First to Last-Front End

Discs

The first ten Peaks, D1 - D10 (later class 44) were built with nose end doors and discs, as shown here by preserved D4 (Mike Kerry photo). Inside the doors was a covered connecting gangway for use if, and when, the loco's were working in multiple enabling traincrew to pass between loco's.

The layout of the discs when working a train gave the identity of the type of train.

D9 SNOWDON lost this style at one end after an accident in 1969.

Box Headcode Panels with recessed doors

As construction started on the 2500hp successors to D1 - D10 in early 1960 , the disc headcodes were deemed archaic and a new four digit system of train reporting number was being drawn up. The reporting number would be shown in headcode panels on the nose end of the loco.

The connecting doors were to be retained, so the headcode panels were placed at each outer edge of the nose. The doors on D11 and D12 had recesses in them, to stop them being scratched by the headcode panels when open. BR publicity photo of brand new D11. October 1960.

D11 went into Derby Works for refurbishing (still in lined green livery, albeit with small yellow warning panels applied early 1962) on 31/05/1967 and re-emerged without the boxes and doors and in BR Blue livery on 23/09/1967.

D12 ran in lined green livery (with small yellow panels added in January 1962) until 24/06/1966 when it left works in unlined green.

The loco lost the boxes and doors during refurbishing at Derby Works between 08/07/1968 and 19/10/1968.

Box Headcode Panels with unrecessed doors

Following on from D11 and D12, Derby Works kept the nose-end doors when building D13, D14 and D15, but without the recesses, as it became clear that use of the doors would be unrequired, for the most part.

D13 depicted by Thomas Frapp at Gainsborough in February 1961 during a week of trials on freight in Lincolnshire.

D13 ran in lined green, unlined green and BR Blue whilst in this condtion, finally losing the boxes and doors during Intermediate Repair at Derby Works between 13/10/1970 and 20/11/1970.

D14 ran in both lined and unlined green with boxes and doors, but a serious accident at Hellifield on 24/08/1968 brought an early entry to Derby Works for refurbishing, finally re-entering traffic, without boxes and doors, on 01/03/1969.

D15 ran in lined green and BR Blue(March 1967) with boxes/doors. The front end was modified at Derby Works during refurbishing between 10/03/1969 and 23/05/1969.

Box Headcode Panels, no doors

On Derby built D16 - D30, and Crewe built D68 - D107, the nose-end doors were dispensed with, leaving just the headcode boxes.

Here is D90 arriving at Cardiff General with the stock for 1N60 1420 Cardiff - York on 06/03/1967. Six months later the loco would go for refurb and lose this front end design. Photo Bob Masterman.

A handful of locos would carry the boxes until the end of their life, albeit with domino markers, these being 45 025, 45 027, 45 047, 45 053 and 45 061. 45 053 was the last to run on BR metals with boxes in October 1981.

Centre Split Headcode

The decision to do away with the nose-end doors was followed by the decision to dispense with the side boxes. With two-piece headcode blinds ordered for loco's up to D173, the design team came up with the aesthetically pleasing centre split headcode panel for D31 - D67 and D108 - D173, depicted here on D34 on arrival at Cardiff General with 1V70 0724 York - Cardiff on 08/05/1967. Photo Bob Masterman.

Locos to carry centre split panels, albeit with domino markers, to the end of their life were 45 031 at one end only, 45 032, 45 035 and 45 036, the latter doing so until withdrawal in May 1986, the last Peak to carry headcode panels on BR metals.

Centre Headcode

The final twenty Peaks built, D174 - D193, were fitted with an integral centre headcode panel. They also had the small grab rails near the tail lights that were first fitted to D50 - D57 and D148 onwards. These grab rails were retro fitted to all members of the fleet apart from, bizarrely, D138 - D147. Also, note the blue star multiple working stickers.

R.A. Panting's photo shows the new style as fitted to a one-day-old D175 piloting D50 on 1N05 (code not wound correctly) 0740 Kings Norton - Newcastle at York. The loco was removed here, later working forward on a Hull - Edinburgh train. 4th August 1962.

44 009(one end only), 45 008, 45 018, 45 024, 45 067, 46 005,

46 012, 46 020, 46 024, 46 037, and 46 041 all retained the panel, albeit with domino markers to the end of their life, 46 037 being the last to run as such, until June 84.

Centre Panel - Refurbs, Retro Fits and Accident Damage

In September 1965 D154, the first of the loco's refurbished at Brush Works, Loughborough, was fitted with integral central headcode panels. This became the pattern for all the rest of what would later become class 46, D138 - D173, D174 - D193 having already been fitted when built. Many of what would become class 45 were also retro fitted with the single panel, including a good few at one end only, after accidents. D9 SNOWDON was also endowed as such after a 1969 accident at Trent Jct, seen here in an Iron Felix photo at Toton in 1970.

Class 45 that had box headcodes replaced by centre headcode panels were D11, D12, D13, D14, D15(thus all those that had doors), D16, D17, D18, D21, D71(one end), D81(one end), D82, D85, D86, D90, D91, D105(one end) and D106.

D71 The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) with converted No 1 end at Nottingham, after bringing in 1O43 0905 summer SO Leeds - Poole, which ran up the Midland Main Line in the early 1970's. Note the red buffer beamed bogie, fitted ex one of the green 46s when D71 was having the accident damage repair in 1969.

Photo courtesy of Fred Castor.

Peaks that had centre split headcodes replaced by centre headcode panels were D33, D36(one end), D41(one end), D43, D51, D53, D59, D60, D61, D109(one end), D115, D116, D120, D125(one end), D126 and D135(one end), plus all of D138 - D173, as mentioned earlier.

125 is at Derby Works around 8/12/72, its release date after having a new No 2 end fitted following collision damage in early autumn. The loco will have had a test run from Derby to Leicester piloting 1M51 0801 Manchester - St Pancras, standard practice at this time.

The unfortunate 125 would be the first Peak to have the next major change to the front end design.

Marker Lights

BR took the decision that the displaying of train reporting numbers in the headcode panels would cease from 1st January 1976. 125 spent over a year in Derby Works being repaired after a tragic accident in October 1974 and was chosen as the first Peak to have headcode panels removed in favour of marker lights. The loco emerged on 31/12/75, as 45 071, just in time for the headcode discontinuation. Uniquely, the loco was fitted with the type of light fitted to class 20 behind their front end discs, and also kept the bracketry at the top end of the nose. Seen at Derby on 1st February 1978, here is 45 071, as photographed by Mike Kerry.

Click for ORDER OF CONVERSION

If you can divert your eyes away from this seminar of boys at Exeter SD about to board the last ever 1M74 1618 Plymouth - Birmingham NS on 14/5/82, you'll see the standard marker lights applied to the 165 of the Peak fleet that received them. The loco is 46 049, the first to receive this style over six years previously and, along with 46 016 and 45 043, retained the bracketry as on 45 071(above), which itself would be converted to this style in 1979.

Photo courtesy of Clive Smith, not to be reproduced elsewhere, please.

45 048 The Royal Marines was the first to receive a fully flush front without the bracketry, emerging from Derby Works on 23/4/76.

Trevor Dorrington's study finds the loco at Birmingham New Street on 18/6/83 working 1V64 0741 Derby - Penzance. All ten 44's and eighteen class 45's and 46's never received the marker lights, - 45 008, 45 018, 45 024, 45 025, 45 027, 45 032, 45 035, 45 036, 45 047, 45 053, 45 061, 45 067, 46 005, 46 012, 46 020, 46 024, 46 037 and 46 041. 45 031 finished up with one end marker lights (ex 46 003) and one end domino.

0000

As the marker lights wouldn't be fitted until locos visited Derby Works, the decision was that, from January 1st 1976, all headcode digits would be turned to "0", forming a 0000. Some areas, notably the rebellious West Country, took a time to adhere, but it is almost certain that all class 45's and 46's, except 45 071 and 46 040, carried this style at some stage. 44 009 also carried 0000.

12/1/77 sees both Dale Green, and a van-shunting 45061, braving a particularly grotty looking day at Newport High Street.

Domino Headcode

During the summer of 1976, the first class 46's, 46 005, 46 020 and 46 032 among them, had two white dots on a black background applied to the headcode panels, not surprisingly dubbed "domino". Eighteen class 45's and 46's never received the marker lights, all of which carried the domino panels to the end of their working lives - 45 008, 45 018,

45 024, 45 025, 45 027, 45 032, 45 035, 45 036, 45 047, 45 053,

45 061, 45 067, 46 005, 46 012, 46 020, 46 024, 46 037 and 46 041.

45 031 finished up with one end marker lights (ex 46 003) and one end domino. 45 120 also did this for a little under 16 months, before having the marker lights at both ends. 44 009 SNOWDON also wore the domino pattern in its solitary headcode panel.

Nick Edwards captures 45 041 Royal Tank Regiment at Penzance, before climbing aboard 1E61 1808 Penzance - Sheffield on 26/10/78 for a "Hellfire" run up-country in the dark.

JAWS

In early 1977, 46 022 sustained some damage to the No 2 end headcode panel, already converted to the domino style. Cardiff Canton initiated a quick fix piece of perspex sheeting with oooo on it. The loco is also fitted with larger buffers. Aesthetically disastrous, but marking the loco out for celebrity, JAWS is here seen on 12/4/77 at Exeter St Davids working the evening Plymouth - Cardiff service. The loco carried this until entry to Derby Works for General Repair on 8/8/78.

photo Nick Edwards.

45 019

Like 46022, 45019 was fitted with a non standard panel at No 2 end after incurring damage to its already bedominoed specimen. Believed to have been fitted at York or Holbeck, the replacement was two class 47 style marker lights and a red painted surround. The first record we have of this arrangement is 21/3/78 and it was still like this on 2/9/78 when captured by Keith Riley approaching Abbotswood Junction with 1E22 1000 Newquay - Newcastle.

45 123

Another loco fitted with a non standard panel was 45123, seen at Loughborough on 30/04/1977 hauling the 1601 St Pancras - Sheffield to Nottingham. photo Trevor Dorrington

Narrow Marker Lights

Many of the 45's that remained with box headcodes at the start of the marker light conversion had lights that were closer together than the standard fitting. Research has provided no reason as to why 45 013, 017, 020, 021, 028, 029, 054, 057 (No2 end only) 058, 060, 062, 101, 120, 124, 132, 135, 136, 138, 140 were those concerned. 46 055 was the only other Peak to have these narrower lights, albeit at No2 end only.

John Thompson's photo at York on 4/8/84 captures this, nicely.

45 006 Honourable Artillery Company, a former box headcode example itself, on the left, has the standard width lights, with 45 101, centre, and 45 132, right, having the narrower style. 101 is about to take the 1E53 1324 Llandudno - Scarborough forward from 132.

High Intensity Headlight

Much to the chagrin of many fans of the fleet, late in 1985 BR decided to aid visibility of the loco's to P Way men by fitting a high intensity headlight inbetween the marker lights on the class 45/1 fleet. 45 148 was the first so fitted. The silver surround to this light was soon painted yellow. The exact fitting dates of these lights is generally not known, but Steve Dexter has narrowed down to possible dates. Click here to see list.

Here the beam sent out by this light is well captured on 45 145 waiting to leave St Pancras on the 1945 service to Derby on Sunday 16th March 1986.

photo John Goodale.