BR Class 37 37688 Great Rocks

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BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 37 37688 Great Rocks
37688 20190723.jpg
37688 at Highley in July 2019
Built By English Electric at Vulcan Foundry
Configuration Co-Co
Power type Diesel-electric
Status Operational
Loco Number 37688
Other Numbers D6905, 37205
History
Built 1960
Type Class 37
2017 Preserved
Technical
Length 61ft 6in
Weight 102 tons

Diesel Locomotives

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 37 37688 Great Rocks is a diesel-electric locomotive which has been on hire to the SVRSevern Valley Railway since January 2018. The Class 37, also known as the English Electric Type 3The British Railways classification for diesel locomotives of 1500 bhp to 1999 bhp, was a familiar sight on the British Rail network, in particular on InterCity services in East Anglia and Scotland. A summary of the Class 37 can be found on the 37906 page. They were also used for many years on secondary and inter-regional services. The Class 37s are sometimes nicknamed "Tractors" after to the agricultural sound of the diesel engine[1].

37688 in service

The loco entered service with BRBritish Rail or British Railways as D6905 at Llandore on 5 November 1963. Transfers followed to Cardiff Canton in 1967, Eastfield and Polmadie in 1968 and a return to Eastfield in 1972. In January 1973 the locomotive was re-numbered 37205 following the introduction of TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock.. It was further re-numbered 37688 in 1986 following rebuilding as a Class 37/6[2].

37688 later saw service with the rail freight company Direct Rail Services (DRS).

37688 in preservation

In early 2017 37688 was sold by DRS and acquired by D05 Preservation Limited.[3] It was initially resident on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.[4] The locomotive was subsequently repainted from DRS livery into Trainload Construction livery and renamed 'Great Rocks', with Buxton TMDTraction Maintenance Depot, also referred to as Diesel Depot depot plaques and ICI crests being fitted.[5]

37688 arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway on hire in Jan 2018 for use on permanent way duties.[6]. Assessment for the reinstatement of the vacuum brake system as a commercial contract between the SVRSevern Valley Railway and the owner began shortly after arrival, but work was put on hold while missing parts were sourced.[7] During early summer 2019, work to complete this was in progress.[8]

The picture shows 37688 at Highley on 23 July 2019 in the course of moving DR73202 Plasser and Theurer Universal Liner/Tamper to repair track damaged by the derailment of 75069 earlier that month. Since arrival, 37688 has also seen occasional use on passenger services and appeared at diesel galas. In January 2018 and June 2019 the Chairman of the SVRSevern Valley Railway Diesel Committee referred to 37688 being on hire to cover for other locomotives[8].

D05 Preservation Limited is a Private limited Company, incorporated on 13 September 2016 as company number 10373037.[9] D05 owns 47828, 37688 and 46010, all of which have appeared at the SVRSevern Valley Railway.

See also

References

  1. Wikipedia
  2. BR Database (Retrieved 5 August 2019)
  3. flicr photo
  4. Norfolk Orbital Railway
  5. D05 Preservation Limited Facebook
  6. SVR Meet our Locomotives
  7. SVRSevern Valley Railway News 202, p.22.
  8. 8.0 8.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 206, p.22
  9. Companies House

Links