British Rail Class 50 Diesel Locomotive

Read more about the story of the English Electric Type 4, born to service the West Coast Main Line in the years before electrification.

English Electric Type 4

The British Rail Class 50 Diesel Locomotive – also known as English Electric Type 4 – was a Co-Co configuration engine built in 1967 and 1968 by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows.

50001-50050

Designed to haul passenger express trains on non-electrified stretches of the West Coast Main Line, 50 locomotives were built and renumbered from D400-449 to 50001–50050. The engines initially saw work to Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Glasgow and were redeployed to the Western Region after electrification was complete on the West Coast.

Refurbishment

With the introduction of the HST in the West, they next saw service out of London Paddington to Birmingham until the late 1970s. After refurbishment, they worked from Paddington and Waterloo until complete withdrawal in the 1990s.