Completed in July 1949 locomotive 1501 was sent to London Old Oak Common shed for empty coaching stock duties between the carriage sidings around the shed to Paddington station. By the end of 1959 1501 had been sent to Southall shed which supplied engines for London area suburban and local passenger services. The shed also supplied engines for goods trains, transfer trips with wagons going to other regions and shunting duties in the Western regions London marshalling yards. 1501 was withdrawn from Southall shed in January 1961, one of the first three engines of this class to be withdrawn from British Railways service, all of which were sold to the National Coal Board for use at Coventry colliery.
All three engines were nominally purchased for preservation, with 1501 moving to the Severn Valley Railway as the best example while sisters 2 and 9 were stripped of all usable parts.
Specification
- Designed from original works drawings and a wealth of photographic material
- Die-cast construction
- Quality mechanism
- Next18 decoder socket
- NEM coupler pockets
- Sprung buffers
- Key detail changes between individual locomotives