D

Dean, William, 1840-1905

Apprenticed to Joseph Armstrong, the northern division locomotive superintendent of the Great Western Railway, he was given charge of the Wolverhampton works when just 24. He then became Armstrong’s successor at Swindon at the age of 37. Dean had the unusual task of modifying standard gauge locomotives to run on the surviving broad gauge lines, and then reverse the modifications after the change in 1892. From 1877 onwards, he built passenger carriages intended to be converted from broad gauge to standard gauge, while from 1880 he worked on improving vacuum brakes achieving a higher degree of vacuum than hitherto.

His locomotives were generally regarded as simple and robust, leaving his successor Churchward to make significant improvements in performance and economy. Nevertheless, the range of locomotives built by Dean varied from 0-6-0 freight locomotives, of which 280 were built between 1883 and 1898, and 4-2-2 express locomotives, one of which ran at an average speed of 72 mph between Paddington and Bristol in 1904. His most famous locomotives, however, were the Duke-class 4-4-0s that first appeared in 1895, which proved their worth on the more arduous routes in Devon and Cornwall. He built the prototype of the modern sleeping car, but less successful were his larger carriages, using his own design of centre-less, pendulum-suspended truck, which although lighter than a true bogie was also far less satisfactory.

An enduring legacy was the establishment of a materials and chemical testing laboratory at Swindon.

Dearne Valley Railway

Opened in 1909, although incorporated in 1897, initially this line between Black Carr Junction, south of Doncaster, and Brierley Junction, east of Barnsley, running via Cadeby and Grimethorpe, was freight only and intended to serve the collieries in the area. Passenger services were introduced in 1912. Throughout its life it was worked by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, but it passed into the control of the London & North Western on the eve of grouping and then became part of the London, Midland & Scottish in 1923.

Derby

Unlike Crewe, Derby was an important county and market town with a long-established silk manufacturing industry before the railways came. It was well-located as a centre for the new railways, but also an important traffic generator in its own right. During 1839 and 1840, three railway lines met at Derby, the Midland Counties, the Birmingham & Derby Junction and the North Midland. Nevertheless, they could only accept an offer from the council of land on the outskirts if they agreed to a joint station with reluctance. Each company built its own engine sheds and workshops, but in 1844 they merged to form the Midland Railway. The railway area of Derby remained just outside the town, rather than the town springing up around the railway, as at Crewe and Swindon.

There was no need to build more lines into Derby, but the expansion of the MR to London increased the company’s and the town’s importance, and the company based its headquarters in the town, refusing to move to London even after St Pancras opened. An impressive station was built and a large marshalling yard just outside the town at Chaddesden eventually coped with 2,500 wagons daily. The MR combined the works of its main constituent companies, and the total area occupied quadrupled over the next three decades. It was not until 1851 that locomotive building began, and by the turn of the century almost 5,000 were employed in this activity, aided by the relocation of the carriage works, eventually, by 1900, the MR employed 12,000 people, 12 per cent of the local population, in every kind of railway activity. After grouping, Derby played an important role in the London, Midland & Scottish Railway’s development of diesel traction, but in 1932, the steam locomotive department was moved to Crewe. Nevertheless, the LMS located its School of Transport in the town.

The railway works provided a skills base that attracted Rolls-Royce to Derby as early as 1907, and by 1945, the company was Derby’s largest employer. The presence of RR and its skills base then attracted the British Railways’ technical centre to the town in 1964.

District Line – see Metropolitan District Railway

Docklands Light Railway

After many years of speculation over the best form of railway for regeneration of the London docklands, the Docklands Light Railway was authorised in 1985 to run from the Minories, with the station named Tower Gateway to Island Gardens in North Greenwich and from Poplar to Stratford, giving 7½ route miles initially. For those advocating monorail or rubber-tyred solutions, the end result was surprisingly conventional, with steel wheel on steel rail, and although London Transport acted as a consultant initially, the line was independent until later absorbed by Transport for London, and while using standard gauge track, used third rail electrification in contrast to the third and fourth rail of the London Underground network.

Built as a light railway with two car multiple units often working in pairs, the line offers fine views over the former dock-lands and Canary Wharf, but suffers from tight curves. The trains are completely automatic, but an attendant can take control if necessary. Initially, the line proved both unreliable and inadequate for peak period loads, and substantial rebuilding proved necessary. The line was extended to Bank, with transfers to the tube lines, in 1991, and later to serve the City Airport. It now runs under the Thames to serve Lewisham and plans are afoot to lengthen platforms and convert the trains to three-car units.

Doncaster

Even before the advent of the railway, Doncaster was an important coaching town on the long journey from London to the North of England and Scotland, but it was not until 1849 that the Great Northern Railway reached the town and made a connection four miles to the north with the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Nevertheless, Doncaster soon became one of the greatest British railway towns, with the GNR opening its works in 1853, adding 3,000 to the local population within a very short time, for which the company built two schools and its shareholders subscribed to the building of a church. Within half-a-century, the works was employing 4,500 men and had 60 miles of sidings, which were largely cleared every September to allow space for the St Leger race meeting, which was transformed into a popular event in the racing calendar.

Doncaster became an important junction with direct lines to both Sheffield and Hull, while it was also the main centre for marshalling the coal trains from the South Yorkshire collieries, brought by the South Yorkshire Railway which also connected the town with the steelworks at Scunthorpe. Grouping led to the town becoming the main works for the London & North Eastern Railway.

Donegal Railway – see County Donegal Railways Joint Committee

Double-Deck Trains

The restricted loading gauge of Britain’s railways have precluded the widespread use of double deck trains, or bi-levels as they are more usually known, which are commonplace in Europe and in North America. As an alternative to the cost of lengthening trains and therefore also the even more costly platform lengthening, which usually requires repositioning of points and signals, and sometimes work on bridges or tunnels, the British Railways Southern Region Chief mechanical Engineer, Oliver Bulleid, proposed a novel design of double deck train. Two four-car electric multiple units were built with interleaved upper and lower compartment, with the upper reached through the lower compartment which had slam doors.

The emus worked as a pair and the resulting eight-car train had 1,104 seats, a 30 per cent increase in capacity over the 4-SUB and 4-EPB units then handling the suburban services on the Southern Region. They operated in the suburban services from Charing Cross to North Kent. Nevertheless, ventilation in the upper compartments was poor, as was headroom in both compartments, and loading was slow. Eventually, they were withdrawn and suburban trains extended to ten carriages with the addition of two-car emus.

The aircraft manufacturer BAC at one stage advocated a double-deck design for airport to city centre use, with the upper deck having a side-gangway similar to that on the older-style of lowbridge bus, but this never advanced beyond the design stage. More recently, variations on the continental concept have been suggested as being suitable for use in Britain, but at present the sole double-deck trains in the British Isles are ‘Le Shuttle’ carriages, in which cars and their passengers are conveyed across the Channel.

Dover

At first, the influence of the railways on sea traffic was not always fully appreciated, and a factor in this was the unsuitability of many of the older facilities for railway use, with narrow quays and piers rather than the long quaysides, as in the Western Docks at Southampton, that allowed the railways easy access. The construction of warehouses close to the dock sides and the congested residential areas close to the older port areas also contributed to the problems.

It soon became apparent that the railways could combine with shipping to produce new and more direct routes, saving time and often by-passing significant areas of danger. A good example of this was the way in which travel to the continent through Dover or Folkestone (qv) avoided the hazards of the North Foreland, and also enabled the traveller to take the shortest route between England and France.

The SER invested heavily in Dover, where the older part of the harbour was owned by the Admiralty, especially after railways were allowed to operate their own shipping. The transfer of passengers, their luggage and mail between train and ship was eased considerably by the new Dover Marine station that was sufficiently far forward as to be useable by the military during the First World War, and was completed for civilian traffic after the war, shortly before grouping. Dover and Folkestone were completely taken over by the military during the war years, while during the Second World War, played an important role in the evacuation from Dunkirk, but were then used only by the Royal Navy until after the Normandy Landings. For those left behind in the town during the Second World War, life was uncomfortable with heavy shelling by German artillery across the Channel.

Under Southern ownership, Dover became the main port for the short cross-Channel services, including such up-market operations as the famous Golden Arrow Pullman express, which in more prosperous times had the luxury of its own ship, and the now virtually forgotten Night Ferry through night sleeper service between London and Paris. Southern backwardness in developing drive-on car ferries, for which the train ferry configuration pointed the way forward, allowed a certain Captain Townsend to develop competition.

Drummond, Dugald, 1840-1912

Initially trained on the Caledonian & Dumbartonshire Junction Railway, where his father was a permanent way inspector, Drummond later trained with several contractors, including Brassey, before becoming manager of the Highland Railway workshops at Inverness under the company’s chief engineer, William Stroudley. When his mentor left to join the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, Drummond followed him in 1870.

He returned north in 1875 as locomotive superintendent on the North British Railway, introducing a successful range of locomotives including 4-4-0s well-suited to the tight bends of the line, and modernising Cowlairs workshops. Joining the rival Caledonian Railway in 1882, he produced similar designs, but also sought to improve locomotive efficiency. He moved to industry in 1890, but was lured back to railways as chief mechanical engineer on the London & South Western Railway in 1895, where he stayed until his death in 1912. He replaced the inadequate workshops at Nine Elms, between Clapham Junction and Waterloo, with a modern, purpose-built establishment at Eastleigh, near Southampton. He continued to produce 4-4-0 locomotives based on his earlier work, but his 4-6-0s were regarded as less successful and notorious for their oscillation at speed. Amongst his innovations were feedwater heating, firebox water-tubes, smokebox steam driers.

Dublin & Belfast Junction Railway

Opened in stages between 1849 and 1852, the line connected the port of Drogheda to Portadown, and became part of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland in 1876.

Dublin & South Eastern Railway

Originating as the Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow & Dublin Railway in 1846, it incorporated the Dublin & Kingstown Railway, which dated from 1834, and itself opened in stages between 1854 and 1904. The railway ran south from Dublin close to Ireland’s east coast as far south as Wicklow and on to a junction at Macmine, where it divided with one line running south-east to Wexford and the other south-east to Waterford, a total route mileage of 160 miles. In 1907 it changed its name to the Dublin & South Eastern Railway, but after home rule in 1922, the railways in the Free State were grouped in 1925, and the DESR became part of the Great Southern Railways.

Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway

Originally incorporated in 1863 to run from Dundalk to Greenore, while in 1873, the year that the line was opened, an extension was authorised to Newry, giving a total route mileage of around 26 miles of Irish standard gauge line when this opened in 1876. The driving force behind this short line was the London & North Western Railway, which operated a steam packet service between Holyhead and Greenore, and which supplied locomotives and carriages of its own standard design but modified for the 5 ft 3 in gauge, and also appointed six out of the eight directors. On grouping in 1923, it became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway, and from 1933, the LMS, while retaining ownership, passed management and operation to the Great Northern Railway of Ireland.

When Britain’s railways were nationalised, ownership passed first to the British Transport Commission in 1948, and the following year to the Ulster Transport Authority. Under both new owners, the line continued to be managed and operated by the GNR(I), but even before that company was nationalised in 1953, the line was closed in 1951 and the company dissolved in 1957.

Dundee & Arbroath Railway

Opened in 1840, the line’s engineer, Thomas Grainger, adopted the 5ft 6in gauge and the line had to be relaid as standard gauge in 1847 to integrate with the Dundee & Perth Railway, a predecessor of the Caledonian Railway.

Dundee & Newtyle Railway

Opened in 1831, the line climbed steeply over the Sidlaw Hills with three inclines operated by stationary engines with ropes, with the incline at Law having a gradient of 1 in 10. A more circuitous and conventional route was opened in 1861 running via Lochee. Meanwhile, the railway had integrated with the Dundee & Perth in 1847.