In 1957 the Western Region of British Railways identified a requirement for 400 Type 1 diesel locomotives for short-haul freight duties. General-purpose Type 1 locos were being delivered elsewhere but WR management regarded these as too expensive and turned to creating a cheap ‘no-frills’ Type 1 of their own, designed and built at Swindon.
At 65% of the cost of the Bo-Bo alternative, the Class 14 Swindon 0-6-0 represented a better ‘fit’ for the trip-freight niche. Unfortunately, by the time the Class was delivered in 1964/65, the road haulage industry had decimated BR’s wagonload traffic and the original requirement for trip working had been massively reduced. The whole class became redundant as early as 1969.
Fortuitously, a demand for high-powered diesel locomotives on industrial railway systems saw the bulk of the locomotives finding useful employment for a further twenty years. Of the 56 locomotives constructed, a remarkable 48 made the successful transition into industrial service after withdrawal from BR in 1968/69.
This companion volume to BR Swindon Type 1: Their Life on British Railways provides an extensive appraisal of all forty-eight locomotives, including detailed histories of every locomotive and a survey of the industrial concerns at which the locos were employed. It also contains details of the locomotives exported and those examples that still survive today in preservation.
This book is well-illustrated throughout in colour and black & white. Also includes many data tables, glossary, index and reference sources. Hardback. 296 pages.