D9551 Angus finally arrives at SVR HQ

 

The British Rail Class 14 is a type of small diesel-hydraulic locomotive built in the mid-1960s. Twenty-six of these 0-6-0 locomotives were ordered in January 1963, to be built at British Railways Swindon Works.

The anticipated work for this class was yard shunting, trip work (between local yards) and short distance freight trains.

The order was expanded to 56 in mid-1963, before work had started on the first order.

 

In July 1964, the first of a class of 56 locomotives appeared from Swindon Works.

These were later designated as TOPS Class 14 by British Railways.

They are known as 'Teddy Bears' by enthusiasts, following a comment by Swindon Works' foreman George Cole who quipped "We've built the Great Bear, now we're going to build a Teddy Bear!"

 

In outline they resembled the Clayton Type 1 (Class 17) locomotives, having a cab which was nearly central with bonnets at each end, but with a fixed 0-6-0 wheel configuration rather than bogies as seen on all the other Type 1 classes. The locomotives were powered by a Paxman 6-cylinder Ventura 6YJXL engine producing 650 bhp (485 kW), connected to a Voith L217U hydraulic transmission and Hunslet gearbox.

The axles were connected by coupling rods and driven by a jackshaft located under the cab, between the second and third axles.

 

The Class 14s, like many other early types of diesel, had an extremely short life with British Railways, in this case not because of poor reliability but because many of its envisaged duties disappeared on the BR network a few years after they came into use. Most were resold for industrial use, where the vast majority had a working life of two to three times that with British Railways.

However, the industries in which they were employed, such as coal mining, declined during the 1970s and the class again became surplus to requirements.

Several have found a third lease of life on preserved lines where they are ideal for both light passenger work and the maintenance of permanent way.

 

Unusually, D9504 was leased in 2005 from its preservation group and found itself in revenue-earning service on the newest mainline in the UK – High Speed 1 (known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link during construction) – mainly in marshalling and stabling the 450 metre, 22-wagon concrete-pumping train on the final stretch to St.Pancras Station.

 

D9524 was re-engined under the ownership of BP Grangemouth – it was later re-engined again under the ownership of the Scottish RPS who, following BR practice, gave it a number of 14 901. It now operates with a Rolls-Royce DV8TCE (640 bhp).

 

The last locomotive built, D9555, was the final locomotive to be built for British Rail at Swindon Works, in 1965; today the locomotive is privately owned and operates on the Dean Forest Railway, Gloucestershire, its original route.

 

D9500 CF NCB Ashington 11/69—? Preserved at Peak Rail

D9501 CF - - Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (6/68)

D9502 CF NCB Ashington 07/69—? Preserved by Heritage Shunters Trust

D9503 50B BSC Harlaxton

BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—07/74

07/74—09/80 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)

D9504 50B NCB Philadelphia

NCB Bolden

NCB Burradon

NCB Ashington 11/68—08/73

08/73—12/74

01/75—09/81

09/81—? Preserved: normally at Kent & East Sussex Rly

D9505 50B APCM Hope, Derbyshire 09/68—05/75 Exported to Bruges, Belgium (05/75)

D9506 CF - - Scrapped at Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate (05/68)

D9507 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—09/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)

D9508 LE NCB Ashington 03/69—01/84 Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)

D9509 CF - - Scrapped at G Cohen Ltd., Kettering (11/70)

D9510 50B BSC Buckminster

BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—06/72

06/72—08/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)

D9511 50B NCB Ashington 11/68—07/79 Scrapped at NCB Ashington (07/79)

D9512 50B BSC Buckminster

BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—09/72

09/72—02/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (02/82)

D9513 CF Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate

NCB Crigglestone

NCB Astley

NCB Ashington 07/68—11/68

11/68—09/69

09/69—10/73

01/74—? Preserved at Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway

D9514 CF NCB Ashington 07/69—12/85 Scrapped at NCB Ashington (12/85)

D9515 50B BSC Buckminster

BSC Corby Steelworks

Hunslet Ltd 11/68—09/72

09/72—12/81

12/81—07/82 Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)

D9516 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—10/81 Preserved at Wensleydale Railway

D9517 CF NCB Ashington 11/69—01/84 Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)

D9518 CF NCB Ashington 06/69—??/87 Preserved at West Somerset Railway

D9519 CF - - Scrapped at G Cohen Ltd., Kettering (11/70)

D9520 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—03/81 Preserved at Nene Valley Railway

D9521 LE NCB Ashington 03/70—11/84 Preserved at Dean Forest Railway

D9522 CF - - Scrapped at Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate (05/68)

D9523 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—10/81 Preserved at Derwent Valley Light Railway, York

D9524 LE BP Grangemouth 07/70—9/81 Preserved: currently at Peak Rail

D9525 50B NCB Philadelphia

NCB Ashington 11/68—03/75

03/75—10/87 Preserved by Heritage Shunters Trust

D9526 CF APCM Westbury 01/70—4/80 Preserved at West Somerset Railway

D9527 CF NCB Ashington 07/69—01/84 Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)

D9528 CF NCB Ashington 03/69—12/81 Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (12/81)

D9529 50B BSC Buckminster

BSC Corby Steelworks (as No. 61) 08/68—9/72

09/72—03/81 Preserved - normally at Kent & East Sussex Rly

D9530 CF Gulf Oil Co.Ltd., Waterston

NCB Mardy Colliery

NCB Tower Colliery 09/69—10/75

10/75—08/82

08/82 Scrapped at NCB Tower Colliery (08/82)

D9531 CF Arnott Young Ltd., Parkgate

NCB Crigglestone

NCB Burradon

NCB Ashington 07/68—11/68

11/68—10/73

10/73—04/74

04/74—? Preserved at East Lancashire Railway

D9532 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—02/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (02/82)

D9533 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—09/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)

D9534 50B APCM Hope, Derbyshire 10/68—05/75 Exported to Bruges, Belgium (05/75)

D9535 CF NCB Burradon

NCB Backworth

NCB Ashington 11/70 — 01/76

01/76—09/80

09/80 — 01/84 Scrapped at NCB Ashington (01/84)

D9536 LE NCB Ashington 03/70—12/85 Scrapped at NCB Ashington (12/85)

D9537 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—11/82 Preserved at East Lancashire Railway

D9538 LE Shell-Mex & BP Ltd., Shellhaven

BSC Ebbw Vale

BSC Corby Steelworks 04/70—2/71

02/71—04/76

04/76—9/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)

D9539 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 10/68—02/83 Preserved at Ribble Steam Railway

D9540 50B NCB Philadelphia

NCB Burradon

NCB Ashington 11/68—11/71

11/71—06/72

06/72—01/84 Scrapped at D. Short, North Shields (01/84)

D9541 50B BSC Harlaxton

BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—08/74

08/74-08/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)

D9542 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—08/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)

D9543 50B - - Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)

D9544 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—09/80 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)

D9545 50B NCB Ashington 11/68—07/79 Scrapped by D. Short, North Shields (07/79)

D9546 50B - - Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)

D9547 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—08/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)

D9548 50B BSC Harlaxton

BSC Corby Steelworks

Hunslet Ltd 11/68—08/74

08/74—11/80

11/80 — 07/82 Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)

D9549 50B BSC Corby Steelworks

Hunslet Ltd 11/68—11/81

11/81—7/82 Exported to Charmartin, Madrid, Spain (07/82)

D9550 50B - - Scrapped at C F Booth, Rotherham (11/68)

D9551 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 12/68—06/81 Preserved at Royal Deeside Railway [en route to SVR Bridgnorth]

D9552 50B BSC Buckminster

BSC Corby Steelworks 09/68—06/72

06/72—09/80 Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/80)

D9553 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—? Preserved at Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

D9554 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 11/68—08/82 Scrapped at BSC Corby (08/82)

D9555 LE NCB Burradon

NCB Ashington 03/70 — 02/75

02/76—??/87 Preserved at Dean Forest Railway

 

Done