Welcome back 37521

The latest remarkable Colas Rail class 37 resurrection occurred in June 2018 with 37521 being restored to the active pool of locomotives rostered for Network Rail infrastructure monitoring trains. The locomotive, owned by HNRC and leased to Colas Rail enjoyed its final fling working for EWS back in 2004 during the autumn 'leaf busting' season working trains in and around Yorkshire. It was one of the few 'freight' 37's I was lucky enough to capture in my early days of the hobby with a camera who's results were varied at best! Having been off the mainline for over 13 years it's certainly great to see and hear the overhauled 37521 back on the national network!

Above 37521 'English China Clays' is seen bringing a RHTT set through Doncaster on 28th October 2004. 37516 in LoadHaul colours is on the rear of the train. Incidentally 37516 is another survivor and continues to see use on the mainline with West Coast Railways!

Below, 37521 13 1/2 years later approaching Basingstoke on 29th June 2018 working 3Z80 from Hither Green - Hither Green via Eastleigh.

A hot day in London- 22 June 2005

Those in the south of the UK will have struggled not to notice the heat this week as the mercury has soared to well over 30°c degrees since the weekend. While travelling in these hot conditions it reminded me of a very sucessful day out photographing railways in London some 12 years ago. 22nd June 2005 was another very hot day with temperatures peaking in the low 30's (Gravesend in Kent recorded it's highest temperature of the year the following day at 32.1°c. On the railways a lot is still very recognisable from 12 years ago but there have also been a lot of changes. My day started by heading to Barnes in South West London for the very final slam-door scrap move from SWT. GBRf's 66710 was hauling 4-VEP 3520 from Wimbledon running as 6Z41 the 11:05 to MOD Shoeburyness. The final service train for the SWT slam door fleet having run during May.

66710 haules 3520 towards Barnes. This was the last slam door to leave SWT aside from 'Celebrity' VEP 3417 and the two 3 CIG's which were kept specially for the Lymington branch.

59203 hauls an empty 'Jumbo' train from Acton to the Mendips

Next stop was Ealing Broadway where a variety of traction was on offer on freight services, plus of course the regular passage of Paxman Valenta powered HST's. Brand new were the Heathrow Connec class 360's which entered service just ten days earlier on 12th June between Paddington and Heathrow Airport supplementing the class 332's on 'express' services.

67029 sports it's then fairly freshly applied silver livery.

Freight was plentiful with the majority being in the hands of class 59's of various liveries. Aside from the flow of 59's class 60's were common with 60015, 60026 and 60061 being sighted within a few hours between Ealing Broadway and Acton Main Line. Other freight was handled by class 66's from Freighliner and EWS with a solitary wagon being hauled by a rather over-powered 67016. There were a couple of special workings which we had particularly come to see; 67029 in it's new silver livery and another slam door move with Freighliner's 47841 hauling South Central 4-CIG's 1867/8/9 as 5Z45 Stewarts Lane - Caerwent in South Wales.

Another of the almost endless slam door scrap trains- 47841 hauls CIG's 1867, 1868 and 1869 through Ealing Broadway.

220018 on a Brighton service at Clapham Junction.

Moving on from the Great Western it was time to end the evening the way that most of my trips ended around this time- with a few rides on what still remained of the 'slammers' on Southern and South Eastern. Workings were beginning to become more scarce but it was still not difficult to achieve an all slam door move first from Victoria to East Croydon and back before taking the 17:49 Victoria to Broadstairs (which was booked for the last 12-CEP at the time) to Bromley South for another slammer back into Victoria. A final 'blast from the past' on the way home is a Virgin Voyager at Clapham Junciton on one of the now withdrawn workings to Brighton. Thus ended a hot and sticky day sweltering in the sun- I'd do it again for those trains though! 

The joys of fresh air and slam doors during their last summer.

Rumbling to Rhymney

One of the most famed of all the 37/4's, sadly now scrapped following an incident in this very location, 37408 'Loch Rannoch'
prepares to run around it's train at Rhymney on a sunny Saturday 19th March 2005. 37425 and 37411 were also in use this day.

A freshly painted 37417 'Richard Trevithick' stands at Cardiff
Central having arrived from Rhymney on 27th March 2004.

In final post and summary of 2015 I mentioned how good it is to see some regular class 37 hauled trains returning to the national network both in Cumbria and Anglia. For many of the younger (but not too young) generation the last days of the 37/4's are associated with the North Wales Coast route. I myself was 'too late' to enjoy the 'tractors' on this scenic railway but did not miss out sampling these fine machines in South Wales on the Rhymney Valley line where the class maintained some work until 2006.

For several years three class 37/4's were required each day from Cardiff Canton to operate peak weekday commuter services; 3 trains from Rhymney to Cardiff Central (and Radyr) in the morning and return in the evening. Saturdays were were the fun really started with class 37's booked to work all trains from Cardiff to Rymney with an hourly departure in each direction. The line up the valley is steep in places and the regular stops meant the locos often put on a good show.

37425 stands at Cardiff Central at the end of the 'Rhmyney Gala' day 04/12/05

Early in 2005 with the end of loco haulage on the line drawing nearer Arriva Trains Wales sponsored the re-painting of two class 37's to mark the event. 37411 was out-shopped from Toton in BR green as 'Caerphilly Castle/Castell Caerffily' while 37425 emerged in BR Large Logo blue as 'Pride of the Valleys/Balchder y Cymoedd'. Even more exceptionally when the curtain was finally coming down on the class 37's in South Wales a 'gala' event was organised on the Rhymney valley line on Sunday 4th December 2005 (the line not usually seeing a Sunday service) with additional locomotives drafted in enabling hourly trains to be top and tailed on the line. Locos in use represented the classes which had been used on the line over the years and were 33207, 37411, 37419, 37425, 47854, 50031 and 50049.

My final class 37 in the Welsh valleys- 37406 'The Saltire
Society' works the 17:01 Cardiff - Rymney on 21 October 2006.

This should have been the end for class 37's in the Welsh valleys, but early in 2006, due to cited overcrowding one return trip was re-introduced Monday to Friday between Rhymney and Cardiff. There would be no return to the Saturday bonanzas and with far less ceremony the final class 37 to reach Rhymney was 37410 with the 17:01 Cardiff- Rhymney on Friday 8th December 2006. The train returned to Cardiff the following Monday and, for the final time, that was the end of class 37 hauled passenger trains in the South Wales valleys.