 The class was well liked by crews in most regions of British Railways , with especially glowing reports from those operating them from Stratford depot on the Eastern Region , where its lower weight and high power transformed motive power over the restricted East Anglian lines . However , negative feedback was received from various operating departments , most notably on the Western Region . The criticism was primarily out of partisan preference for GWR @-@ designed locomotive stock among Western Region staff ; in particular , the class was ' left @-@ hand drive ' in contrast to ' right @-@ hand drive ' GWR locomotive and signalling practice , a factor in the Milton rail crash of 1955 . 
