R30196 RailRoad Plus BR InterCity, Class 31, A1A-A1A, 31454 ‘The Heart of Wessex’ – Era 9

The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and originally as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62. They were numbered in two series, D5500-D5699 and D5800-D5862. Construction of the first locomotive was completed in the final week of September 1957, and the handing-over took place on 31 October.

The first Class 31 entered service in November 1957, after the launch of the Class 20 locomotive and was one of the Pilot Scheme locomotives ordered by British Railways to replace steam traction. 31454 has the main benefit of being a 31/4 that features electric train heating. This allows the locomotive to heat passenger trains, an absolute essential for winter train services.

No. 31454 ‘The Heart of Wessex’ was built by Brush Traction in 1960 and its works number was 254. The locomotive entered service on 29 September 1960 under its pre-TOPS number, D5654, and painted green with white bodyside bands at the base and middle of the body. It was allocated to Finsbury Park shed (34G) at the start of its working life. On 18 November 1967, the locomotive was reclassified from a Class 30/2 to a Class 31/1.

EQ Brakes were fitted on 30 October 1970. March 1974 saw a renumbering change to 31228 under TOPS. The headcode box was modified to include black blinds with two marker lights in February 1978. By April 1982, a further modification was made when the steam heat boiler was isolated.

Quite a few renumbering changes occurred with the locomotive being numbered 31454 on 29 October 1984, 31554 on 30 April 1990 and back to 31454 on 1 February 2002. After its renumbering to 31454, the locomotive was reallocated to Crewe Diesel (CD) on 15 May 1988.

Fragonset purchased several Class 31s from EWS to use as part of their fleet in 1998. 31454 was painted in an InterCity Swallow livery and carried both the InterCity and Fragonset logos on its bodysides. While sporting this livery, the locomotive was named ‘The Heart of Wessex’ in August 2004, until the nameplates were removed in September 2008.

In November 2013, the locomotive was withdrawn from service. It joined Wensleydale Railway’s home fleet in 2020, with the announcement that a private individual purchased a locomotive, Class 31/4 No. 31454. In 2021, the locomotive was stored at The Shires Removal Group in Kinsley and soon after, Nemesis Rail acquired the preserved Class 31 to be stored at Burton-on-Trent.