Western Heroes - DVD
£19.49
Recommended retail price: £19.95
Stock type: -
Stock reference: 156.GV130
£19.49
Recommended retail price: £19.95
Stock type: -
Stock reference: 156.GV130
The Western Region of BR was alone in choosing to replace steam by diesel-hydraulic locomotives, the remainder of BR choosing electric transmission (and mechanical transmission for some shunters). For two decades diesel-hydraulic locomotives dominated services on BR (WR).
There were type 2 B-B locomotives built by North British in Glasgow and numbered in the D6300 series. These operated both main line and branch line services on former Great Western Railway tracks, plus other lines in the area. They were somewhat short-lived.
The 'Warships' came in two varieties. Those in the D600 series were more powerful version of the D6300s, and were equally short-lived. Those 'Warships' in the D800 series were a specially commissioned version of the successful German V200 class, but made small enough to fit the British loading gauge.
The 'Western' class were uniquely styled, with their flat fronts. Their sound was unusual in Britain, where Maybach engines were unusual.
Enthusiasts have always been quick to follow the 'Hymek' locomotives in the D7000 series. These had body styling which was much more pleasing to the eye than many previous diesel types. They were built by the famous firm of Beyer Peacock at Gorton in Manchester (of Beyer-Garratt articulated steam locomotive fame).
The other locomotive featured in this programme is the prototype Co-Co diesel-electric named 'Falcon'. She was roughly similar in outline to the Brush type 4 (later known as the class 47).
See the above-mentioned types of locomotive on the Western Region's main line between London and Bristol, and in the West of England. The oldest archive footage in these sequences dates from 1962, portraying a world which came to an end in the 1970s when the final diesel-hydraulic locomotive was withdrawn by BR.
Format: DVD
Film Type: Colour
Duration: 56 minutes
Return to
Diesel & Electric
Saxon Court Books, part of Blue Heron Network Ltd, PO Box 235, East Molesey, KT8 1WE
Telephone or Fax: 020 8783 1024