The final few years of Class 50 operations on BR were made all the more memorable by a series of initiatives orchestrated by the staff at Laira depot in Plymouth, under the leadership of then area fleet manager Geoff Hudson. Thirty years on, Andy Coward visited the historic depot to meet the man who helped ensure the locomotives went out in style.
Where does the time go? How can it be 30 years since the Class 50s disappeared – under British Rail ownership – from the rail network?
We are fortunate that so many of the locomotives survived into preservation, but the operation of the ‘50 Terminator’ on March 26, 1994, marked the end of the BR era, with thousands of enthusiasts turning out to pay their respects.
The Class 50s were the first diesel locomotive fleet rundown that I actively followed as a young enthusiast after I had discovered the joys of railways in my early teens. They were also the first locomotives that I can vividly remember being withdrawn, and much as I admire and appreciate the many locomotive designs that were withdrawn before them, they had already gone before I caught the railway bug.
I can’t pretend that I amassed thousands of miles travelling behind the popular English Electric locomotives, but those trips I did take in the early 1990s left a lasting impression and ensured that I have remained a follower of those Class 50s that survived into preservation.
I wasn’t alone in my enthusiasm, either. Interest towards the end of their BR working lives was huge – and it was clear that the railway managers responsible for the 50-strong fleet realised there was a significant following. The fleet’s withdrawal attracted much interest from the enthusiast community, in a similar manner to the Westerns and Deltics before them.
Central to this was the work done to give followers as much exposure as possible to celebrate the career of the locomotives during the twilight period of their working lives on BR, with a rundown programme that few who were there at the time will ever forget.
Several Class 50s received celebrity repaints, and initiatives such as the repainting of 50008 Thunderer and 50015 Valiant allowed them to become dedicated railtour locomot
