BEST LOOKING LOCO EVER !!

Nothing quite as unique looking and special as the BR Western Class. So glad I got to see some in service at Paddington as a kid!

Makes me think of Saturday mornings at the end of Reading platform 4, got to "cab" a Western once. Also, deceived a fellow into thinking he'd spotted D1074 Western Supermare one time, kids are cruel...

Worth remembering that they fell out of use when air con stock (Mk 2 d/e/f) came into use on the WR, as they were never fitted with electric train heating. Only had steam heating boilers, thus they were replaced by eth fitted class 47s and class 50s transferred after electric traction was extended to Glasgow etc around the same time.

@gs425

3 жыл бұрын

Add to this is the fact that the westerns were the only hydraulics that were fitted with air brakes, at a time when most new stock was moving rapidly to air away from vacuum. Ok so it would be a far easier retro fit than eth but still added to the non standard of other hydraulics

As Bob said there was nothing wrong with the Technology it was just "non standard"

I can recall seeing what I thought was a GLIMPSE gold diesel at Paddington as we pulled out in 1962. It was quite a few years later that what I thought might have been a childhood memory playing tricks on me was D1000- painted in that "desert sand" livery. All the others I ever saw were green or maroon or later in blue. However, I loved the way the platform seemed to shake as these locos pulled out of Reading General!

@mikethecabbie8476

4 жыл бұрын

Hell, yeah!! Remember that, too, as they barrelled through Maidenhead...

Just as an aside I've never approached London Paddington so fast as behind a Class 52 Western. It felt like over 100 mph in mk. 1 BR stock and I remember thinking `we are approaching a dead end station!' Of course the driver slowed the train smoothly to a stand, maybe he was making up time. What beasts the Westerns were, they were so noisy that I could hear them approaching Maidenhead where I lived as a kid (Pinkneys Green) on some days.

Great looking locomotive

The GWR was a very innovative railway right from the start. Isambard Kingdom Brunel pioneered the atmospheric railway. This is analogous to rail electrification. Brunel would have approved of GWR electrification. Diesel Hydraulics I am sure he would have liked their efficiency. They are used extensively in Europe. The Pilot shunter at Burgas station (Bulgaria) is a Romanian FAUR diesel hydraulic shunter

@neiloflongbeck5705

3 жыл бұрын

The atmospheric railway was pioneered in Ireland, Brubel just copied it. It was a failure. They couldn't keep dirt out and the eans loved to eat the leather sealing flaps. Changing lines was also much more complicated.

Poor thing needs restoring to FULL working order. Fantastic loco to drive.

Best looking diesel on BR and still sexy today 👍🏻

I remember in the winter time driving past the Laira depot late at night when you could see a long line of Westerns all with engines running to avoid the freezing temperatures. I don’t consider the Westerns as a last gasp more a technical leap forward that was never allowed to develop. My particular favourite was WESTERN ENTERPRISE. Maybach music at its finest!

I was your 1000th subscriber! Well done!

Rubbish ! on the WR we had NEW depots built in the 1960's , Canton for example, brand new equipment and an allocation of diesel hydraulics ,Hymeks I have worked on all types of traction, we always had clean tools. All parts removed were layed out on benches on blue paper roll. Diesel hydraulics were maintained the same as diesel electrics, to job cards and exam sheets. So this video is not showing what realy happened. The diesel hydraulics were not standard for BR, the policy were defined by Derby, pro diesel electric ,so the WR were beaten before it started.

@PreservationEnthusiast

6 жыл бұрын

The hydraulics were crap. Best thing was to cut these for scrap asap which was what was done.

@DOCTORDROTT

6 жыл бұрын

You don't know what you are talking about, they were very good on passenger and Westbury stone traffic. A bit more TLC and more support from BR HQ was needed.Germany still use them , do you realise that a lot of todays multiple units are in fact diesel hydraulic . The were non standard, the reason for withdrawl, only 74 Westerns were built, over 500 cass 47 were built. Electrics took on LMR work, so the class 50's were not needed, so a decision was taken to transfer them to the WR to replace the diesel hydraulic type fours. I have worked on most types of diesel traction over the last 42 years.

@PreservationEnthusiast

6 жыл бұрын

Another die hard Swindon fan with rose tinted spectacles! Well Swindon works has been demolished now. The hydraulics were difficult to maintain because the British works were incapable of clean workshop conditions like the Germans. This is important to prevent contamination of the hydraulic fluid. Hence they were scrapped and Swindon is no more. The lessons of history have thankfully been learned!

@DOCTORDROTT

6 жыл бұрын

Swindon engine rebuild section was very good, all parts were degreased and checked, new depots were built on the WR at the time these were built. I worked at Swindon and saw it first hand , also at a major depot

@DOCTORDROTT

6 жыл бұрын

I also saw engines on test before they were fitted to locos. All oils were kept clean, old oil drained and that went to oil recycling companies and not reused

Cheers bob.

And how much standardisation is there now, every new unit they order is different.

@charlesbrain3872

4 жыл бұрын

Same in Australia. It’s a dogs mess in most countries. Funding allocations in dribs n drabs creates the messy fleets in our contemporary systems. It’s a shame

What utter ‘BS’! The poor old Westerns were betrayed by BR in favour of Diesel Electrics. I was an engineer for only 7 years on the railways but the Westerns were treated with the respect they deserved. They were let down as no spares were bought for them and the crews were told ‘run to destruction’ basically drive them into the ground until they failed 😔 then as each one had a major failure they were scrapped or ‘ bodged’ to get a few more diagrams from them 😢 Look at footage of the final years of the 52’s many had hardly any paint left and were in a disgusting run down condition - so sad.

@82lostsoul

4 жыл бұрын

Keyboard Krazy poor D1065 Western Consort comes to mind, more bare patches than paint by the end of her life. 😢

@Watermillfilms

3 жыл бұрын

This may be controversial, but is that because it was a nationalised railway? The western was a bit too individual and BR wanted the railways to be more standard? What do you think?

@dartskipper3170

Жыл бұрын

​@@Watermillfilms When the various companies were slammed together to create the brand shiny new British Railways, the CME job was given to Robin Riddles of the LMS, and he set about building a new standardised fleet of steam locomotives for every region and they were all based on current LMS designs and practices. Then the Labour Government decided oil fuelled machinery was the future because oil in those days was relatively much cheaper than coal. So yes, politics of one form or another played a big part in the chaos of the 1960's railway scene.

Only in this tiny country when it is nationalised and the mess of different locomotives is pruned down and then in the diesel age could it all start again with a region of the supposedly unified entity going their own way. 229 different types steam locomotives listed as running in my 1958 Observer's book and the mind boggles how many there were pre-nationalisation. Saw my first Diesel Hydraulic at Tiverton junction whilst waiting on a train behind a magnificent King class before leaving for Paddington. It is almost as though we embrace chaos in this country and the system is a fragmented as ever especially here in East Anglia with our slow grotty regional service in this backwater East of the East coast mainline.

Other countries with state owned railways allowed them to diversify their business to raise extra capital that the U.K. never did. Good sight how about more preserved GWR steam?

What he dosn,t mention is the DB rarely exceeded 75% of full power, we ran em at 100%, no wonder led to maintenece prob,s. Been lucky enough to be hauled by warhip,s/western,s the power surge was unreal.

Why in a country which then had an extensive electrical industry was the Western Region ever allowed to go down this route? Diesel-electric was the obvious choice, even the GWR gas turbine had electric transmission.

@garthhentley5957

4 жыл бұрын

I understand that the BTC chose the Western Region to host Diesel hydraulic development as it was the only London based region without an electrified network.

@neiloflongbeck5705

3 жыл бұрын

Because the Diesel-Hydraulic locomotives offered to be much lighter than the equivalent powered Diesel-Electric locomotive. The 2,070 hp (D800-D802) or 2,270 hp (D803-D829, D831-D832, D866-D870) D800 Warships Class (later Class 42) came in at 79 tons, whilst the Peaks came in at 133 tons for the 2,300 hp Class 44 and 2,500 hp Class 45 or 138 tons for the 2,500 hp Class 46

Could you imagine if it was refitted with 2 Napier engines !!!!!!!!

@neiloflongbeck5705

3 жыл бұрын

And electric transmission. At least then it could handle the later Mark2 coaches.

BR said at the time they were non standard but they were allocated to the western so could of been left there ,what a waste of fine equipment who knows we could of seen them in large logo ,NSE or like the hymek in duch livery I was watching a DVD about the western and was sad to see 10 year old locomotives going to the breakers.

@kenmcdowell5325

Жыл бұрын

What about the 9fs they were being scrapped after only 5 years of working life

Interesting. Decades on, I hadn't realised British railways risked being tidily disappeared like Canada's has been..oo la

@andydiaz697

4 жыл бұрын

J

@andydiaz697

4 жыл бұрын

J

@andydiaz697

4 жыл бұрын

Oki

The hydraulic transmissions seem to have for's and against's but I think the cab design is hideous.

@MontyCantsin5

3 жыл бұрын

Hideous? You're definitely in the minority thinking that.

@ronnieg6358

3 жыл бұрын

@@MontyCantsin5 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

@ronnieg6358

3 жыл бұрын

@@davidsmith6355 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' Minority of one, its the story of my life!