Reliability

[Marc d]

Are the 37s generally reliable? Noticed a few failures on the Cumbrian coast this week while I was staying in ravenglass. Was on 37402 departing barrow Tuesday morning and it wa having trouble applying power then heard it had failed later on. Went on 37409 for a trip to Carlisle and back with the Mrs and it failed just before Workington. Had to be evacuated off the train and onto a dmu. Something to do with loosing air pressure for the breaks so they had jammed on causing the train to block the line. Watched 37403 pass after we where dropped off at maryport which was a nice surprise. Noticed 409 had failed again at Preston this morning due to a problem with brakes again. Heard quite a few people have complained about the loco hauled services running late or having issues which is a shame as I enjoy the 37s

Thanks Marc

[Swindon 123]

Are the 37s generally reliable? Noticed a few failures on the Cumbrian coast this week while I was staying in ravenglass. Was on 37402 departing barrow Tuesday morning and it wa having trouble applying power then heard it had failed later on. Went on 37409 for a trip to Carlisle and back with the Mrs and it failed just before Workington. Had to be evacuated off the train and onto a dmu. Something to do with loosing air pressure for the breaks so they had jammed on causing the train to block the line. Watched 37403 pass after we where dropped off at maryport which was a nice surprise. Noticed 409 had failed again at Preston this morning due to a problem with brakes again. Heard quite a few people have complained about the loco hauled services running late or having issues which is a shame as I enjoy the 37s

Thanks Marc

I can only remember a couple of failures with a 37 when I used to work on them in BR days, and we worked them a lot harder than they do now. Coolant was the usual problem to keep an eye on, especially if they had been left a couple of days without running, which could also cause problems starting them, but if you let them prime for a while before trying to start one, they would usually start, if a little reluctantly. Firebells  ringing  was another very common problem, but that was when the engine was working hard for a long time, and if there was a slight exhaust blow, the engine room would get very hot. General solution was to ignore them and wedge a bit of paper between the clapper and the gong, or move the clapper slightly to break the contacts. That stopped them working. The Mirlees 37/9's when they first arrived did give us headaches, with engines catching fire internally or 37902 consistently having oil pressure problems. Failed a couple of times with that one. 37's where never happier than being worked flat out for hours on end on a heavy train. They used to lap that sort of work up, even if it did used to set the fire bells off.

 

Paul J.

[ColinK]

A problem with the Cumbrian Coast 37's is that parts of the line are single track, and any delay (loco problem, dmu problem, infrastructure problem etc) can cause delays to everything. Furthermore, the 37 diagrams have very short turn round times, so any lateness cannot realy be recovered.

[The Stationmaster]

The only troubles we had with them on the Cardiff Valleys were blocked sands and excessive brake block wear on some jobs - generally they were very reliable with only occasional faults.  The small fleet I ran from an operating/commercial viewpoint in later years were extremely reliable but then they had gone through a major refurb so they should have been.

[Marc d]

Cheers guys. 37403 failed at barrow this morning on its way to Preston. Another loco from Carlisle kingmoor has been sent to barrow to replace it, not sure which loco though

[ColinK]

That's a bu**er, I'm off work today and the weather is good. Had planned to video the 37 between Lancaster and Preston, plus the Clitheroe cement which is currently being diverted via the WCML due to the S&C closure. The cement was cancelled too, so its decorating instead.

[Marc d]

I'm hoping the sellafield to Crewe flasks run tonight and it's a pair of 37s. Shame the loco hauled service only runs to Preston once a day

[Mark Saunders]

Reliability is now down to age, maintenance and use.

 

Mark Saunders

[Guest B Exam]

Cheers guys. 37403 failed at barrow this morning on its way to Preston. Another loco from Carlisle kingmoor has been sent to barrow to replace it, not sure which loco though

37403 Hasn't failed. Its a DBSO failure (Battery problem).

 

37409 and the spare set from Kingmoor to replace the failed set.

Edited August 1, 2016 by B Exam

[Marc d]

37403 Hasn't failed. Its a DBSO failure (Battery problem).

 

37409 and the spare set from Kingmoor to replace the failed set.

Ah that's good to hear, 403 is one of my favourites. Hopefully they've sorted the brake issue on 409 now. I had the pleasure of being behind it when it first failed coming into Workington last week lol

[45125]

I can only remember a couple of failures with a 37 when I used to work on them in BR days, and we worked them a lot harder than they do now. Coolant was the usual problem to keep an eye on, especially if they had been left a couple of days without running, which could also cause problems starting them, but if you let them prime for a while before trying to start one, they would usually start, if a little reluctantly. Firebells  ringing  was another very common problem, but that was when the engine was working hard for a long time, and if there was a slight exhaust blow, the engine room would get very hot. General solution was to ignore them and wedge a bit of paper between the clapper and the gong, or move the clapper slightly to break the contacts. That stopped them working. The Mirlees 37/9's when they first arrived did give us headaches, with engines catching fire internally or 37902 consistently having oil pressure problems. Failed a couple of times with that one. 37's where never happier than being worked flat out for hours on end on a heavy train. They used to lap that sort of work up, even if it did used to set the fire bells off.

 

Paul J.

 

The usual reason for fire bells ringing when worked hard was the proximity of one of the detectors to the header tank. Type 3s were very reliable, most of the failures were usually brake related, as The Stationmaster mentioned, or AWS. I can remember one Type 3 that had blown a hole in the main generator but still provided power.

 

Al Taylor.

[scottishlocos]

Guys

 

The Class 37's have well proven reliability on both passenger and freight trains they have worked from Thurso in the snow to Penzance in the rain and all points in between and on heavy freight trains they are also the only locos from that era still booked daily to haul passenger and freight trains in 2016.

[Marc d]

What happened to 403 yesterday? Stopped at corkickle and 402 came to take it back to kingmoor sidings

[rogerzilla]

They weren't much liked on the Greater Anglia services this year due to unreliability.

[saxokid]

Think 37s prity reliable stil if looked after and service / inspected

They stil seem to be used on the network...