Driver's views/anecdotes of BR diesels in the 90s?

[Smurf]

Hi all,

I'm sorry if this information I'm requesting is already available on the forum, infact I'm sure it is, but the search feature is returning lots of results that are proving difficult to go through.

I'm currently helping my nephew who has an interest in railways put together material for a college project. For his piece he is submitting a look on british railway diesel locomotives in the 90s up until privatisation. I have helped get together information on locomotive classes and their individual uses, the way the sectors were broken into their categories and fleet allocation, and a brief look into the technical aspects of some common classes of the time.

But what I've thought would be a nice addition to the assignment would be if he could add some views and opinions of the staff that used to drive and maintain these locos during the period.

To that end, I'm after if possible opinions off anyone who had experience working with/on classes 08/09/20/31/33/37/43/47/50/56/58/60 during the afforementioned era.

From a driver's perspective, what were they like to drive, how were they to spend time in (comfort wise)?, reliability?, driveability?, ease of use?, typical and common uses etc?.

From an engineer's point of view, what were they like to maintain? were they new and techy (at the time)? long in the tooth and in need of replacement? were there any common problem classes etc.?

Youtube is actually pretty good for giving an insight into like working for BR in the era, but it'd be quite nice to hear anecdotes and stories from anyone who worked for BR driving or maintaining locos during this time too.

Thanks massively in advance for any time spared to share your thoughts, stories, and general opinions that may be of use.

 

[Kneedown]

At some point or other I signed all except 33's and 50's.

08's and 09's had almost identical driving controls. Most 08's had a manual fuel pump which had to be cranked every so often to transfer fuel to the header tank. Some 08's, and all 09's IIRR had an electric pump. Comfort was minimal with just a swivel stool each side. Most of the time you were stood up as to maintain a good view wjen shunting you were frequently moving from one side of the cab to the other.
20's were the workhorses at Toton. Found on MGR trains, weekend ballast trains and other general freight. Not comfortable to drive, bouncy and rattly at speed with poor forward illumination in the dark, they were however generally reliable and would keep going. The trick with getting out of a colliery with a steep gradient such as Calverton or Silverhill, was to put plenty of sand down on the way in, and pray one of the 20's didn't overload on the way out. It could be heart stopping stuff at full power and seeing the speedo creep lower and lower. Always made it in the end somehow!
31's we normally had on ballast workings. Quite underpowered but generally reliable. The AWS horn always made you jump because it was ridiculously loud.
37's good solid loco's. Had them on ballast trains, non-MGR coal workings such as Gedling, some Calverton's. Also, in pairs, a mainstay of heavy stone, and steel trains until replaced by 60's. The refurbished 375** and 376** had lovely chapman seats, although the view over the nose on all was restrictive. Major gripe with 37's was the height of the handrails, which made it.... awkward for more "vertically challenged" Drivers like myself to get back on sometimes. I never heard the last of the time I got stuck on the dug out ballast at Trent Jct after getting off to phone the Signaller!
47's were ok. We got them on miscellaneous jobs, ballast trains, stone trains, container and cartic, chemical, all sorts. Fairly comfy with a good view, but draughty. Patheticlly squeaky warning horn for a big loco!
56's were my basic traction and I loved them. Good looks with a more impressive sound! Brake controller was in stages, so not infinitely variable which could be a hassle when loading as the slow speed control would fight against the brake and start to lurch. Chapman seats on ours meant they were comfy. The Romanian built one's had quality issues and a lot of cocks, switches etc were in awkward places compared to the BREL built one's, but they seemed a lot more willing and less sluggish to respond than the BREL built.
58's were probably the most comfy loco's i've driven. Lovely soft bouncy seat and quiet cab. Not good loco's in collieries though, or in the wet as they would slip in the desert! Problems with the high pressure sand pipes getting blocked. Dashboard was always falling off and rattling too!
60's were fantastic. Loco of choice for any freight work. Colliery to power station, stone traffic, petrochemicals, they would pull anything, pretty much anywhere. Nice cabs too, although Chapman seat not as nicely bouncy as 58's!
HST's are my favorite drive these days, although as a Notts Driver we don't get them as frequently as we should (politics!)
Tremendous view, plenty of power. Preferred the original drivers desk though, as opposed to the plastic one in there now, where a lot of the lights and buttons all look the same! Preferred the Valenta's too!

Hope this helps!

 

[Mulberry2016]

HST's are my favorite drive these days, although as a Notts Driver we don't get them as frequently as we should (politics!)
Tremendous view, plenty of power. Preferred the original drivers desk though, as opposed to the plastic one in there now, where a lot of the lights and buttons all look the same! Preferred the Valenta's too!

Hope this helps!

Power is nothing without torque and acceleration. These things take an eternity to get up to full line speed. One mans meat is another mans poison I suppose.

 

[ungreat]

I have driven all of those locos either as a secondman(Waterloo,Hither Green,Leicester) or driver(Toton,KX,Peterborough) from the mid 80's
Really enjoyed working on 50s...although propelling onto Old Oak for fuel was eye watering as the exhaust fumes were VERY rich..

 

[Kneedown]

I have driven all of those locos either as a secondman(Waterloo,Hither Green,Leicester) or driver(Toton,KX,Peterborough) from the mid 80's
Really enjoyed working on 50s...although propelling onto Old Oak for fuel was eye watering as the exhaust fumes were VERY rich..

I think I worked with you at Toton. Do you draw a good cartoon by any chance?

 

[SPADTrap]

At some point or other I signed all except 33's and 50's.

08's and 09's had almost identical driving controls. Most 08's had a manual fuel pump which had to be cranked every so often to transfer fuel to the header tank. Some 08's, and all 09's IIRR had an electric pump. Comfort was minimal with just a swivel stool each side. Most of the time you were stood up as to maintain a good view wjen shunting you were frequently moving from one side of the cab to the other.
20's were the workhorses at Toton. Found on MGR trains, weekend ballast trains and other general freight. Not comfortable to drive, bouncy and rattly at speed with poor forward illumination in the dark, they were however generally reliable and would keep going. The trick with getting out of a colliery with a steep gradient such as Calverton or Silverhill, was to put plenty of sand down on the way in, and pray one of the 20's didn't overload on the way out. It could be heart stopping stuff at full power and seeing the speedo creep lower and lower. Always made it in the end somehow!
31's we normally had on ballast workings. Quite underpowered but generally reliable. The AWS horn always made you jump because it was ridiculously loud.
37's good solid loco's. Had them on ballast trains, non-MGR coal workings such as Gedling, some Calverton's. Also, in pairs, a mainstay of heavy stone, and steel trains until replaced by 60's. The refurbished 375** and 376** had lovely chapman seats, although the view over the nose on all was restrictive. Major gripe with 37's was the height of the handrails, which made it.... awkward for more "vertically challenged" Drivers like myself to get back on sometimes. I never heard the last of the time I got stuck on the dug out ballast at Trent Jct after getting off to phone the Signaller!
47's were ok. We got them on miscellaneous jobs, ballast trains, stone trains, container and cartic, chemical, all sorts. Fairly comfy with a good view, but draughty. Patheticlly squeaky warning horn for a big loco!
56's were my basic traction and I loved them. Good looks with a more impressive sound! Brake controller was in stages, so not infinitely variable which could be a hassle when loading as the slow speed control would fight against the brake and start to lurch. Chapman seats on ours meant they were comfy. The Romanian built one's had quality issues and a lot of cocks, switches etc were in awkward places compared to the BREL built one's, but they seemed a lot more willing and less sluggish to respond than the BREL built.
58's were probably the most comfy loco's i've driven. Lovely soft bouncy seat and quiet cab. Not good loco's in collieries though, or in the wet as they would slip in the desert! Problems with the high pressure sand pipes getting blocked. Dashboard was always falling off and rattling too!
60's were fantastic. Loco of choice for any freight work. Colliery to power station, stone traffic, petrochemicals, they would pull anything, pretty much anywhere. Nice cabs too, although Chapman seat not as nicely bouncy as 58's!
HST's are my favorite drive these days, although as a Notts Driver we don't get them as frequently as we should (politics!)
Tremendous view, plenty of power. Preferred the original drivers desk though, as opposed to the plastic one in there now, where a lot of the lights and buttons all look the same! Preferred the Valenta's too!

Hope this helps!

Great read. Thanks for sharing.
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I think I worked with you at Toton. Do you draw a good cartoon by any chance?

The ones I've seen, very!