The first ten pilot-scheme Type 4s were a direct development of the SR trio Nos 10201-3, which were produced in collaboration with the EE Co between 1951-54. However, the BR locomotives more closely resembled that of the last Bulleid machine, No 10203, powered by the same 16SVT engine uprated to 2,000hp. Due to the weight of the bulky power equipment, the Type 4 was fitted with the rather cumbersome 1Co-Co1 bogie design made up of three motored wheels and an outer non-motored guiding axle to distribute its weight and reduce track wear. The buffers and associated drawgear was attached to the bogie frame, which was logical enough given the concomitant body overhang when the bogie pivots outwards. A gangway door was incorporated in the nose end to allow train crews access between locomotives when operating in multiple. Enginemen used doors like these on the underpowered LMS and SR prototypes, but rarely on the EE Co machines and they were subsequently dropped from D325 onwards in May 1961. The success of the ten EE Co Type 4s led to a production run of 190 locomotives, Nos D210-D399, all painted in BR Brunswick green livery, with a grey roof and a light grey shoulder band below the roof-mounted filter louvres. The earliest examples were also fitted with nose-front ladders to allow maintenance staff access to two hinged hatches on top of the nose, but these were discontinued for safety reasons when working in areas with overhead electrification equipment. 

  

(Above) On the morning of May 23rd 1959 a friendly gateman at Doncaster Plant gave me permission to photograph a gleaming EE Co Type 4 No D211 (the second of the EE Co production batch destined for the LMR) and a Brush Type 2 No D5531 destined for ER - both standing outside the paintshop in view of the main entrance. What happened next is described on the Doncaster page 25 on the original site. Armed with a cheap Koadk Brownie 127, I took this shot of No D211 striking an impressive pose in its BR standard green livery, with a light grey shoulder band along the bodyside below the roof-mounted filter lovres. The BTC's specification for headcode disc displays to be incorporated on the nose end was used on Nos D200-324. The four discs could be used in various combinations to indicate the type of train being worked...in this case the single disc indicates a Freight, Mineral, or Ballast Train requiring to stop in between signal boxes (in the section) and Branch Freight Train.

(Below) The first EE Co Type 4s destined for the LMR were delivered between May and November 1959. They were allocated initially to Camden, Wiilesden, Crewe and Carlisle Upperby, then to Edge Hill and Longsight as deliveries proceeded. The LMR's first twenty five EE Co Type 4s, Nos D210-D235 (with the exception of D226) received names taken from famous ships belonging to the Canadian Pacific, Cunard and Elder Dempster Lines - all three companies being associated with sailings from the port of Liverpool. A named locomotive certainly added some much-needed panache to the early days of dieselisation. The EE Co's Type 4 No D211 - the second of the LMR's Camden batch, introduced to traffic in June 1959 - was named Mauretania by the Chairman of the Cunard Steamship Company at Liverpool Riverside in September 1960. Bearing the distinctive tartan-coloured 'Royal Scot' headboard, No D211 skims over Hest Bank troughs with the 'down' express on April 3rd 1961 

(Above) The LMR took delivery of its initial batch of EE Co's Type 4s Nos D210-D236 between May and November 1959. Nos D267-9/87-344 followed in 1960/61 - Nos D305-24 coming from the Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn works in Darlington. Finally, D369-84 arrived in 1961/62. The Type 4 fleet was soon employed on Anglo-Scottish trains, including the 'Royal Scot' often loaded to 14 bogies 510 tons gross. The original headcode disc displays gave way to four-character headcode boxes on either side of the nose on D325-D344, and a centrally positioned headcode panel on D345-D399. Here, the split-type route indicator boxes of No D326 displays 1M22 southbound 'Royal Scot' as it heads south at Hest Bank on April 3rd 1961. 

(Below) EE Co Type No D233 was allocated to Holyhead for crew training in November 1959. By the spring of the following year the EE Co machines became a regular sight on the North Wales Coast line, ousting in the process Holyhead's allocation of five 'Britannias' from 'Irish Mail' duties. Surprisingly, the EE Co Type 4's reign on the WCML's Anglo-Scottish service north of Crewe was not greatly effected by the more powerful 2,750hp Brush Type 4s, though the extra 750hp of the Brush machine made all the difference, particularly in the northern fells where speeds of 50mph could be regularly maintained on the climb over Shap. It was a significant improvement on the EE Co Type 4s which laboured at crawling pace over the summit. However, the LMR prefered reliability and familiarity in the maintenance of their EE Co machines, and it was not until the arrival of EE Co D400s in 1968 that the Class 40's reign was seriously effected north of Crewe. Here, No D233, later to be named Empress of England, heads a southbound train away from Dillicar troughs.

(Above-Below) Prior to the introduction of 'Peak' class Type 4 diesels on the Anglo-Scottish expresses north of Leeds, BR introduced an intensive crew training programme between Leeds and Appleby, involving train crewmen at Leeds Holbeck. Before diesel facilities were made available at Holbeck, BR Sulzer Type 4s Nos D11 and D14 were allocated temporarily to Leeds Neville Hill for the purpose. On occasions, however, an EE Co Type 4 power was borrowed for crew-training north of Leeds, such as York shed's No D254 (Above) seen here sporting a stencilled train reporting number N580 on its nose as it heads the return working (made up of a loose-coupled freight) to Leeds through Newlay & Horsforth staion in October 1960. (Below) York's D250 heads the more conventional train comprised of articulated coaching stock through Newlay Cutting in the same week. The train departed from Neville Hill at 9.30am - arriving at Appleby at 11.43 - departing at 12.55 for the return working to Leeds. 

 

(Above) Divided allegiances...the new diesels may have been derided by older enthusiasts in the early days, yet they caused quite a stir amongst young spotters. As the transition from steam got into its stride, the enterprising English Electric Company became the only manufacturer to have designed and built diesel locomotives to meet the requirements of all five BR power classes. The company also supplied more than half of the diesel fleet. No D250 (introduced on the NE Region in December 1959) attracts a crowd of entusiasts at York on April 20th 1960.

(Below) With the number of EE Co's Type 4s gathering pace on the ECML, BR's Eastern and North Eastern Regions placed greater emphasis on the introduction of more efficient locomotive rosters to meet the increased demand for economies in rail operation. Given reasonable maintenance, a diesel locomotive's performance should be more accurately predicted than steam, but with the renewal of trackwork and signalling long overdue on the ECML, BR's timetable was made up of a depressing compilation of engineering slacks and therefore lavish recovery margins were incorporated into the timetable to allow train crews the chance to regain lost time. It wasn't until the ECML's outdated semaphore signalling was replaced by modern multiple aspect signalling (MAS) that any possibility of constant high-speed running could be fully exploited between Kings Cross and Newcastle, by which time the more powerful Type 5 'Deltics' had taken over the helm from the Type 4s. In this view, aged semaphores are much in evidence as No D256 heads an 'up' express through Temple Hirst station on the now-closed section of ECML south of Selby.

(Above-Below) It's difficult to compose a picture that captures the grandeur and style of a great railway bridge. I'd seen photographs of steam trains crossing the Forth Bridge in books and magazines, and wanted to see it for myself, but nothing quite prepared me for the overwhelming sense of wonder when I clapped eyes on the magnificent structure for the first time - the trains looked minuscule in comparison. The first shot is the traditional three-quarter view of the bridge and shows EE Co Type 4 No D264 heading an 'up' train in April 1964. The second shot shows D264 crossing the shoreline at South Queensferry. Behind the stone pier can be seen the Forth Road Bridge under construction and the ferryboat awaiting departure.

(Above) Spotting memories…the rapid decline in the ranks of steam saw the EE Co Type 4s take over many inter-Regional expresses on the MR and NER. During steam days, the Liverpool-Newcastle expresses were usually double-headed by a pair of 6Ps - Jubilee or Patriots - over the Standedge route across the Pennines, whilst a BR Standard 2-6-4T assisted a Class A3 Pacific over the steeply-graded line from Leeds to Harrogate. The Class 40s performed the task single-handed throughout. Here, No D247 heads a Liverpool-Newcastle train on the final leg of the 1 in 100 climb from Wortley Junction, Leeds to the summit just beyond Horsforth station in March 1960. Shortly after this photograph was taken most inter-Regional trains between Leeds and Harrogate were rerouted via the Wetherby line to avoid the untidy manoeuvre of reversal at Leeds. Before the end of the decade the Ripon line between Harrogate and Northallerton ceased as a through route when the majority of trains that used the line were re-routed via York. In 1967, all trains between Harrogate and Northallerton were withdrawn and the track lifted soon after, depriving the Cathedral city of Ripon of a direct link to the rail network and the important spa town of Harrogate stranded in the relative backwater of a branch line. (Below) Unidentified Class 40 heads a Liverpool-Newcastle train across the Leeds Ring Road at Woodside Horsforth in October 1960.

(Above-Below) At 2,000hp the EE Co Type 4s just qualified for the Type 4 category of 2,000-2,999hp (the BTC revised its original power classification of Type C - 2,000hp and upwards - to include a Type 5 of 3,000hp and upwards in its new diesel fleet). As loads increased on the ECML the EE Co machines were found to be underpowered for the fastest expresses, and they were subsequently  displaced by the more powerful 47s and 'Deltics'. In January 1961, the EE Co machines found regular duties on the cross-country service between Mersyside and the North East. Here, EE Co Type 4 No D242 (retaining one handrail of the steps removed from the nose end) emerges from Bramhop Tunnel with the 15.16 Newcastle- Liverpool in June 1962. The train will reverse at Leeds New and take the standedge route across the Pennines. In the opposite direction, D250 gets to grips with a ruling gradient of 1 in 100 from Wortley Junction Leeds to the summit just beyond Horsforth station. In the background, Burley Viaduct - a popular venue for photographers of today's 'Scarborough Spa Express' specials - carries the Leeds Harrogate line over the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and River Aire out of the city.

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Below) Although this page is still under construction, I have included this 1980's view inside Thornaby Maintenance Depot in the hope of establishing what the 'box of tricks' is on the left. Even the Class 40 Preservation Society's 'Whistler' editor, Andy Sparks, is scratching his head. He kindly asked around for me, but came up with nothing. However, Diesel footplateman Fred Wagstaff contacted me - 'I would guess that the gear in the pit with all the gauges would be for measuring the tyre profiles, i.e. the amount of wear by the depth of the flange and the amount of wear on the face of the tyre angle to determine whether new tyres were needed, or if the originals could be re-profiled. However, this is pure guesswork. I never actually saw inside of Thornaby. Meanwhile, if anyone knows the answer, I'd dearly love to hear from them.

Mystery solved! Ex-BR Fleet Engineer, Vic Smith wrote in to say that the equipment in the pit adjacent to the class 40 is for weighing locomotives. When a locomotive had been involved in a derailment the BR Research staff from Derby used the equipment to check the individual wheel loadings to determine if they were correct or had contributed to the derailment. Vic also pointed me to an excellent website containing material processed by the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre of Victoria University, which features an article written by S. B. Barltrop, Production Draughtsman Hillside Workshops of the New Zealand Railways Department circa 1929. The article is beautifully written - clear, precise - and describes a similar piece of equipment associated with the weighing of locomotives before they are put into commission on the active service list. The object of weighing a locomotive is to ensure that each driving and bogie wheel of the machine carries its proper share of weight. Unequal distribution of weight means loss of tractive power, therefore specially designed weighing machines register the weights of the respective parts of the locomotive with the greatest accuracy. In cases where a locomotive has undergone repairs of a nature likely to have caused a change in the weight distribution, the closest attention is paid to the adjustments of the spring gear of the locomotive until the weights are correctly proportioned. Click here to read this interesting article. Thank you very much for the information Vic...

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