Locomotive No. 9529 Class 14 (Type 1) 0-6-0 Diesel Hydraulic
Country of origin: United Kingdom.
Builders: British Rail, Swindon. Year: 1964/65. Engine: Paxman Ventura 6YJXL 650 hp (485KW) @ 1500 rpm. Tractive effort: 32,000 Ibs. (142KN) Transmission: Hydraulic; Voith/North British L21 7U /Hunslet 650 gear box. Locomotive weight: 50 tons. (50.8tonnes) Driving wheels diameter: 4'0"(1219mm). Train brakes: Air/Vacuum. Max. Speed; 40mph (64km/h) Original owner: British Railways (WR). Current owners; Iron & Steel Traction Group (Stratrail) |
Background History
56 of these Swindon Type 1(later class 14) diesel hydraulic locomotives (it was initially envisaged that there would be over 300), numbered D9500 to D9555, were built in 1964/65 by British Railways' Swindon Works, as the final stage of the Western Region's diesel hydraulic program. At this time the other British Railways Regions had
adopted diesel -electric traction to replace steam. The class 14’s, principally designed to replace the numerous 'Pannier' and Prarie' tank engines on the Western Region, replacing them in the South Wales coal fields and for short freight 'trip' workings which required the 4-character route indicators and vacuum brakes, where periodic shunting around a station yard would be required between fast dashes along the main line. But even as the locomotives were being built, much of this work was
rapidly disappearing as the so-called 'Beeching Axe' reshaped British Railways and closed down wayside stations, along with their wagon load goods traffic and indeed, some of the main lines themselves.
Initial allocations of the class 14’s were therefore on the Western Region, at London's Old Oak Common (Shed Code 81A), Bristol Bath Road (82A), Worcester (85A), Cardiff Canton (86A) and Landore (87E). The locomotives became surplus as their work disappeared and many were stored at places such as Gloucester and Worcester, although a number had been transferred to Hull Dairycoates (5OB) for use on the North Eastern Region, ousting the remaining steam locomotives in that area.
With hindsight, it can now be seen that the Class 14’s need never have been built and in fact, all the locomotives had been withdrawn from BR service by 1970, less than 5 years from new. At this time that, under BR's new TOPS classification, the Type 1's were re-classified as Class 14s.
Realising the economic advantages of acquiring cheap, relatively new, ex BR locomotives, Corby based Stewart & Lloyd Minerals Ltd. (subsequently part of British Steel Corporation) purchased 23 Class 14s from BR in 1968. These were allocated to S & L Minerals' ironstone quarries at Buckminster and Harlaxton in Lincolnshire and to Corby and Glendon in Northamptonshire, replacing their existing steam fleet. Because the ‘Steelman’ was S&LMLtd. projected customer (See DL83), This action effectively closed the Sentinal works. At about the same time the National Coal Board purchased 19 Class 14s from BR.
Locomotive History
With the subsequent contraction of the British steel industry and closure of the quarries and then Corby Steelworks itself in 1980 (where the remaining members of BSC's fleet had gathered) the locomotives were, once again,surplus to requirements and were either scrapped, re-sold or acquired for preservation. The decline of the British coal industry followed within a few short years and the same fate befell the NCB Class 14s.
D9529 first allocation was Cardiff Canton 26th January 1965 then later to Landore, May 1965 working the South Wales coalfields In June 1965, having a recorded 850 hours from new, the loco came to grief at the head of a run-away coal train on one of the steeply graded valley lines in South Wales at Glyncorrwg Colliery, Sent to Swindon Works for repair Interestingly, some of the nature and extent of these repairs, particularly to the cab and superstructure, came to light during the loco’s body overhaul and repaint at NVR in 2011. After repair at Swindon, D9529 returned to Landore but it was not long before, along with others of the class, the loco was placed in store at Worcester in May 1967. D9529, however, was luckier, being one of the second batch of locos transferred from the Western Region for work on BR’s North East Region, moving direct from Worcester to Hull on 14th May 1967. By August of that year, the loco was back in Swindon Works for an unscheduled then upgraded to intermediate repair for continuous upgrades! D9529 returned to Hull from Swindon, just about in time to be placed in store and then, along with the others of the class at Hull, withdrawn from service by BR on 1st April 1968, due to the decline in goods traffic in the area and the use of more suitable English Electric Type 1 (Class 20) locos. After reading an article about BR’s‘embarrassment’ over a large number of redundant ‘nearly new’ diesel locomotives at Hull in a National newspaper, the ‘North of the Welland’ Manager of Stewarts & Lloyds Minerals Ltd (later part of the British Steel Corporation) obtained sanction to purchase some Class 14s for the company’s Lincolnshire and Leicestershire ironstone quarries to replace the steam fleet. Accordingly, possibly because it was in the best condition having been‘rebuilt’ at Swindon and had received further, recent Works’ attention, D9529 was delivered from Hull to Buckminster Quarries (Lincolnshire) under its own power to begin 2 months’ trials on 26th August 1968, incidentally, being the first of the 49 locos of the class which escaped scrapping to be sold by BR for industrial service.
D9529 had its crest and BR number painted out and became No.‘20’ painted on the cabside with its Plant No. ‘8411/20’ carried on small Formica plates fixed to the cab front and inside the cab. In common with all the other locos, D9529 eventually received a headlight on each bonnet end, using floodlights formerly fixed to quarry excavators. The trials proving the suitability of the loco type, a total of 8 locos were purchased (5 at Buckminster and 3 at Harlaxton) by the end of 1968. With the closure of these northern quarries in the early 1970’s, all the ‘North of the Welland’ locos were transferred to Corby to join the 15 already there in September 1972. Becoming No.'61' Corby second numbering scheme, (late 1974), worked in the ironstone quarries being one of the working locos at the end of quarrying on the closure of iron and steel making at Corby in 1980. For a short time, as a working loco, it was amongst the small group of locos put to work in the Tubes Works. This duty was fairly short-lived, however, D9529 joined others on 29th December 1980 , which had not already been cut up, in store in the Old Bessemer Plant within the closed Steel works.
Preservation
D9529 was sold and moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, leaving Corby in a freight train consist with D9520 on 16th March 1981 . The locos were the first two of the class to work in preservation, D9526 being the first of the class to be preserved, in April 1980 from Westbury Cement Works to the DEPG on the West Somerset Railway but out of use.
Both D9520/29 were regular performers on ‘The Moors’, with D9529 being named ‘The Permanent Way Institution’ in September 1984, until the failure of D9529’s transmission generator drive saw it sidelined and sold, the loco moving to the Great Central Railway 11th December 1984 where it joined D9516/23 which had both been preserved from Corby. At Loughborough, D9529 was soon repaired and repainted in what was described as a‘what might have been’ livery in rail blue as 14029 (following Swindon Drawings which had been drawn up for such repainting) had the class lasted long enough with BR into the ‘TOPS’ era.
The trio moved to Nene Valley Railway in 1988/9, 14029 arriving 7th December 1988. In April 1995, the loco was loaned to the Battlefield Line, returning to NVR on 9th November of that year from where it was eventually sold, moving to the Kent & East Sussex Railway on 23rd June 2000.
On 16th June 2001, 14029 became the first of the class to enter industrial service from preservation, moving to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL1) construction site (Beechbrook Farm). There then followed nearly a decade when along with D9504 were employed on industrial contract hire at locations such as Dagenham, Tilbury and Chatham Docks, Whitemoor Yard construction, Aggregate Industries’ Bardon Hill Quarries and CTRL2 interspersed with visits to Nene Valley Railway for maintenance, servicing and overhaul, including full engine (power unit) rebuilds.
In 2010/11, 14029 underwent a full body overhaul and repaint maintaining its BR Blue livery, but with 9529 identity and received a 6000 hours service. It is now based on the NVR within the ISTG in between any commercial contracts, available for service on the Railway, sharing duties with D9520.
56 of these Swindon Type 1(later class 14) diesel hydraulic locomotives (it was initially envisaged that there would be over 300), numbered D9500 to D9555, were built in 1964/65 by British Railways' Swindon Works, as the final stage of the Western Region's diesel hydraulic program. At this time the other British Railways Regions had
adopted diesel -electric traction to replace steam. The class 14’s, principally designed to replace the numerous 'Pannier' and Prarie' tank engines on the Western Region, replacing them in the South Wales coal fields and for short freight 'trip' workings which required the 4-character route indicators and vacuum brakes, where periodic shunting around a station yard would be required between fast dashes along the main line. But even as the locomotives were being built, much of this work was
rapidly disappearing as the so-called 'Beeching Axe' reshaped British Railways and closed down wayside stations, along with their wagon load goods traffic and indeed, some of the main lines themselves.
Initial allocations of the class 14’s were therefore on the Western Region, at London's Old Oak Common (Shed Code 81A), Bristol Bath Road (82A), Worcester (85A), Cardiff Canton (86A) and Landore (87E). The locomotives became surplus as their work disappeared and many were stored at places such as Gloucester and Worcester, although a number had been transferred to Hull Dairycoates (5OB) for use on the North Eastern Region, ousting the remaining steam locomotives in that area.
With hindsight, it can now be seen that the Class 14’s need never have been built and in fact, all the locomotives had been withdrawn from BR service by 1970, less than 5 years from new. At this time that, under BR's new TOPS classification, the Type 1's were re-classified as Class 14s.
Realising the economic advantages of acquiring cheap, relatively new, ex BR locomotives, Corby based Stewart & Lloyd Minerals Ltd. (subsequently part of British Steel Corporation) purchased 23 Class 14s from BR in 1968. These were allocated to S & L Minerals' ironstone quarries at Buckminster and Harlaxton in Lincolnshire and to Corby and Glendon in Northamptonshire, replacing their existing steam fleet. Because the ‘Steelman’ was S&LMLtd. projected customer (See DL83), This action effectively closed the Sentinal works. At about the same time the National Coal Board purchased 19 Class 14s from BR.
Locomotive History
With the subsequent contraction of the British steel industry and closure of the quarries and then Corby Steelworks itself in 1980 (where the remaining members of BSC's fleet had gathered) the locomotives were, once again,surplus to requirements and were either scrapped, re-sold or acquired for preservation. The decline of the British coal industry followed within a few short years and the same fate befell the NCB Class 14s.
D9529 first allocation was Cardiff Canton 26th January 1965 then later to Landore, May 1965 working the South Wales coalfields In June 1965, having a recorded 850 hours from new, the loco came to grief at the head of a run-away coal train on one of the steeply graded valley lines in South Wales at Glyncorrwg Colliery, Sent to Swindon Works for repair Interestingly, some of the nature and extent of these repairs, particularly to the cab and superstructure, came to light during the loco’s body overhaul and repaint at NVR in 2011. After repair at Swindon, D9529 returned to Landore but it was not long before, along with others of the class, the loco was placed in store at Worcester in May 1967. D9529, however, was luckier, being one of the second batch of locos transferred from the Western Region for work on BR’s North East Region, moving direct from Worcester to Hull on 14th May 1967. By August of that year, the loco was back in Swindon Works for an unscheduled then upgraded to intermediate repair for continuous upgrades! D9529 returned to Hull from Swindon, just about in time to be placed in store and then, along with the others of the class at Hull, withdrawn from service by BR on 1st April 1968, due to the decline in goods traffic in the area and the use of more suitable English Electric Type 1 (Class 20) locos. After reading an article about BR’s‘embarrassment’ over a large number of redundant ‘nearly new’ diesel locomotives at Hull in a National newspaper, the ‘North of the Welland’ Manager of Stewarts & Lloyds Minerals Ltd (later part of the British Steel Corporation) obtained sanction to purchase some Class 14s for the company’s Lincolnshire and Leicestershire ironstone quarries to replace the steam fleet. Accordingly, possibly because it was in the best condition having been‘rebuilt’ at Swindon and had received further, recent Works’ attention, D9529 was delivered from Hull to Buckminster Quarries (Lincolnshire) under its own power to begin 2 months’ trials on 26th August 1968, incidentally, being the first of the 49 locos of the class which escaped scrapping to be sold by BR for industrial service.
D9529 had its crest and BR number painted out and became No.‘20’ painted on the cabside with its Plant No. ‘8411/20’ carried on small Formica plates fixed to the cab front and inside the cab. In common with all the other locos, D9529 eventually received a headlight on each bonnet end, using floodlights formerly fixed to quarry excavators. The trials proving the suitability of the loco type, a total of 8 locos were purchased (5 at Buckminster and 3 at Harlaxton) by the end of 1968. With the closure of these northern quarries in the early 1970’s, all the ‘North of the Welland’ locos were transferred to Corby to join the 15 already there in September 1972. Becoming No.'61' Corby second numbering scheme, (late 1974), worked in the ironstone quarries being one of the working locos at the end of quarrying on the closure of iron and steel making at Corby in 1980. For a short time, as a working loco, it was amongst the small group of locos put to work in the Tubes Works. This duty was fairly short-lived, however, D9529 joined others on 29th December 1980 , which had not already been cut up, in store in the Old Bessemer Plant within the closed Steel works.
Preservation
D9529 was sold and moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, leaving Corby in a freight train consist with D9520 on 16th March 1981 . The locos were the first two of the class to work in preservation, D9526 being the first of the class to be preserved, in April 1980 from Westbury Cement Works to the DEPG on the West Somerset Railway but out of use.
Both D9520/29 were regular performers on ‘The Moors’, with D9529 being named ‘The Permanent Way Institution’ in September 1984, until the failure of D9529’s transmission generator drive saw it sidelined and sold, the loco moving to the Great Central Railway 11th December 1984 where it joined D9516/23 which had both been preserved from Corby. At Loughborough, D9529 was soon repaired and repainted in what was described as a‘what might have been’ livery in rail blue as 14029 (following Swindon Drawings which had been drawn up for such repainting) had the class lasted long enough with BR into the ‘TOPS’ era.
The trio moved to Nene Valley Railway in 1988/9, 14029 arriving 7th December 1988. In April 1995, the loco was loaned to the Battlefield Line, returning to NVR on 9th November of that year from where it was eventually sold, moving to the Kent & East Sussex Railway on 23rd June 2000.
On 16th June 2001, 14029 became the first of the class to enter industrial service from preservation, moving to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL1) construction site (Beechbrook Farm). There then followed nearly a decade when along with D9504 were employed on industrial contract hire at locations such as Dagenham, Tilbury and Chatham Docks, Whitemoor Yard construction, Aggregate Industries’ Bardon Hill Quarries and CTRL2 interspersed with visits to Nene Valley Railway for maintenance, servicing and overhaul, including full engine (power unit) rebuilds.
In 2010/11, 14029 underwent a full body overhaul and repaint maintaining its BR Blue livery, but with 9529 identity and received a 6000 hours service. It is now based on the NVR within the ISTG in between any commercial contracts, available for service on the Railway, sharing duties with D9520.