D6948 has now safely returned to Toddington after its hugely successful sojourn to our friends at the Severn Valley Railway. The five days spent at the SVR were thoroughly enjoyable and certainly exceeded the wildest dreams of everyone connected with the maintenance and upkeep of the locos. D6948 certainly put on a show and proved a popular machine throughout to both the SVR crews and the assembled enthusiasts. Now she is back at home, D6948 has had its lifeguards and horns refitted and is now back in traffic – although the main season has now ended.
With diesel hauled services having come to an end at the GWSR (except for a couple of running days in late December), it is time to look at some of the heavier bits of maintenance on both of our locos. As in previous years no heavy work is required – which is a blessing- but there are a number of small things on both locos that need to be looked at.
D6948 has had a long-standing oil and coolant leak that is manifesting around the base of the turbos. Some investigations have gone into trying to identify the source of the leakage whilst the loco has been in service but a deeper look is need to find where this is coming from.
The loco has also sustained a low pressure fuel leak whilst away at the SVR. This will possibly require the removal and overhaul of the fuel pump and small filters, but it should be a fairly straightforward job. There are also a few small air leaks to find and repair, otherwise the loco is in good nick. On the 13 Nov, the loco was utilised on a number of shunt and stock runs, moving things around ready for the winter shutdown.
D6948 will also see use on our Mince Pie Specials on Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th December. Both days will be on the PURPLE timetable.
Similarly, 37215 finished up at the end of October and is now entering its winter maintenance regime. As with D6948, the loco has a number of oil and air leaks to find and repair. One of these is, as with its sister, just behind the turbos. However, the bigger issue is with the locos wheelsets that are seen to need replacement. The committee are looking at what options are available for securing a ‘new’ set of wheels or at least replacing the tyres – which are close to being below scrap level. For now, the loco is still fit for traffic but the clock is ticking.
37215 will get one more outing before maintenance starts in the 18th Nov when it will be used on another stock shunt to allow Hunting Butts tunnel to be inspected and assessed.
However, Class 37 haulage doesn’t stop on other railways and our Chairman has co-organised, along with his ‘Non Staggered Grille Group’ cohorts, a couple of running days at the Great Central and Severn Valley railways. The first is to help celebrate ‘pioneer’ D6700‘s 65th birthday – especially as D6700 didn’t attend the SVR’s ’37s at 65′ event – and is scheduled for Saturday 27th November 2025. The first departure is from Loughborough at 1030.
The second event is scheduled for Saturday 27th December 2025 at the SVR. The loco for this one will be Loram-liveried 37418 which will operate three round trips starting at 0945 from Kidderminster.
Both are priced at £30 – these are privately booked trains and are not for use by the general public. Normal GCR and SVR tickets are not valid on these services. Tickets can be purchased on the day or by contacting our Chairman, Simon, via email at ggeditor294@yahoo.com. By aware that on the day ticket payments at the GCR will be CASH ONLY.
It is hoped that the Growler Group merchandise stall will be in attendance on both trains.
