BR Class 50 Thunderer 50008 Diesel-Electric Locomotive
by Gordon James
Title
BR Class 50 Thunderer 50008 Diesel-Electric Locomotive
Artist
Gordon James
Medium
Photograph - Photography Digital
Description
The British Rail Class 50 is a class of diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph (160 km/h). Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50s were initially on a 10-year lease from English Electric Leasing, and were employed hauling express passenger trains on the, then non-electrified, section of the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Scotland. Initially numbered D400–D449 and known as English Electric Type 4s, the locomotives were purchased outright by British Rail (BR) at the end of the lease and became Class 50 in the TOPS renumbering of 1973.
The class gained the nickname "Hoovers" because of the noise made by the clean air plant at the No.2 end, prior to refurbishment, which was likened to that of a vacuum cleaner, a name believed given to them by the staff at Paddington Station. Once the electrification from Crewe to Glasgow was completed the locomotives were moved to the Great Western Main Line (GWML) out of Paddington to allow the retirement of most of the remaining diesel-hydraulic locomotives then in use. As trains on the GWML steadily moved to High Speed Train operation from 1976, the Class 50s moved to hauling trains between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids, and also trains from London Paddington to Hereford and Worcester via Oxford until the majority of those trains too were taken over by IC125 operation. The class was steadily retired from service in the late 1980s and early 1990s as their services moved to operation by second-generation Class 159 DMUs,
50008 Thunderer worked its last train in November 1991 and was withdrawn in June 1992 due to it being surplus to requirements, thereby becoming the 46th Class 50 locomotive to be withdrawn after over 24 years of active service. Its engine hours stood at 8,537.
After its withdrawal, 50008 was initially purchased by Pete Waterman but was then subsequently sold for commercial use to Sea Containers Limited in 1998. The locomotive remained in their ownership for several years stored outside at London & North Western Railway (LNWR), Crewe with the intention that it was eventually going to be exported abroad. Externally, the locomotive lost its jumper cables and had one of its high power front headlights plated over. Internally, several items of equipment were removed prior to the now-abandoned export of the locomotive to Peru. In 2006 it was sold to a private individual who funded its restoration, some of which was undertaken whilst it remained at LNWR. This is nearing completion and the locomotive has relocated to the depot facilities based based at the former Alstom facility at Washwood Heath, Birmingham.
It now bares the same British Rail Laira blue livery it once carried during its final years of service whilst allocated to the Laira DCWA Civil Engineer's pool within British Rail.
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December 10th, 2019
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