The End

It’s 1971 and the end of the line for the Warships. Whilst many were dumped at Swindon Works, this was Old Oak Common’s contribution. Class 42 D817 ‘Foxhound’ is in intermediate maroon livery with original size numbering, whilst 823 ‘Hermes’ behind is in full rail-blue livery. Whilst I have never forgiven BR for eliminating steam so wastefully and unnecessarily quickly, it was sad to see these fine but idiosyncratic locos consigned so soon after being built, to the same ignominious end. Next in the scrap line is D809 ‘Champion’, also in maroon livery and finally the line is completed by Class 43 842 ‘Royal Oak’ in full rail-blue livery.

Forlorn and unloved, Warship Class 43 number 852 ‘Tenacious,’ no longer living up to its name, languishes in the scrapyard at Swindon Works on a cold and misty winter’s day, with only a Collett tender and a Diesel Brake Tender for company. The very short wheelbase wagon in the foreground looks like a mobile-crane matchwagon� We tend to think of the very short lives of some of the Standard classes of steam locomotive as scandalous, but the elimination at all costs of diesel-hydraulics after a decade of use should be considered equally wasteful.

A late 1971 foggy Sunday visit to Swindon Works finds two North British Loco company Type 2s awaiting the call from the scrap man. Number D6312 in the foreground is in original green livery and with as-built numbering, but has had the twin headcode boxes added later in its life, having originally sported headcodes by disc. Note the corridor connection doors in the centre of the nose fitted for when it would be hauling a train in multiple with one of its siblings. In contrast, the example behind, 6356, is one of the later 1100hp versions and displays its rail-blue livery with arrows and large side numbers� The Collett coach at the rear was a missed opportunity for preservationists!

North British-built Type 2 Class 21, number D6122, of a type that was keen on many varieties of self-destruction from engine blow-ups to major fires, was one of two diesels to be dumped at Woodham’s Barry yard. Meanwhile 4979 ‘Helperly Hall’ probably can’t resist a smirk at having had a far longer and more productive life than its adjacent opposition. It turns out that D6122 is at the centre of a controversy concerning identity as there seems to be some evidence to suggest that at one time it swapped identities with D6121. Apparently that number appeared on one of its cabsides after being weathered for years at Barry. Also, as D6122 it was used in a re-railing exercise at Hither Green shed in November 1967 en route from Scotland to Barry!

‘The name’s Spartan, James….’, as the headcode box that someone at Swindon has arranged as a spoof suggests, 844 ‘Spartan’ looks as if it is about to go into battle stripped for action as its namesakes would have done, but sadly the loco is on a scrap line outside the back of the works in December 1971, hence its lean and hungry look� It still looks presentable though and certainly as good as some that were still running, considering the state the Western Class 52s were allowed to descend into before withdrawal. I have said before about the scandalously short lives of the Standard steam classes, but these hydraulic types of diesel come close. ‘Spartan’ was completed on 12/4/61 and enjoyed only ten years of action, being withdrawn on 3/10/71 and scrapped on 19/5/72. It is said that when taken out of service, classmate 857 was in faultless order�

The first main-line diesels to appear on the Western Region, in 1958, were a small class of 2000hp locomotives with hydraulic transmission and A1A-A1A wheel arrangement. They were built by North British and given the appellation Warships. This is the second in the class, D601 ‘Ark Royal’. They were large and heavy and unreliable and soon succeeded by the iconic D8XX Warships. Ark Royal has seen much better days than this though, as it gradually rots away in a siding at Dai Woodham’s famous Barry scrapyard� Perhaps it is a pity that no-one had the foresight to preserve it, even as a static exhibit, but apparently it was not considered worth bothering with�

In selecting the photographs we have made every effort to choose images that have never been published previously; however, some may also be worthy of a second look because of the quality and subject matter.

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