British Railways Modern Traction
Upon nationalization in 1948 the newly formed British Railways initially continued with steam traction, designing and introducing the twelve new Standard Classes of steam locomotives, with 999 engines built between 1951 and 1960.
In 1955 the Modernization Plan set about a complete modernization of railway operations in Great Britain, and the direct replacement of steam locomotives by diesel and electric traction was a major part of the Plan. The railways underwent a fundamental change from the long established operating practices associated with steam locomotives to designing, building, operating and maintaining diesel locomotives, and AC/DC electric locomotives.
The transition was planned to be a gradual process and the design and introduction of the Pilot Scheme locomotives was the first step towards dieselisation. Political and social pressures led to abandoning the slow and measured implementation which the engineers wished to follow, and orders for mass production were placed before the locomotives supplied under the Pilot Scheme had been tested and evaluated. Some were not successful straight from the drawing board, and a number of early locomotive types had very short lives, some being withdrawn before the steam locomotives they were supposed to supersede. There are photographs of diesels being towed to scrapyards by steam locomotives.
The pace of building the new diesel depots and developing the associated infrastructure was slower than the speed of introducing the locomotives, and diesels had to be maintained inside operating steam sheds which were not a suitable environment for the modern traction.
The 1963 Beeching Report was compiled in response to the Modernization Plans' failure to halt the increasing financial losses being incurred by BR. The route mileage was reduced by one-third and the subsequent National Traction Plan reviewed the consequences on the number and types of locomotives required for the remaining mileage and projected traffic.
The era of British Railways Pioneer Modern Traction can be identified as three distinct phases:-
Prototypes - 1947-55 and the 1960's second wave.
The Pilot Scheme - Locomotives which were ordered for the 1955 Modernization Plan.
The Production Batches - The successful Pilot Scheme types were multiplied to mass production. There was then a second generation of main line locomotives in the 1960's incorporating the knowledge and experience of the earlier designs.
Upon nationalization in 1948 the newly formed British Railways initially continued with steam traction, designing and introducing the twelve new Standard Classes of steam locomotives, with 999 engines built between 1951 and 1960.
In 1955 the Modernization Plan set about a complete modernization of railway operations in Great Britain, and the direct replacement of steam locomotives by diesel and electric traction was a major part of the Plan. The railways underwent a fundamental change from the long established operating practices associated with steam locomotives to designing, building, operating and maintaining diesel locomotives, and AC/DC electric locomotives.
The transition was planned to be a gradual process and the design and introduction of the Pilot Scheme locomotives was the first step towards dieselisation. Political and social pressures led to abandoning the slow and measured implementation which the engineers wished to follow, and orders for mass production were placed before the locomotives supplied under the Pilot Scheme had been tested and evaluated. Some were not successful straight from the drawing board, and a number of early locomotive types had very short lives, some being withdrawn before the steam locomotives they were supposed to supersede. There are photographs of diesels being towed to scrapyards by steam locomotives.
The pace of building the new diesel depots and developing the associated infrastructure was slower than the speed of introducing the locomotives, and diesels had to be maintained inside operating steam sheds which were not a suitable environment for the modern traction.
The 1963 Beeching Report was compiled in response to the Modernization Plans' failure to halt the increasing financial losses being incurred by BR. The route mileage was reduced by one-third and the subsequent National Traction Plan reviewed the consequences on the number and types of locomotives required for the remaining mileage and projected traffic.
The era of British Railways Pioneer Modern Traction can be identified as three distinct phases:-
Prototypes - 1947-55 and the 1960's second wave.
The Pilot Scheme - Locomotives which were ordered for the 1955 Modernization Plan.
The Production Batches - The successful Pilot Scheme types were multiplied to mass production. There was then a second generation of main line locomotives in the 1960's incorporating the knowledge and experience of the earlier designs.