British Railways type 1 locomotives like the class 14 filled the gap between the slow-speed shunting engines and powerful mainline locomotives. Intended to take over the many branchline and trip or pick-up goods workings BR envisaged driver-only diesels with greatly reduced daily servicing requirements (eg regular water stops) replacing hundreds of steam locomotives with two-man crews.
This plan quickly unravelled. Several locomotive designs had restricted visibility, requiring 2-man crews. It was quickly found that the type 1 was generally underpowered, the slightly larger double-cab type 2 locomotives could perform a wider range of duties and double-heading type 1s to give the extra power demanded increased, not decreased, costs. DMUs were unable to haul and shunt odd wagons like steam-powered trains used to, so extra goods locomotives were needed, negating the dieselisation savings. Finally the customers found door-to-door road transport was far more effective for small loads and the Beeching Report brought home just how much money was being lost by delivering single wagonloads to tiny wayside stations.
The diesel hydraulic type 1, BR class 14, really was built much too late, by the time Swindon was building the small engines in the mid 1960s the factors which were to eliminate them from BR service were already clear. The work for which they were built was vanishing faster than they entering service. Indeed work for the type 2 locomotives was disappearing, the Beeching Report of 1963 signalled the end of unremunerative branchlines and small load goods service and a concentration on train-load services which required more powerful type 3 and type 4 locomotives.
Although more useful for trip workings between depots and yards than the slow class 08 shunting engines the 14s could be found little useful work which could not have been performed equally well by one of the larger NBL type 2 (class22) or Beyer Peacock Hymek locos.
While BR found little use for its' 'Teddy Bears' (From an off-the-cuff remark by Swindon works foreman George Cole, "We built the 'Great Bear', now we're going to build a 'Teddy Bear'") it is difficult to say they did not eventually prove to be highly successful locomotives.
The design specification was certainly sound, the 40mph maximum speed was well matched with 45mph maximum speed permitted for the short wheelbase, steam era wagons in use, unlike the class 08 shunters (15mph) a 14 could haul goods trains along the mainline at the (then) normal speed. The 650bhp engine gave plenty of power and allied to hydraulic transmission, which is more efficient than electric transmission, power at rail was comparable to the 800bhp classes 15 & 16s and a significant sustained tractive effort was delivered.
However it turned out to be Britains coal and steel industries and later heritage railways who were to gain the most from these locomotives. The majority of the fleet were quickly being bought up for use in quarries, steel works and collieries where significantly more powerful shunting engines were needed. During the 1980s many of these locomotives were withdrawn, either redundant due to plant closures or displaced by newer locomotives.
By this time many heritage railway were looking for diesel locomotives capable of matching steam power for hauling passenger trains at up to 25mph. It was exactly the work the 'Teddy Bear' had been designed for!
After 50 years of solid service in industry the 19 preserved class 14s are delivering useful and economical diesel traction for branchline service, even if BR should never have built them!