Very nostalgic and enjoyable film; not just the engines, but the last of the traditional carriages, jointed rails, semaphores, telegraph poles... It's no wonder they proved to be so popular in preservation.

Thank you so much for sharing. The most beautiful diesel engine ever.

My last trip on a Western was 1977.....Western Nobleman ...from Newport happy days!! { i live in Crewe

I first saw a maroon one of these on the opposite platform at Bristol Temple made in 1968 as a young boy.There was a cold wind and I was freezing whilst my family waited for a connection to Plymouth as we had come down from Leeds. I saw the driver nice and warm in has cab. remember him starting the Western engines up and was very impressed. luckily we were moving down to Plymouth and enjoyed trips to London where my eldest sister lived in the late sixties early seventies. Many of the trips were with the westerns sometimes single sometimes doubled up. I will never forget the engine sound especially at speed. A growling shimmering sound with decreasing and increasing back round screaming. sublime.. such a shame when the 125s came along.

The Westerns were so unique and special looking. I'm so glad I got to some of that at Paddington in 1974-75

went on a pathfinders tour from Brum Int to Penzance pulled by a Western in original livery - never realized how popular it was as there were people on bridges, level crossings, stations, everywhere! Did it in style too in the pullman car - £169 and worth every penny as it brought back a lot of memories (my first trip was when I was 12 years old and I went to Plymouth for the day for 75p!).

awesome footage - brings a lump to ya throat and a tear to the eye - great old piece of film blade.

This is wonderful. It is the best set of movie footage of these iconic engines I have found. Many many thanks.

Thanks for this i may well have been he second man on the shots around oxford was at Old Oak Comman from 1974-1980 worked on 63 out of 74 and drove 15 of them now passed out as a driver on them

You know the more i look at this and the more fascinating it gets, early shots of Western Enterprise in sand, Talisman in that low red. Gawd I could go on, wonderful stuff...

3.46 that takes me back the Westerns used to come into Clapham Yard on the Southern every night with a milk train and take it down to Morden...those were the days thanks for posting.

The arrival of the Inter City 125 High Speed Trains in October 1976 led to the Class 52 Westerns to retire gracefully even though they only entered service in the early 1960s.

Another brilliant archive flim of the marvelous Westerns..well shot on 8mm film..thanks for that David..5*..Bob

Thanks for sharing this great history. Joe

blubberblubberblubber... You made a good job creating your prestige hydraulic - graphic sound and these old shots are genious! They make me feel in love about England! SO nice, blade!

Thanks for sharing this. I do miss the song of enthusiastic Maybachs revving away.

Seen them all but 4, they were being broken up before I could see them all, cab ridden 6 and been pulled numerous times, great memories, you can't beat diesel power!

Great! Beautiful, very beautiful mashina! Hydraulic-sound of her kicks ass! SALUT!!!

Golden footage, thanks for sharing. Subscribed.

Excellent collection - thank you for sharing - 5*

briiliant vid.Certainly brought back memories of when i was secondman at ooc 1971/73.

aw, no D1026 Western Centurion, but those that were present, fabulous, thank you so much for sharing.

I caught a glimpse of D1000 at Paddington- Ranelagh Rd, I imagine- just outside the station- it was 1962. I thought for years I had imagined it as every other diesel was either maroon or green. It was years later that I heard about the desert sand- as I remembered a gold engine, so it wasn't my imagination as a small kid!

Thank you so much for this!

Gotta love the all over maroon without the yellow head panels, and with the nearly matching coaching stock, nothing but class all over! If history had gone a bit differently, and the GWR had carried on and built the Westerns themselves, I can vividly imagine them bearing the Great Western livery well and co existing with the Kings and Castles. I'd imagine that the GWR would have rapidly developed and embraced both steam and diesel technology had they fully recovered after the second War.

Love this. Thank you! Is this actual archival sound too?

A Really Nice vid mate, I eally enjoyed it.

great locos. I remember them at reading general stn in 1968 in maroon.years later I got a cab ride London to reading

Maybach music 👌

Only in this country. 25% of the nationalised railway industry was allowed to buy a fundamentally different motive power type; later to be declared "non-standard" and scrapped before being worn out.!

First one I properly saw 53 patriarch on the stops at Padd. Lost my mates for a while cos I just stopped to admire the lines and design and beauty of this machine , probably the most handsome, of all the BR designs. Later that day we did reading and back behind a western (platform ticket only). Great

Very nice indeed,

Western Talisman is seen reversing the stock of this passenger train ? That´s epic - isn´t it ! And I love this loveable SOUND @ 1:35 ...

This is rare stuff, thanks

Superb

The sound of this locomotive like my washing machine!

Westerns Great locos 5*s and a Fav

Swindon’s finest diesel locos

BR Western Region maintained the Gods Wonderful Railway traditions and went diesel hydraulic rather than electric. Westerns, Warships and Hymaks!

Some decent sound on this!

Thanks for the fantastic comment and glad u enjoyed the video.

A bloody waste of a good class when we lost these beautiful locos 👿 I travelled many miles behind these from Oxford! Those Maybachs sounded amazing! I was lucky enough to drive 1062 Western Courier on the Severn Valley railway once! The Westerns had YEARS of life left in them but BR just let them DIE😡 the poor things looked so rough when they got to the end before they were scrapped WHY?

Cheers Bob next one will feature the Deltic's.

Is this now available on DVD to purchase please??

HELLFIRE!!!!

very cool

This is cracking footage mate! A lot better than a TVP video about the Western Region! Who made this one?

On further investigation they are from a 3 volume video Archive British Traction by British Railway Heritage.

they are about to bring back d1013 western ranger after the overhaul work

Just Heaven

Remember watching these or maybe Warships along Dawlish seafront in Whit week 1971

did the video cameras of the day have sound recording? or was that done separately?

D1001 unofficially "Western Carpet Cleaner"

This is great footage! It takes me back to my childhood. I am Road Transport Photojournalist for the UK's best selling Magazine. I would be very interested in documenting any restoration projects of loco's with a view to publishing. If anyone is interested please reply!

as of today 7 westerns are still here as of today and d1015 is the only western still active on the mainline the others including d1013 d1010 d1041 and d1023 and d1062 and d1048 are still active on the heritage railways

1 person lived next to a railway line and couldn't get any sleep :)

Nice old engines them. Did'nt know one crashed though!

Talisman looks new

what about western reliance??

at 0:6 like diesel 10

I'm bloody annoyed waited years 1969 -1979to see a western and never saw one ..and I lived in frigging WOLVERHAMPTON!!

All before microcomputer and internet technology. Rail's problem is trucking's free ride on EU highways. With Brexit we need to make trucks pay their way

What about "Western Butcher Beeching"

Who built the best Diesel Hydraulics? England or Germany? Englishs sound better, aren´t they ;)

I'm annoyed !! I never saw a western anywhere near Wolverhampton..