Last chance to see a faithful old workhorse.

Peter Kerslake says "The chance of going over to Swndon Works "Dump" was always hoped for whilst on visits to the Works in those happy days but not all the former Railwaymen who acted as the compulsary Official Guides and who accompanied us enthusiasts were keen on tramping all the way out to it, but those who did acede to our requests usually benefitted from a "few bob" collected and handed over at the end of the day!
You never knew what would be in the process of being disposed of there, and this view shows a "1400"class together with a mixed bag of other classes all undergoing the cutters' torches, whilst "Taffy Tank" 5639, one of the first of her class to be withdawn in 1962 in company with 5636, 5683 and the later 6687 has already lost her cab and much of her other fittings.
Built in 1924, and one of the initial batch of one hundred 5639 was one of four based at Didcot in the mid 'fifties, with just thirteen based outside Wales whilst no less than eighty seven were housed within various Welsh depots understanderbly so as was for working mineral and coal traffic together with branch line passenger duties within the Welsh valleys that the class had originally designed."