Tag: Class 37

Spotted Yesterday – D6700 at the Great Central Railway

Class 37 D6700 (37119, 37350)-20220821D6700 (37119, 35350)
Loughborough Central (GCR), 21 August 2022
Having arrived with train 2B25, the 14.45 departure from Leicester North

I spent an enjoyable hour at Loughborough Central station on the Great Central Railway yesterday, mainly because I wanted to photograph the first built Class 37 (or English Electric type 3) diesel locomotive, D6700, which is currently on loan from the National Railway Museum in York.

Built by the English Electric Co Ltd at Vulcan Foundry, D6700 entered service in December 1960 and was first allocated to Stratford Depot (30A) in East London.

Renumbering under the TOPS scheme (to 37119) followed in February 1974 and again (to 37350) in March 1988 (when it was fitted with regeared cast frame type CP7 bogies).

Repainted back into green livery in August 1988 ‘D6700’ became something of a celebrity and appeared at many open days before acquiring the name NRM NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM in November 1998.

Withdrawal followed in December 1999 and D6700 was claimed for preservation by the NRM.

Spotted Today – 37116

37116-2021040337116
Breaston, 3 April 2021

Spotted today, 37116 (the former D6816, built in 1963 by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows) passing Breaston (between Long Eaton and Spondon stations) with train 3M03, the 10.52 Colas Rail/Network Rail test train from Dollands Moor Sidings to Derby R.T.C.

The five coach train was made up of Brake Force Runner 96604, Generator Van 6262, Brake Coach 9810, Ultrasonic Test Coach 999606 and Driving Trailer Coach 9702 and was (at this point) running 42 minutes early in spite of having departed Dollands Moor 40 minutes late!

From the Archives – Caledonian Sleeper

In my previous post I briefly mentioned the Caledonian Sleeper service that links London with Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness.

Two trains depart from London Euston six days each week, the Highland Sleeper is made up of three portions that divide at Edinburgh to serve routes to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William. The Lowland Sleeper has two portions serving routes to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

15 years ago a holiday at Banavie gave me an opportunity to photograph the portion that winds its way through the Highlands to and from Fort William.

37417-2005090337417
Fort William station, 3 September 2005

Monday 3 September saw a rather tatty 37417 Richard Trevithick stabled beside the station with a five coach train, the last vehicle of which was British Rail Mk.3 Sleeping Car with Pantry (SLEP) 10506.

BR Mk.3a SLEP 10506-20050903BR Mk.3a SLEP 10506
Fort William station, 3 September 2005

The diesel loco only works the train as far as Edinburgh, where an electric loco takes over, so I wasn’t surprised to see 37417 return the following day.

37417-2005090437417
Fort William station, 4 September 2005

The next day brought a loco with a more ‘Scottish’ name to Fort William in the shape of 37406 The Saltire Society (The Saltire Society is an organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland).

37406 (nameplate)-2005090537406
Fort William station, 5 September 2005

37406-2005090537406
Fort William station, 5 September 2005

37406 returned the next morning and was stabled beside the station with its train and I grabbed a quick pic of British Rail Mk.2e Unclassified Open Brake (BUO) 9809 (for passengers not making use of the Mk.3’s bunks) before heading off for the day.

BR Mk.2e BUO 9809-20050906BR Mk.2e BUO 9809
Fort William station, 6 September 2005

The sleeper service continues but the Class 37s and BR built coaches are no longer in use… The 37s were replaced in 2006 by Class 67 diesels (themselves replaced in 2019 by Class 73/9 electro-diesels) and the coaches by brand new CAF-built ‘Mk.5’ stock that also entered service in 2019.