The Diesel Era.

The diesel hydraulics, although exclusively "Western", were not the only diesel classes that came out of the late 1950's and early 1960's. The other three regions also had their fair share of new types of diesel locomotives; all part of the modernisation plan; and all there as replacement locomotives for the by now fast dissapearing steam locomotive fleet. Although the diesel hydraulics remained very much Western Region locomotives, many of the other classes also found there way to the Western Region, and worked alongside the hydraulic fleet.  There are two classes that I feel warrant a special mention, not because they were Western region locomotives, but because they attracted a great following from the railway enthusiasts. The first is the Class 50 locomotives, which became "Westernised" following the depletion of the hydraulic fleet, and the other that giant of locomotives, the deltic, which graced the metals of the Eastern Region for many years, and had a massive following.

The Class 50, commonly known as "Hoovers" to the enthusiasts started life as Midland Region locomotives. Built between September 1966 and November 1968 by English Electric, they were leased to British Railways until 1973, when they were finally bought from the leasing company. They were deployed working mainly the West coast main line expresses until the HST's were introduced. Following this, they were redeployed, and most were sent to the Western Region to replace the now almost redundant hydraulic fleet. It was after they became Westernised that they received the names they carried throughout the rest of their service. Following the introduction of the HST units, many of the class 50's were taken off of the main line express routes, and used on secondary routes, and freight trains. They were a reliable locomotive, however by the late 1980's they started to be withdrawn from service. By the mid 1990's the whole class were withdrawn from service. There are several of the class in preservation today.

The Class 55 or Deltics as they were commonly known, named after the deltic engines that powered them were one of the most powerful locomotives ever to run on British Rail metals. These distinctive and popular locomotives,  introduced in the early 1960's worked the East Coast main line express routes between Kings Cross and Edinburgh. Like their "Western" cousins, they attracted a great dedicated following from the enthusiasts. Following the electrification of the East coast main line, and the introduction of the HST their days became numbered, and they were withdrawn from service in the early 1980's.

Whilst I have no inclination to mention every single diesel class that emerged from the late 1950's needless to say, some of the classes were more prevalent in this area than others. Many of the images in the next section are taken locally, and therefore depict those classes that were dominant in the South Wales area at the time. Some are of course images taken nationally, and these depict generally locomotives of classes not normally connected with the Western Region.

The 1970's and 1980's were a time when the locomotives of the day filled a versatile role, and could be seen performing on many different types of train. The introduction of HST units meant that most locomotive hauled main line passenger trains became a thing of the past, and many of the locomotive hauled passenger routes were transferred to the secondary lines only. With the change from DMU to the new light passenger trains, so the loco hauled trains dissapeared from the secondary routes also, leaving mainly the freight trains now loco hauled. Many of the classes were withdrawn or thinned out whilst newer more modern locomotives took over the freight services. Today, it is a rarity to see a locomotive hauled passenger train on any route, and the number of locomotive hauled freight trains have dropped considerably since the use of the more cost effective road transport.

I hope you enjoy these galleries, they are all images of an era now gone. I have tried to keep the classes together to make viewing easier, however you will find some mixed goods amongst them, along with a couple of wild cards. Enjoy!