Well, 2025 is nearly at an end and it has been a highly successful year for the Group and its locos. Both 37215 and D6948 have performed relatively flawlessly throughout the year, demonstrating their dependability and usefulness across the railway – alongside it’s fellow diesels.
D6948 was the first loco to see traffic back in April as it was used on a Driver Experience Day followed by a first public running day. 37215 joined the party a little later but both have seen regular usage throughout the year on public days as well as on most of the major events the railway held. Both locos were heavily utilised during the summer months when an enforced steam ban due to the hot weather meant keeping the railway running with our diesel fleet for a number of consecutive weeks.
Of course, later in the year, D6948 was invited to take part in the ‘Class 37 at 65’ Gala at the Severn Valley Railway. 37215 was also requested but, due to the condition of the locos wheelsets, the decision was taken by the Committee to leave it at Toddington. Attendance at the event was a huge deal for the Group and the loco performed exceptionally well and gained admiration from punters and the SVR crews rostered alongside the four GG Drivers – myself, Paul Cronin and, two of the owners, Peter Smith and Kevin Jarvis. We also had a fully stocked merchandise stall in prime location on Kidderminster station which saw sales generate over £4K gross (£2k net) for the groups coffers.
Of course, the big event was our 2025 Diesel Gala in July which saw our two locos joined by doyen of the Class, and fellow ex-Cardiff Canton FPEK machine, D6700 courtesy of the National Railway Museum and The Heavy Tractor Group. This enabled the Saturday evening Beerex to be hauled by 3 x 37s and contributed to the busiest Beerex that I have ever witnessed at the GWR!
However, with the locos being so busy some maintenance has had to be pushed back to a quieter time and, as we head into the railway shutdown period, these maintenance tasks can now be investigated and rectified. Both locos have a variety of oil leaks through the engine room – especially above the generator set – and these have been traced to areas where joins in pipework have started to leak. This could be down to failure of gaskets or the fixing bolts becoming loose due to the engine vibration. The leaks from D6948 are the more concerning as the oil has been finding its way (along with water) into the generator itself. Over the last few weeks both 37215 and D6948 have had their generator guards removed and the internals cleaned to remove any likely ignition sources. D6948‘s commutator was barred round for a full clean as it had become quite grimy. As part of this all the equipment, such as flash guards and contactors, have been checked for damage and, thankfully, no thing concerning has been found. Both turbos on the locos have also had their internals cleaned and new filters fitted. D6948 also has a low pressure fuel leak which became very evident at the SVR. The cause has been traced and a repair has been scheduled prior to the annual B Exams and fitness to run.
However, before everything finishes for the year we have the small matter of the Mince Pie Specials that will run on the days between Christmas and into the first few days of the New Year. D6948 is scheduled to operate the last round trip of the day on both the 29th and 30th of December. You can find the workings on the ‘Loco Roster’ tab. Details of the 2026 Timetables are still to be finalised but details will be made available as they are presented, however it looks like being an interesting year with some new events being introduced along with a couple of old favourites, alongside our major Gala events. You can see these on the GWSR Website.
Our Chairman, along with his fellow Non-Staggered Grille Group will also be running a charter train at the Severn Valley Railway on Saturday, 27th December 2025 utilising Loram Class 37/4, 37418. There will be three round trips with the first departure from Kidderminster at 0945. It is ticket only and these can be purchased by contacting our Chairman via email – ggeditor294@yahoo.com – or pay on the day. SVR, GWsR and HRA passes and tickets will not be accepted. There will be a small GG shop on the train, if you have any left over cash to spend after Christmas!
For those of you who are members of our Facebook group, hopefully you have been enjoying John Evans’ ‘World Cup of Class 37s’. If you haven’t seen this, or taken part yet, then why not head along to our Facebook page and cast your votes and share your memories. Also, if you haven’t already done so, why not become a Growler Group member and help us to keep D6948 and 37215 in operation.
Finally, the Committee and owners would like to wish all our members, contributors and friends a safe and enjoyable Christmas and a prosperous New Year!!
