I remember them. They were the 3 NSE liveried locos displaced from Cambridge-Kings Lynn duties when that route was electrified. Two of them were named after the traincrew that saved Soham from a munitions fire on board their train during WW2, Benjamin Gimbert and James Nightall. They were killed along with the signaller but their actions prevented a much more serious incident.
When the scotrail 47's arrived they were all concentrated on the Thames and Chiltern sector while the 50's were kept on the mule. This has been suggested as a deliberate ploy by the pen pushers to over emphasise the flagging nature of the 50's and gain authorisation for investment in new trains. Supposedly to trigger the Networker Express project (class 171, basically a 165 with corridoors) the route instead got part of Regional Railways 158 order instead. Once authorised the 50s were disposed of as and when they demised and the 47's replaced them having themselves been displaced by the 166's. It was soon found however that 47's were no more reliable on mule workings than the 50's were. Wether this was down to unfamiliarity with the type, the demands the route placed on traction or from a general rundown as replacement beckoned can only be speculated, and during this period BR used anything it could get its hands on. 33's of course being the most widely available locos in the area and a type most drivers on the route signed anyway. Ironically, when 50 025 met its catastrophic end at Ealing it was deputising for a failed 47!
