SR West Country and Battle of Britain Classes - Operational Details

Operational Details

The original intention was to base the first batch of locomotives at Exmouth Junction depot at Exeter for use on the West of England Main Line to Salisbury and Plymouth, and secondary lines to Barnstaple, Bude and other holiday resorts in Devon and Cornwall. By the winter of 1945, there was a more pressing need for them on Kent Coast services. The class also began to be used on Continental Boat Trains to and from Dover and Folkestone once these were resumed in 1946. Later batches were used on cross-country services such as the Brighton to Bournemouth, Cardiff and Plymouth trains or the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway trains from Bournemouth to Wells and Bath.

Because of the good route availability the locomotives could be used on non-electrified lines between London and Brighton. These included the Oxted Line, and occasionally the Bluebell Line between East Grinstead and Lewes, where they were also used for freight and parcels traffic, and excursion trains over electrified lines. Thus the original intention for the West Country class locomotives to work in South West England and the Battle of Britain class in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey was never operationally practical and both classes were to be found all over the network. The most important journey undertaken by a member of the class occurred on 30 January 1965, when No.34051 Winston Churchill hauled the funeral train of its namesake from Waterloo station to his final resting place, close to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.