Early class 43 allocations.

[Madge Wildfire]

As part of the continual update of my spotting log site, I have reached 1976 in my tidying up and adding depot allocations to locos seen at the various locations.

However, I have no details of the class 43 early allocations when introduced. I have Locoshed books for 1976 and 1977, but there are no details in either of those.

Does anyone happen to have early power car allocation details, or a link to where I might find them?

As a temporary fix, I am adding OC to all the ones seen in 1976; but I'm pretty sure that will not be correct.

 

[bnsf734]

According to my copy of the RCTS book "Coaching stock of British Railways 1978" the allocations of the Western Region class 43 were split equally between OO and PM using the class 253 set numbers - odd 253's to PM and evens to OO. The book shows allocations of OO rather than OC. There was one exception - 253027 was allocated to OO rather than PM. In practice the class 43 did not stay permanently with the trailers and soon moved between sets sometimes on a daily basis! I can remember seeing the same 253 set number on 2 adjacent trains at Paddington. I then realised that it was no good recording the 253 number and to record the 43xxx number!

No allocations are shown for the class 254 East Coast sets but see the stop press below

So we got PM allocations of:

43002/003/006/007/010/011/014/015/018/019/022/023/026/027/030/031/034/035
43038/039/042/043/046/047/050/051 and spare 43120

everything else was allocated to OO including the other spare 43121.

Hope this helps - it seemed so simple when I first looked!

Stop press - I just found more information in the back of the book.

The first Eastern Region allocations were:

43060/061 HT
43066/067 BN
43070/074/075 NL

 

[Madge Wildfire]

Thanks very much. That is excellent and just what I was looking for. I will change the OC to OO as there must have been a distinction between the two areas of the depot. Similarly (although not quite the same) PM rather than BR for the Bristol based sets.

I was just like you at first, noting the 253xxx numbers on the fronts; but then realising that units would have different numbers at each end when power cars were swapped and, when at speed there was no knowing which of the two (from each set) had just passed by.

I now wish I had noted the entire set makeup when spotting at least at Reading and Paddington where they were stationary, but it is all so easy with hindsight.

O/T It was details such as this (and the formation of SR emus) which persuaded me to switch from Ian Allan to Platform 5.

 

[xotGD]

I will change the OC to OO as there must have been a distinction between the two areas of the depot.

OC was the locomotive depot and OO the coaching stock/multiple unit depot.

I'll say no more!

 

[43096]

OC was the locomotive depot and OO the coaching stock/multiple unit depot.

I'll say no more!

That’s not actually correct. Old Oak had four codes:
OC Locos
OH HEx
OM Carriages
OO HST depot

 

[Clarence Yard]

Actually, OM was the coaching stock maintenance depot and OO was the HST (and later also the DMU) maintenance depot. OC was indeed the loco maintenance depot.

They were geographically separate - the HST shed was a purpose built 3 road facility, the Level 4 LHCS carriage maintenance and freightliner wagon activity was carried in the “Pullman” Shed/Carriage Lift Shop, separated from the HST by 55 (later 51) roads of carriage shed/sidings, 15 roads of which were fully covered. The L4 locomotive maintenance was carried out in the former GWR “Factory”, which had two sets of jacks and an overhead runway crane that could lift power units and cooler groups. A three road loco servicing facility and turntable sat between the Pullman Shed and the Factory.

Up to 1989/90 the three facilities were separately managed, all under the AME (Area Maintenance Engineer) who was also based there and who also managed Reading and Marylebone/Aylesbury, after Marylebone went to the WR in 1987.

In it’s prime, Old Oak was both a vast and very busy site.

 

[43096]

According to my copy of the RCTS book "Coaching stock of British Railways 1978" the allocations of the Western Region class 43 were split equally between OO and PM using the class 253 set numbers - odd 253's to PM and evens to OO. The book shows allocations of OO rather than OC. There was one exception - 253027 was allocated to OO rather than PM. In practice the class 43 did not stay permanently with the trailers and soon moved between sets sometimes on a daily basis! I can remember seeing the same 253 set number on 2 adjacent trains at Paddington. I then realised that it was no good recording the 253 number and to record the 43xxx number!

No allocations are shown for the class 254 East Coast sets but see the stop press below

So we got PM allocations of:

43002/003/006/007/010/011/014/015/018/019/022/023/026/027/030/031/034/035
43038/039/042/043/046/047/050/051 and spare 43120

everything else was allocated to OO including the other spare 43121.

Hope this helps - it seemed so simple when I first looked!

Stop press - I just found more information in the back of the book.

The first Eastern Region allocations were:

43060/061 HT
43066/067 BN
43070/074/075 NL

The Eastern used Heaton at first for commissioning of the sets. They were normally commissioned to 'HT' before moving to other depots, often after only a few weeks.

First allocations were:
43056-093 HT
43094/095 EC
43096-099 HT
43100-119 NL

Then follow five spare power cars, although 43120/121 were delivered out of sequence, between 43061 and 43062.
43120 PM
43121 OO
43122 NL
43123 BN
43124 PM

The second batch of Western vehicles carried on the alternating pattern of the first 27 sets:
43125/126/129/130 etc to Old Oak
43127/128/131/132 etc to SPM
And so on up to 43149/150 to Old Oak.
43151/152 to Old Oak

43153-163 went to Neville Hill (163 intended for the NE/SW pool)
43164-180 to Laira
43181/182 to Neville Hill (for around 6 months, then LA)
43183-198 to Laira (of which 43193-198 very quickly moved to NL)

 

[Madge Wildfire]

The Eastern used Heaton at first for commissioning of the sets. They were normally commissioned to 'HT' before moving to other depots, often after only a few weeks.

First allocations were:
43056-093 HT
43094/095 EC
43096-099 HT
43100-119 NL

Then follow five spare power cars, although 43120/121 were delivered out of sequence, between 43061 and 43062.
43120 PM
43121 OO
43122 NL
43123 BN
43124 PM

The second batch of Western vehicles carried on the alternating pattern of the first 27 sets:
43125/126/129/130 etc to Old Oak
43127/128/131/132 etc to SPM
And so on up to 43149/150 to Old Oak.
43151/152 to Old Oak

43153-163 went to Neville Hill (163 intended for the NE/SW pool)
43164-180 to Laira
43181/182 to Neville Hill (for around 6 months, then LA)
43183-198 to Laira (of which 43193-198 very quickly moved to NL)

Wow. This is far more information than I ever envisaged. Thanks very much everyone. I will save the later info for future pages (as the site has one page for each year and I'm only up to 1976 at the moment), although I have pasted my mysterious database search data on later pages. Thanks once again.

 

[FGW_DID]

Similarly (although not quite the same) PM rather than BR for the Bristol based sets.

Two different depots:

BR: Bristol Bath Road (Locomotives)
PM: St Phillips Marsh (HST & Units)

 

[Helvellyn]

I have no details of the class 43 early allocations when introduced. I have Locoshed books for 1976 and 1977, but there are no details in either of those.

They weren't officially classed as locomotives until the mid 1980s so that is probably why they weren't in your locoshed book. Hence why you can actually find Lot No.s and Diagram codes for all the power cars!

The prototype power cars went the other way, being built as Class 41 locomotives 41001/41002 then when officially reclassified as Class 252 they were renumbered 43000/43001 and allocated a Lot No. one lower than the first batch of production power cars.

 

[43096]

The prototype power cars went the other way, being built as Class 41 locomotives 41001/41002 then when officially reclassified as Class 252 they were renumbered 43000/43001 and allocated a Lot No. one lower than the first batch of production power cars.

Lot no 30875 allocated for the transfer to Class 252.

Of course 43000 went back to a loco again when it was re-registered in 2012 as Class 43/9.

 

[APT618S]

The 1977 Locoshed book does list the HSTs on p58 but only 252001 (41001/2) has an allocation - interestingly it is OC, not OO. Sets 253001-027 and 254001-032 are listed but no power cars or allocations are listed.
The 1981 Locoshed book (also p58) lists power cars/sets up to 43151/152 (253041) with allocations up to 43141/142 (253036).
Without wishing to open a certain can of worms they are listed at the end of the DMU section.

 

[Madge Wildfire]

They weren't officially classed as locomotives until the mid 1980s so that is probably why they weren't in your locoshed book.

Although, to be pedantic, the DMUs and EMUs were listed in many of the 1970s Locoshed books, together with their allocations. I think these units were added because the the locos only volume had become very slim by the 1969 edition, and was not really worth the money they were charging for it; even when padded out with photographs.