The Red Dragon (train)
The Red Dragon is a named passenger train service operated by Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom from Carmarthen to London Paddington.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Passenger train |
| First service | 5 June 1950 |
| Current operator(s) | Great Western Railway |
| Former operator(s) | Western Region of British Railways |
| Route | |
| Termini | Carmarthen London Paddington |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number(s) | 1L12 / 1B27 |
| Line(s) used | Great Western South Wales West Wales |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | GWR 4073 Castle, BR Standard Class 7 Britannia (1950-1965) Intercity 125 (1983-2018) 800/3 (2019-present) |
History
The Red Dragon was introduced by the Western Region of British Railways on 5 June 1950, departing Carmarthen at 07:30 for London Paddington, returning at 17:55. However in practice the main train started and terminated at Swansea with only a through portion working west of there to Carmarthen. Haulage was by Castle class locomotives at first, then by BR Standard Class 7 Britannias.[1] Both were supplied by Cardiff Canton MPD.
It was withdrawn on 12 June 1965.[1] It was resurrected in 1983/84 as The Red Dragon Executive' with InterCity 125s, becoming The Red Dragon Pullman in 1988.[2][3][4] It was withdrawn again, before being reintroduced by First Great Western on 13 December 2009.[5]
As at July 2019, the name was carried by the 07:30 from Carmarthen and the 17:45 return operated by Class 800s.[4]
Headboards
The Red Dragon carried a variety of headboards, mostly of two designs.[1]
- The first design was a BR Type 3 headboard, in black or red with polished aluminium lettering. This was introduced in the Summer of 1951. As for other headboards of the time, in the Coronation year of 1953 a crown crest was used temporarily.
- In 1956, a reversed style of painting was briefly used, with dark painted letters on a light background, still using the Type 3 design.
- The third style was the best known. Introduced in 1956 and used until 1962, it was one of the Western Region designs to recreate a sense of regional identity. The shape was a curved rectangle, without the cutouts to the upper corners. It was painted overall, cream with brown letters. In the upper centre a disc protruding above the main headboard carried a moulded figure of a red dragon.
- A final design was used experimentally in late 1961. This was one of the rectangular fibreglass lightweight plates, intended for diesel haulage.
References
- Peel, Dave (2006). Locomotive Headboards. Sutton Publishing. pp. 14–15. ISBN 0-7509-4462-5.
- "Bradshaw's British Railways Official Guide No. 1507". London: Henry Blacklock. 4 January 1960: 32.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Bonavia, Michael (1979). The Birth of British Rail. London: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 59803166.
- The Encyclopedia of Titled Trains The Railway Magazine issue 1422 September 2019 page 79
- Named trains back on the Great Western The Railway Magazine issue 1305 January 2010 page 11
External links
Media related to The Red Dragon at Wikimedia Commons