WESTERN REQUIEM

摘要

What made the 'Western' 2,700hp Western Region diesel hydraulics so different? This is a question that is often posed, especially by observers who were too young to have seen them in their pomp. The answer is probably that indefinable quality: charisma. Later to become known as Class 52s, the Western Region progeny looked every inch an express passenger locomotive; haughty thoroughbreds with classic lines and an air of superiority, even when condescending to chivvy a rake of recalcitrant china clay empties.