BR Swindon

Biography

BR Swindon (the British Railways Western Region engineering office at Swindon Works) inherited the engineering tradition of the GWR under Churchward, Collett and Hawksworth. After 1948 it built the BR Standards' Western share, including the Class 14 heavy diesel-hydraulic shunters and the unsuccessful Western Region diesel-hydraulic main-line types (Class 22, Class 35 'Hymek', Class 42 'Warship' and Class 52 'Western'). The works closed on 26 March 1986.

Locomotives designed

British Rail Class 122 — BR Class 122 "Bubblecar" — single-unit DMU built 1958 by Gloucester RC&W. 20 built. Used on lightly-trafficked branches. Some preserved on heritage railways.
British Rail Class 123 — BR Class 123 — four-car DMU "InterCity" built 1963 for Western Region cross-country expresses. 10 sets. Withdrawn 1984. None preserved.
British Rail Class 124 — BR Class 124 — six-car DMU "InterCity" built 1960 by BR Swindon for Trans-Pennine Manchester–Hull/Leeds expresses. 8 sets. Withdrawn 1984. None preserved as a complete unit (some individual cars survive in heritage stock).
British Rail Class 131 — BR Class 131 — DMU built by GRC&W. Small fleet for Birmingham area services.
British Rail Class 14 — BR Class 14 "Teddy Bear" — 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic centre-cab, built 1964–65 by BR Swindon. 56 built for Western Region branch and trip work. Made redundant by the rapid decline of pickup-goods traffic; sold to industrial users 1968 onwards. Several preserved.

Born	1 January 1948
Died	26 March 1986
Nationality	British
Employer	British Railways, Western Region, Swindon Works