gimmea50anyday
Established Member
Image courtesy of Anthony Middleton and the Class 50 Alliance based at the Severn Valley Railway.
A brilliant "What If" livery of Intercity colours being applied to Hood.
Intercity were looking at a dedicated fleet of locomotives for GW and XC work which eventually went to extended range 47's. 50's were considered which could have seen them in service with XC until the introduction of the voyagers, However the main fault of the 50's was the generators which proved to be troublesome and were never replaced by alternators upon refurbishment. The failure rate on the mule swayed Intercity away from the 50's and towards the 47's which were more universally used across the BR network and widely familiar with crews and depots whereas 50's would have required extensive retraining. 50's then became NSE sponsored locos while those with high engine hours used by civil engineers until they failed and were then withdrawn. the introduction of 165's and 159's deemed the locos surplus to requirements and non-standard and BR started to dispose of the class from 1987 onwards. The last locos D400, 8, 15, 33, 49 eking out their days as railtour locos as late as 1994. 19 out of 50 made it to preservation with 11 operational of which 3 currently mainline certified.
Donations towards the Fifty Funds 4 locomotives (50 031 Hood, 50 035 Ark Royal, 50 044 Exeter and 50 049 Defiance) can of course be made through their website, or see their locos in action at the SVR or when on tour. There are of course other class 50 groups also clamouring for donations, so if you want to see more quality restorations such as this then please give generously!
http://www.fiftyfund.org.uk/index1.htm
A brilliant "What If" livery of Intercity colours being applied to Hood.
Intercity were looking at a dedicated fleet of locomotives for GW and XC work which eventually went to extended range 47's. 50's were considered which could have seen them in service with XC until the introduction of the voyagers, However the main fault of the 50's was the generators which proved to be troublesome and were never replaced by alternators upon refurbishment. The failure rate on the mule swayed Intercity away from the 50's and towards the 47's which were more universally used across the BR network and widely familiar with crews and depots whereas 50's would have required extensive retraining. 50's then became NSE sponsored locos while those with high engine hours used by civil engineers until they failed and were then withdrawn. the introduction of 165's and 159's deemed the locos surplus to requirements and non-standard and BR started to dispose of the class from 1987 onwards. The last locos D400, 8, 15, 33, 49 eking out their days as railtour locos as late as 1994. 19 out of 50 made it to preservation with 11 operational of which 3 currently mainline certified.
Donations towards the Fifty Funds 4 locomotives (50 031 Hood, 50 035 Ark Royal, 50 044 Exeter and 50 049 Defiance) can of course be made through their website, or see their locos in action at the SVR or when on tour. There are of course other class 50 groups also clamouring for donations, so if you want to see more quality restorations such as this then please give generously!
http://www.fiftyfund.org.uk/index1.htm
Attachments
Last edited:
