The GWR railcars
The Great Western Railway is more often remembered for its fleet of copper-capped chimney steam locomotives rather than for technological innovation - but in fact the company was amongst the first to introduce viable diesel traction, in the form of a series of self-propelled railcars, as EVAN GREEN-HUGHES explains.
Above: GWR diesel railcar W13W draws attention at Kensington Addison Road during a London Railway Society railtour on September 26 1954. A.W. Croughton/Rail Archive Stephenson.
