Anthony P. Sayer’s BR Swindon Type 1 explores the history of the
experimental 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic locomotives on British Railways.
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 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 privatized road-haulage industry had decimated
BR’s wagon-load sector; whilst 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. Detailed and comprehensive, this is a
fascinating pictorial history of these unique experimental trains.
Les mer
0-6-0 Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotives—Class 14
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781526792402
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Vendor
Pen & Sword Transport
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter