British Rail Class 14

British Rail Class 14

Class 14 no. D9526 (as preserved),
at Williton on the West Somerset Railway (2009)
Type and origin
Power type Diesel-hydraulic
Builder British RailwaysSwindon Works
Order number Swindon Lots 456 and 460
Build date 1964–1965
Total produced 56
Specifications
Configuration 0-6-0
UIC class C
Gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Wheel diameter 4 ft 0 in (1.219 m)
Loco weight 48.50 long tons (49.3 t; 54.3 short tons)
Prime mover Paxman Ventura 6YJXL
Transmission Voith L217U hydraulic
Train brakes Vacuum
Performance figures
Maximum speed 40 mph (64 km/h)
Power output Engine: 650 hp (485 kW)
Tractive effort 30,910 lbf (137.5 kN)
Career
Operators British Rail
British Steel Corporation
National Coal Board
Numbers D9500–D9555
Nicknames Teddy Bear
Axle load class RA 4
Disposition 19 Preserved, 5 Exported, 32 scrapped

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 trip working movements between local yards and short distance freight trains. The good all-around visibility from the cab and dual controls also made them capable of being used for shunting duties. The order was expanded from 26 to 56 in mid-1963, before work had started on the first order.

Technical details

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!"[1]

In outline they have a cab which was nearly central with bonnets at each end, 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.

Operations and preservation

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. BR started to dispose of members of the class from mid 1968, the entire class had been sold to industry or scrapped by the end of 1970. In their new careers in industry many had a working life of two to three times than with British Railways. 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.

D9520, as preserved

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.[2]

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 14901. It now operates with a Rolls-Royce DV8TCE (640 bhp).[3]

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.

In July 2014, The East Lancashire Railway, hosted 10 preserved members of the class as a celebration of the 50 years since their entry into service.[4]

Fleet

Key: Preserved Scrapped Exported
Depot codes
Code Depot
50B Hull Dairycoates
CF Cardiff Canton TMD
LE Swansea Landore
Loco Final depot Industrial career Dates Disposal
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 at East Lancs Railway
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 at Kent & East Sussex Railway
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 Didcot Railway Centre
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 07/70–09/81 Preserved: Currently at Churnet Valley Rly, Arrived May 2016 for 12 month hire period.
D9525 50B NCB Philadelphia
NCB Ashington
11/68–03/75
03/75–10/87
Preserved by Heritage Shunters Trust
D9526 CF APCM Westbury 01/70–04/80 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)
Bardon Hill Quarry
08/68–09/72
09/72–03/81
02/09–06/10
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 03/70–02/85 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
04/70–02/71
02/71–04/76
04/76–09/82
Scrapped at BSC Corby (09/82)
D9539 50B BSC Corby Steelworks 10/68–02/83 Preserved at Ribble Steam Railway Currently on loan to Spa Valley 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
11/81–07/82
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 Severn Valley Railway
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 Vale of Berkeley 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

Models

Hattons commissioned Danish company Heljan to produce a limited run in OO gauge in three liveries. Since then they have announced plans for further examples, still in limited numbers, but in a wider variety of liveries.

Graham Farish also produce the Class 14 in several liveries in British N scale.

In 2011 a 7 1/4" gauge model of D9522 won best locomotive and best model in show at the national model engineering exhibition in Harrogate.

References

  1. The Railway magazine, December 2006
  2. Staines, David (December 2007). "High-speed one: a 'Teddy Bear's picnic!". Railways Illustrated: 22–25.
  3. "BR Swindon Class 14: 14 901". Andrew Briddon Locos. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. "Big 'Teddy Bear' gathering marks 50th anniversary". The Railway Magazine. 160 (1,362): 95. September 2014. ISSN 0033-8923.

Further reading

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