Headcode and Livery of North British D6325

[Rail-Online]

Hi,

 

I have been trying to track down the history of D6325.  It was delivered in plain green with headcode discs and there are photos of it like this in 1960 (and I think somewhere in 1965 although I have lost the ref!).  Can anyone tell me when it was re-built with headcode boxes and if it then had small yellow panels?  The only photo I can find of it is in blue livery with all yellow ends in 1967.  Did it go straight to this livery when the headcode boxes were fitted? 

 

Cheers Tony

[Halvarras]

Hi Tony, alas you have chosen one which appears to have done a good job at dodging photographers until it was painted blue, which means the last 18 months of its life. And then it always seemed to be stationary on Bath Road shed!

Both the David Wilson hardback book on the Class 22s and 'Modern Locomotives Illustrated' No 197 on the NBL Type 2s agree that D6325 was originally plain green with discs, gained yellow warning panels (large rectangular, according to the former) in this condition, was modified to headcode panels in green syp and finally painted blue fye in April 1967. However I'd treat this with caution and keep looking for photo-evidence. I've tried but can't find anything supporting the two green syp versions (page 66 in the MLI apparently shows D6325 in green with headcode boxes at Filton Junction in January 1967 but under a magnifying glass it looks like D6315 to me - I believe this was a Bristol loco at the time, about to move to Laira and make very regular appearances in my notebooks during the following four years!

IF D6325 did get headcode panels in green livery it would most likely have been during the second half of 1965, but I'm not totally convinced that it did - a few did go straight from plain green into blue.

 

Neil

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Neil Phillips
Changed 'January 1965' to 'January 1967'