The Westerns at work 1971-77…The Western Gen:

A total of 74 diesel-hydraulic 2700hp locomotives were built by Swindon (D1000-29) and Crewe (D1030-73) Works. Co-designed by consultants Sir Misha Black and John Beresford-Evans, in collaboration with Swindon Works, the locomotives provided the mainstay of power on the West of England main line until their withdrawal in 1977. They could also be found in Wales as well as further afield, away from home territory, on rare occasions. The fleet were all named and given the prefix 'Western' hence the name 'Western' Class. Full details behind the design, naming and choice of liveries for the fleet, can be found in the Western Chronicles series of books. The class continued in service until their eventual rundown when BR opted for diesel electrics as the standard power for its locomotive fleet. So, from 1967, the various diesel hydraulic classes were consigned to the scrap heap, including the first five North British built Warships (D600-4); the 101 Hymek Type (3) later Class 35, (D7000-7100); the Class 22 Baby Warships (D6300-57) and the 70 Warship Type (4), later Class 42 (BR)/43 (NBL). The Westerns were the last survivors of the DH era and became one of the most popular diesels ever built among enthusiasts, who rode behind and photographed the fleet in their numbers in their final years. 

The workings we have on our database have traced using the Working Timetables of the period, but some of the conditional and mandatory supplements have not been easy to track down and therefore, it maybe that timings are slightly awry in some cases. Nor has it been possible to gather all the relevant supplements, so some gaps may appear. When the project first began, way back in the 1990s, the plan was to find get just one working per day for the locomotive concerned. Thankfully, in the majority of cases, we have been able to do much more.

Rather than rely on what a locomotive should have worked when on a particular diagram, we have only included workings where it has been proven they were used. Engines had a habit of developing a fault which took them out of their allotted diagrams.

There are also many fill-in turns worked by engines, but the lack of full records, particularly on the Wales services, means that there are some gaps in our database. Even so, the numerous workings in the database is, by far and above, anything that has been collated before, either in books or online, and it is FREE for enthusiasts to ask us for help in identifying their queries, just follow the instructions below.

 WESTERN GEN - THE NEW WAY FORWARD

The popular Western Gen pages have unfortunately become victims of their own success, so we have introduced a new way for enthusiasts to seek help with their Western Gen queries. From now on, enthusiasts can provide us with information on the form below which will allow us to scan our database and provide you with answers for information you are seeking. The previous Western Gen pages were becoming so vast that it was creating havoc with the smooth running of the site and its associated costs were growing as a result. So, we have now devised this way of providing enthusiasts with the answer they seek. If you want to identify an engine or what it did on a given day, just fill in as much detail as possible on the Gen form below and we will scrutinise the database at our disposal and provide the answers where possible. Please enjoy this free database service, remember we are here to help.