Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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This is a reworked and reuploaded version of the original video.
Greetings! :D
Once a much beloved part of the British Railways locomotive scene, the diesel hydraulics of the Western Region, ranging from the original and seldom remembered pilot scheme classes to the venerable Warships, Westerns and Hymeks, took what was originally a German design and tailored it to the unique characteristics of the former Great Western mainline out of London Paddington, proving in many ways that diesel-hydraulic traction was a superior form of locomotive design thanks to their marriage of lightness and sheer horsepower.
Sadly, the diesel-hydraulics would prove to be only a fleeting part of Britain's railway history, as from the moment they entered service in the early 1960s, it became apparent that their very existence illustrated the disjointed and disorganised execution of the Modernisation Plan for which they had been developed, and within a decade standardisation had taken over as order of the day for British Rail's long-term future, meaning all of these formidable locomotives were swept out of service after working lives of, at most, 15 years.
Chapters:
0:00 - Preamble
1:15 - The Reasons Why
6:00 - D600 and D6300
13:20 - D800 Warship Introduction
21:55 - D1000 Western Introduction
27:34 - D7000 Hymek Introduction
33:57 - D800 Warship Service and Withdrawal
38:37 - D7000 Hymek Service and Withdrawal
41:43 - D1000 Western Service and Withdrawal
45:55 - Conclusion
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated YouTubers. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Press the Join button to get access to new videos a week ahead of schedule by becoming a channel member for just £2.99 a month!
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Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Key Model World (and their respective sources)
- Western Locomotive Society (and their respective sources)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
Join this channel to get early access to new videos a week ahead of their public release:
youtube.com/channel/UCC8R7kmt-W14zWUcr8mymEQ/join
This is a reworked and reuploaded version of the original video.
Greetings! :D
Once a much beloved part of the British Railways locomotive scene, the diesel hydraulics of the Western Region, ranging from the original and seldom remembered pilot scheme classes to the venerable Warships, Westerns and Hymeks, took what was originally a German design and tailored it to the unique characteristics of the former Great Western mainline out of London Paddington, proving in many ways that diesel-hydraulic traction was a superior form of locomotive design thanks to their marriage of lightness and sheer horsepower.
Sadly, the diesel-hydraulics would prove to be only a fleeting part of Britain's railway history, as from the moment they entered service in the early 1960s, it became apparent that their very existence illustrated the disjointed and disorganised execution of the Modernisation Plan for which they had been developed, and within a decade standardisation had taken over as order of the day for British Rail's long-term future, meaning all of these formidable locomotives were swept out of service after working lives of, at most, 15 years.
Chapters:
0:00 - Preamble
1:15 - The Reasons Why
6:00 - D600 and D6300
13:20 - D800 Warship Introduction
21:55 - D1000 Western Introduction
27:34 - D7000 Hymek Introduction
33:57 - D800 Warship Service and Withdrawal
38:37 - D7000 Hymek Service and Withdrawal
41:43 - D1000 Western Service and Withdrawal
45:55 - Conclusion
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated YouTubers. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Press the Join button to get access to new videos a week ahead of schedule by becoming a channel member for just £2.99 a month!
Paypal: paypal.me/rorymacve?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/rorymacve
Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Key Model World (and their respective sources)
- Western Locomotive Society (and their respective sources)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
