The first of 56 Swindon-built 650hp Type 1 0-6-0 locomotives, D9500, was released into service on the Western Region (WR) of British Railways 60 years ago, on July 24, 1964.
As it turned out, D9500 was one of the final survivors of the class on BR, being withdrawn 4¾ years later on April 26, 1969. D9554 had the shortest time in traffic, at two-and-a-half years, and D9522 was scrapped less than four years after construction. Statistics like these have led to a constant stream of comments in the railway press, from 1969 right through to the present day, suggesting that these locomotives should never have been built. Research of the records held in the National Archives, however, indicates that this rather simplistic assertion is some way from the truth.
Background…