BR Swindon Type 1 0-6-0s Diesel Hydrolic Locomotives Class 14

In 1957 the Western Region of BR identified a need for 400 Type 1 diesel locos for short-haul freight duties but it was 1964 before the first was introduced. General-purpose Type 1s were being delivered elsewhere but WR management regarded these as too expensive for their requirements. After completion of design work on the ‘Western’ locomotives, Swindon turned to creating a ‘no-frills’ Type 1. At 65% of the cost of the Bo-Bo alternative, the Swindon 0-6-0 represented a better fit for the trip-freight niche. Since 1957 the privatised road-haulage industry had decimated BR’s wagon-load sector; whilst the 1962 Transport Act released BR from its financially-debilitating public-service obligations, the damage had been done, and the Beeching Plan focused on closing unprofitable routes and services. Continuing traffic losses resulted in the class becoming redundant by 1969. Fortuitously, a demand for high-powered diesels on the larger industrial systems saw the bulk finding employment for a further 20 years.