trip-freight
niche. Since 1957 the privatised road-haulage industry had decimated
BR’s wagon-load sector; while the 1962 Transport Act released BR
from its financially-debilitating public-service obligations, the
damage had been done, and the 1963 Beeching Plan focused on closing
unprofitable routes and associated services. By 1963 the original
requirement for 400 Type 1s had been massively reduced. Fifty-six
locomotives were constructed in 1964/65. Continuing traffic losses
resulted in the whole class becoming redundant by 1969. Fortuitously,
a demand for high-powered diesels on the larger industrial railway
systems saw the bulk of the locomotives finding useful employment for
a further twenty years. This companion book to "Their Life on British
Railways" provides an extensive appraisal of "Their Life in Industry"
for the forty-eight locomotives which made the successful transition
after withdrawal from BR in 1968/69.
Les mer
Their Life in Industry
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781399019187
Publisert
2022
Utgiver
Vendor
Pen and Sword Transport
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter