BR Class 42 D821 Greyhound
D821 in service
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 B-B diesel-hydraulic Class 42 ‘Warship’ class (all bar two of the class being named after Royal Naval vessels).
D821 Greyhound was outshopped from BR Swindon Works in May 1960, and served mainly at Plymouth Laira with a brief spell at Newton Abbot. While in service D821 carried various liveries including green, maroon and blue. She was withdrawn from service in December 1972, with more than 1 million miles of main line working.
HMS Greyhound (H05) was a G-class destroyer, launched in 1935 and sunk by German dive bombers in 1941. An earlier HMS Greyhound, a Greyhound-class destroyer, also saw service from 1900 to 1919. A number of other Naval vessels have also carried the name.
D1013 in preservation
D821 was bought by members of the Diesel Traction Group, becoming the first main line diesel to be sold for preservation. In May 1973 D821 moved under her own power to Didcot, moving again in the following year to a private siding in Reading. Between February 1977 and April 1981 the locomotive underwent an overhaul at Swindon, and then moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. She finally arrived on the SVR in September 1991.
Sources
SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition