EARLY DAYS WITH DIESELS

摘要

The mid-day Ilfracombe to Waterloo train drew into Yeovil Junction behind No. 35006 Peninsular & Oriental S.N. Co. On the turntable a 'West Country' Pacific blew off impatiently. Then something strange arrived from the east, eliciting comments of surprise from passengers already bored by the long trek from North Devon. "It's a diesel," commented one. "No, it's a gas-turbine," declared another, who thought he knew better. Actually, it was No. 10000, Britain's first successful main line diesel-electric loco, trying out its paces with the 1.00pm Waterloo-West of England back in June, 1954. Although diesel shunters were already proving reliable and economical on their relatively mundane tasks, little progress had been made in the UK with diesel traction for main line work. Probably the first was Armstrong Whitworth's 800 horsepower 2-6-2 (1-Co-1) in 1933; but after trials on LNER metals it suffered a crankshaft explosion, which brought the experiment to an abrupt end.