BR Class 42 D821 Greyhound
| BR Class 42 D821 Greyhound | |
|---|---|
 D821 Greyhound (April 2025) | |
| Built By | BR Swindon Works |
| Configuration | B-B |
| Power type | Diesel Hydraulic |
| Status | Operational |
| Loco Number | D821 |
| History | |
| Built | 1960 |
| Designed By | British Railways |
| Type | Class 42 |
| 1973 | Purchased by precursors of the Diesel Traction Group |
| 1981 | Overhauled at Swindon |
| 1991 | Arrived on SVR |
| 2014 | Overhaul began at Old Oak Common |
| 2018 | Returned to traffic |
| Technical | |
| Length | 60ft |
| Weight | 78t |
D821 Greyhound is a D800 'Warship' Class (later BR Class 42) diesel-hydraulic locomotive. It is owned and operated by the Diesel Traction Group and has been resident on the SVR since 1991.
Contents
The D800 class
The Post-War BR Modernisation Plan called for the introduction of a range of Diesel locomotives. Although the majority were diesel-electric, the Western Region at Swindon developed the D800 series diesel-hydraulic 'Warship Class'[note 1], of B-B wheel arrangement. Based on the German V200 design, a total of 71 were built in batches by two different builders. 38 Warships were built at Swindon (D800-D832 and D866-D870) and fitted with Maybach engines and Mekydro transmissions. The other 33 (D833–D865) were built by North British and fitted with MAN engines and Voith transmissions. it was intended that the engine and transmission systems would be inter-changeable, although tests subsequently proved that this was impractical.
Under the 1968 classification system, BR designated the Swindon-built and NBL-built Warships as Class 42 and Class 43 respectively, although their early withdrawal (1968 to 1972) meant neither class ever carried TOPS numbers. D821 is one of two preserved examples of the 38 originally built at Swindon, the other being D832 Onslaught at the East Lancashire Railway. None of those built by NBL survived into preservation.[1]
D821 in service
D821 Greyhound was outshopped from BR Swindon Works in May 1960, and served mainly at Plymouth Laira with brief spells at Newton Abbot.[2] While in service D821 carried various liveries including green, maroon and blue. The locomotive was withdrawn from service on 3 December 1972, with more than 1 million miles of main line working.[3]
D821 in preservation
D821 was bought by members of the Diesel Traction Group, becoming the first main line diesel to be preserved by a private group. In May 1973 D821 moved from Laira to Didcot, another first as a preserved private owner loco running on the main line under its own power, before the ban on such running was imposed. It moved again in the following year to the private Kings Meadow sidings just east of Reading station, in the Reading Gas Works site, where it was a notable sight from trains passing on the nearby Great Western main line. While there it was repainted into maroon livery. From 1975 it was in the company of the DTG's BR Class 35 D7029.
The locomotive underwent an overhaul at Swindon between February 1977 and April 1981, and then moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It worked its first passenger train in preservation on 21 April 1981 and continued to operate reliably over the following years, accumulating more than 15,000 miles in service. Over the winter of 1990/1991 it was repainted into blue livery with yellow warning panels, an early version of the corporate blue livery adopted by British Railways, and originally carried by D831 Monarch.
D821's last operational use at the NYMR was on 27 April 1991. After attending open days at Gloucester, Old Oak Common, Colchester and Laira, it finally arrived at its new home on the SVR in September 1991.[3]
D821 was refitted with full multiple working control before to a visit to the East Lancashire Railway in 1993, enabling the two preserved Class 42s to work together in multiple. The following year the locomotive was repainted into green livery, which it carried until at least 2004. By 2008 D821 had reverted to maroon livery.
D821 Greyhound at Bridgnorth (2011)
An overhaul commenced in 2014.[4] After a long period under repair at Old Oak Common (OOC) it returned to the SVR after the OOC open day in September 2017[5], before returning to use in April 2018 in time for the following month's Spring Diesel Festival.
From 2021 it underwent extensive bodywork repairs, replacement of primary suspension springs, attention to the brake system and a repaint into BR Blue with full yellow ends.[6] It returned to traffic for the 2023 Spring Diesel Festival, but that winter required the B end engine removed to repair a leaky liner. The work also included removing both the exhauster and compressor and these were overhauled, cleaned and painted before being refitted to the loco along with the engine. It returned to traffic in August 2024.[7]
D821 is a popular visitor to other heritage railways.
HMS Greyhound
The last HMS Greyhound (H05) was a G-class destroyer, launched in 1935 and sunk by German dive bombers in 1941 in the battle for Crete, with the loss of 100 lives.[8] An earlier HMS Greyhound, a Greyhound-class destroyer, also saw service from 1900 to 1919. Many other Naval vessels have also carried the name.[1]
See also
Notes
- ↑ The decision was taken to name the D800 class after British Navy warships. There were two exceptions, D800 Sir Brian Robertson named after the BTC's first Chairman and D812 The Royal Navy Reserve 1859-1959 to celebrate that organisation's centenary.)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia
- ↑ BR Database
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SVR Stock Book 9th Edition
- ↑ SVR meet the Locomotives
- ↑ BR Open Days.co.uk (Retrieved 4 June 2023)
- ↑ SVR News 218, Summer 2022, p. 23
- ↑ Branch Lines August 2024
- ↑ Casualty Search (Retrieved 24 July 2019)
Links
BR Class 42 on Wikipedia
Diesel Traction Group website
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