By 1970, most of the first 300 or so locomotives had transitioned from black into post-1957 green, complete with later
BR crests. However, D3319 retains its original black livery and small D prefix, which was added upon renumbering from
11319 in the early 1960s. In some cases, a full stop was added between the D and the number. A handful of ‘08s’ retained black into the early 1970s although, unlike the others, D3319 sports a plain yellow nose, without the usual ‘wasp stripes’, that had begun appearing from the late 1950s.
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Prior to the adoption of the Total Operations System (TOPS) in the 1970s, the 350hp shunters carried numbers in the D3000 series, having originally been in the ‘13XXX’ series during the 1950s. Once TOPS was implemented, the locomotives became Class 08, with ‘08XXX’ numbers making life much easier for railway staff and enthusiasts.
In theory, there should be no problem for modellers recreating British Railways’ 350hp diesel shunters, with only a few ‘standard’ liveries adopted for such traction during the period in question. Unfortunately, life is not always that simple and the variations – although in most cases small – are indeed numerous. A small selection is showcased here, offering a few interesting customisation projects, perhaps…?
This undated view of D3100 illustrates one of the possible locations for the later BR crest: on the side of the bonnet. Despite the cranks receiving a coat of red paint, the connecting rods are bare steel. Orange electrical conduit is visible between the nose-end lamps, with light blue added to the radiator filling pipes. An additional quirk of Western Region examples could be the addition of route availability discs applied to the cabsides.
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