GWR diesel railcar No 19 stands at Blackhill, Co.Durham on April 25, 1944 whilst on loan to the LNER during WW II.


Peter Kerslake says "Images of the G.W.R. Railcar number 19 on loan to the LNER in 1944 must be rare indeed and his Railcar was the first of fourteen built in 1940 , the first series to be fitted with not just the single power unit of their earlier sisters but with twin units thereby doubling their power output to 242 h.p. and her bodywork was constructed at Swindon Works , the second such Railcar to emerge from Swindon in 1937.
The Gloucester built examples were numbered from 5 to 16 inclusive and had the rounded ends of a design similar to the Park Royal built first four.
I have found no details of number 19's wartime spell away from her home territory, but later in 1956 she was the sole member of the fleet shedded at Gloucester Horton Road Depot and would have been used on the shuttle service through the "Golden Valley" to Chalford, on the main line to Swindon.
This varient has all her bogies and running gear open and without the more extensive panelling of the earler versions and so maintenance would have been easier on this design"

"More research indicates that railcars numbered 8 and number 11 are also shown as being loaned to the L.N.E.R. during the war in 1944 for use in the Newcastle area, so the mystery deepens!
This railcar seen here, if it's number 19 as shown, had bodywork built at Swindon, the first of the final twenty so constructed, whilst numbers 8 and 11 were built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage Company within the batch of twelve and numbered 5 to 16, being constructed at Gloucester during 1936.

A bit more research indicates that Blackhill is south of Newcastle upon Tyne near to Consett and is in County Durham and was at this date served by a rail connection.
There is also a suggestion that Railcar number 19 may also have been on loan to the LNER in company with sister units number 6 and 11 during this wartime year of 1944.
This was a Swindon Works bodied example."


Photo: A.W. Croughton/Rail Archive Stephenson