GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - British Railways Period Locomotives: gwrbsh1319

British Railways C0-Co Western class D1001 'Western Pathfinder' is seen standing at Platform 7 on an up express service to Paddington in late 1962. Built at Swindon in February 1962 D1001 was first allocated to Laira shed in Plymouth before being transferred to Old Oak Common in October 1962 before returning to Laira shed in March 1964. Another transfer, this time to Swansea Landore in January 1968, again took D1001 away but it again returned to Plymouth Laira in February 1970. Finally it was withdrawn from service due to its' B end being damaged in a collision with a BR van in October 1976 having completed 1,264,000 miles in service.

Initially the class were to be named after West Country beauty spots and the suggestion was that number D1000 was to become 'Cheddar Gorge' before this proposal was dropped in favour of the 'Western' names. The class also became the subject of various livery experiments. The first 'Western', D1000 Western Enterprise, was outshopped in a unique desert sand livery with wheels, roofpanels, bogies and window frames in black. Buffer beams and front skirts were painted in carmine red. The second 'Western' locomotive, D1001 Western Pathfinder, was delivered in a maroon livery with window frames in white while the buffer beams and front skirts were in yellow.

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