British Rail devised the Class 14 locomotives to replace the seemingly indispensable ex-GWR Pannier Tanks which busily performed shunting duties, yard transfers and short haul freight services on Western Region tracks.
Entering service from July 1964, the 56 strong class of locomotives became known by enthusiasts as 'Teddy Bears', following a comment made by Swindown Works foreman, George Cole, 'We've built the Great Bear, now we're going to build a Teddy Bear'. The Great Bear being the GWR's sole 4-6-2, No.111, built in 1908 and at the time the largest locomotive in Great Britain.
The Class 14s were designed with an axle load suitable for light line working, and were powered by a Paxman 6-cylinder Ventura engine rated at 650 hp, Voith hydraulic transmission and Hunslet triple reduction and reverse gear box.
Initially these locomotives appeared to have a busy future, largely taking on roles about the numerous coalfields and collieries in South Wales. Amid Dr. Beeching's rationalisation of the BR network however, the traffic they were built for was quickly disappearing and many were stored at Worcester from 1966 after only 2 years in service. While some were transferred to Hull Dairycoats, their tenure on the North East Region was also short lived and in 1968 the class was withdrawn. Many units were purchased for work on private railways such as those operated by the National Coal Board and British Steel Corporation, where they were kept engaged until the 1980's.
Several members of the class have been saved from the scrapper's torch and can today be found working on various preserved railways around the country.
