The Growler Group

37215 has now been stopped for some much needed maintenance after a reliable season working all its diagrammed trains on the GWR without fuss, whilst the attention has been on its shiny new sibling D6948. The loco will remain out of service until April to enable a list of jobs to be carried out.
D6948, as might be imagined, has list of ‘snagging’ jobs to be done following its successful return to service, of which 3 are high priority: Resealing the window rubbers to prevent water ingress, installation of a pre-heater to avoid cold starts, and some work on the steam generator to cure its smoky exhaust and improve combustion and performance. Subject to some or all of these being done and with the usual caveat of ‘subject to availability’, the loco should take part in the GWR’s annual Christmas Cracker mixed traction event on the 28th and 29th December, which will see three diesel and 2 steam locos in action on each day. click to continue reading

Two more images of D6948’s first day steam heating trains on 8th October: click to continue reading

If you’ve been following the restoration story of D6948, then you’ll remember that one of the first things done in the project back in July 2010 was to install a Clayton RO2500 Steam Generator in order to provide steam heat capability. Although built to take one, the loco was never actually fitted with one until 2010 when a Bridgwater firm managed to produce one refurbished unit out of three scrap generators that had been rescued out of 37s many years ago. With the loco now having returned to service at the GWR’s July Diesel Gala, the steam generator was Continue reading →