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Class 37s on parcel trains


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I am looking for information or photos of class 37s on parcel trains please. I have only managed to find 2 photos on flickr so far

 

A COUPLE OF OUT OF SEQUENCE SHOTS # 1

 

37428 York to Shrewsbury 12/08/88. In the flickr comments someone said that managed to ride this train as a passenger?!

 

37426 +  37428

 

37426 & 37428 3V20 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol 12/07/88

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The overnight York - Shrewsbury was a combined passenger and postal train at one time, and one known for unusual motive power.

 

On the Western the introduction of the HSTs, with their limited van space, led to a system of "Premium" parcel trains scuttling up and down to convey what the HSTs couldn't. At secondary school we always used to look out for the "2 o'clock" parcels, in the 1980s. It was initially a 31/0 and 3 vans, but later became a 37/0 with 4 vans, 2 GUVs and 2 BGs, often marshalled alternately to make a blue, blue/grey pattern (although I'm sure that wasn't the reason for the formation!).  

 

But it's fair to say even with that regular working, 37s don't really come to mind when I think of the parcel (or van) trains I saw in the 1980s/early 1990s era, 31s and 47s would be more common.

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24 minutes ago, HillsideDepot said:

The overnight York - Shrewsbury was a combined passenger and postal train at one time, and one known for unusual motive power.

 

 

Thanks, I found an interesting thread about that here

 

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I reckon I have only these two photos to match the thread topic.........turning the clock back to the swinging........er, 70s, here's 6888 at Cardiff General on 29/9/73 with an almost surreally uniform rake of SR 4-wheelers and a headlight to see in the dark.....

1555066633_730929_D6888Cardiffnp.jpg.fab8e27025a0eaafa10426ad6ad4a229.jpg

......after which I went around Canton to find my first-ever TOPS-numbered Class 47 47337 parked out front, and NCB-owned Class 11 12054 and pannier tank 9600 parked out back!

 

Anyway, back OT, here's the other one, the accomplished 37182 approaching a rather dull Reading on 4/4/78.....

697924186_780404_37182Readingnp.jpg.88161bae15c5b20f30386144809cbfc7.jpg

.....accomplished because as D6882 it was one of those involved in the WR's mid-60s short-lived double-heading on passenger trains, one of only two outshopped by Crewe in April 1970 with cabside arrow logos and bodyside numbers (and it was renumbered 37182 in early 1974 still like this), in mid-1987 was refurbished as 37670 in

Railfreight Grey w/red stripe as one of St Blazey's clay fleet, only to get wrecked within months (perhaps that can't really be regarded as an accomplishment.......), repaired and released in Railfreight Triple Grey and named 'St Blazey T&RS Depot' and was I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) the only Class 37/5 to receive DBS red livery. Does anyone know if it still exists? I've lost track of it but I think it has only recently 'departed'.

I was at Reading quite a lot in the 1970s but rarely saw Class 37s there. Sorry the pics are not a bit sharper.......

 

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2 hours ago, Neil Phillips said:

I reckon I have only these two photos to match the thread topic.........turning the clock back to the swinging........er, 70s, here's 6888 at Cardiff General on 29/9/73 with an almost surreally uniform rake of SR 4-wheelers and a headlight to see in the dark.....

1555066633_730929_D6888Cardiffnp.jpg.fab8e27025a0eaafa10426ad6ad4a229.jpg

......after which I went around Canton to find my first-ever TOPS-numbered Class 47 47337 parked out front, and NCB-owned Class 11 12054 and pannier tank 9600 parked out back!

 

Anyway, back OT, here's the other one, the accomplished 37182 approaching a rather dull Reading on 4/4/78.....

697924186_780404_37182Readingnp.jpg.88161bae15c5b20f30386144809cbfc7.jpg

.....accomplished because as D6882 it was one of those involved in the WR's mid-60s short-lived double-heading on passenger trains, one of only two outshopped by Crewe in April 1970 with cabside arrow logos and bodyside numbers (and it was renumbered 37182 in early 1974 still like this), in mid-1987 was refurbished as 37670 in

Railfreight Grey w/red stripe as one of St Blazey's clay fleet, only to get wrecked within months (perhaps that can't really be regarded as an accomplishment.......), repaired and released in Railfreight Triple Grey and named 'St Blazey T&RS Depot' and was I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) the only Class 37/5 to receive DBS red livery. Does anyone know if it still exists? I've lost track of it but I think it has only recently 'departed'.

I was at Reading quite a lot in the 1970s but rarely saw Class 37s there. Sorry the pics are not a bit sharper.......

 

 

 

This website is a real treasure trove of information on class 37s, unfortunately it shows 670 as cut up in 2018 after quite some time in store.

 

https://www.class37.co.uk/fleet.aspx?strnumber=37670

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These are all from Martin Loader’s website:

 

http://www.hondawanderer.com/37023_Chaddington_1984.htm

http://www.hondawanderer.com/37092_Hinksey_1993.htm

http://www.hondawanderer.com/37160_Stoke_Orchard_1987.htm


There may well be more examples on there; I didn’t have time to look any further.

 

 

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No, 37s on parcels does not seem to be a regular occurrence - at least if my collection of images is anything to go by. 

 

However, I did find a couple. 

 

 

Here is 37298 with a GWML service near Waltham St Lawrence in May 1976. 

 

1399065925_37298waltham576.jpg.9b66a39b5557d7e572c99c0dd686a6dd.jpg

 

 

And here is an ER version, but I can't quite read the number. Looks like the ECML to me, but someone might be able to identify further details.

 

97817830_37xxx978.jpg.736706ec702379fe8187e9474c431550.jpg 

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10 hours ago, great central said:

 

 

This website is a real treasure trove of information on class 37s, unfortunately it shows 670 as cut up in 2018 after quite some time in store.

 

https://www.class37.co.uk/fleet.aspx?strnumber=37670

 

Many thanks GC, I can accept that as 'recent'! I can't have been the only one surprised at 37670 being selected to support Class 37/4s on railtour duties some years back while in faded EWS livery, which is what prompted its repaint into DBS red, but I don't think it ran for long like that. As you say it spent a long time in store (at Derby?) presumably being robbed for spares.

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From my spotting at Crewe on a Saturday in the late 80's or early 90's memories, there used to be an early evening parcels which had a Cardiff allocated coal sector 37 on, south bound.  Pretty sure I've got a grainy poor quality photo somewhere...

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59 minutes ago, drjcontroller said:

Here's 37188 crossing Ouseburn Viaduct on 20/12/87 with the Sunday afternoon Heaton to Red Bank newspaper empties. 37's were pretty rare on this working, it's the only one I ever saw.

 

 

87.852.jpg

 

Hey, that's 6888 again, 14 years after my photo and still fitted with a headlight, albeit a different design for a very different route.....

 

A very nicely lit photo by the way!

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D6723 approaches Windmill Bridge, near Over, on the St.Ives loop (Cambs),. The date is the final day of through workings on the loop, 04-03-1967, and this is the final up parcels, in the morning.

The route is now part of the Cambridge MisGuided Busway.

 

Stewart

06_37_0027_D6723. Over 04-03-1967.jpg

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On 14/07/2021 at 01:22, Neil Phillips said:

I reckon I have only these two photos to match the thread topic.........turning the clock back to the swinging........er, 70s, here's 6888 at Cardiff General on 29/9/73 with an almost surreally uniform rake of SR 4-wheelers and a headlight to see in the dark.....

1555066633_730929_D6888Cardiffnp.jpg.fab8e27025a0eaafa10426ad6ad4a229.jpg

......after which I went around Canton to find my first-ever TOPS-numbered Class 47 47337 parked out front, and NCB-owned Class 11 12054 and pannier tank 9600 parked out back!

 

Anyway, back OT, here's the other one, the accomplished 37182 approaching a rather dull Reading on 4/4/78.....

697924186_780404_37182Readingnp.jpg.88161bae15c5b20f30386144809cbfc7.jpg

.....accomplished because as D6882 it was one of those involved in the WR's mid-60s short-lived double-heading on passenger trains, one of only two outshopped by Crewe in April 1970 with cabside arrow logos and bodyside numbers (and it was renumbered 37182 in early 1974 still like this), in mid-1987 was refurbished as 37670 in

Railfreight Grey w/red stripe as one of St Blazey's clay fleet, only to get wrecked within months (perhaps that can't really be regarded as an accomplishment.......), repaired and released in Railfreight Triple Grey and named 'St Blazey T&RS Depot' and was I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) the only Class 37/5 to receive DBS red livery. Does anyone know if it still exists? I've lost track of it but I think it has only recently 'departed'.

I was at Reading quite a lot in the 1970s but rarely saw Class 37s there. Sorry the pics are not a bit sharper.......

 

Sorry for the thread hijack, not a parcels working, but I thought you might appreciate this short video of 37670 alive & kicking, along with 37401, on a Bristol-Weymouth working, in 2009.

 

Cheers N

 

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On 14/07/2021 at 10:46, jonny777 said:

37s on parcels does not seem to be a regular occurrence - at least if my collection of images is anything to go by

Same here, from a collection from 1978-1988, only two.

Old Oak Common 1984 and Leicester ~1982/83, one fighting against the light, one going green from the fluorescent tubes, with a light trail from someone putting down a lamp:

 

84-7-33.jpg.56fd0c449c39954a947ff8a63ef37060.jpg

 

M6_0023.jpg.cf07081336a6f2b3bb6b39fda492a6fe.jpg

 

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On 15/07/2021 at 15:27, owentherail said:

37183, 19 June 76 leaves Dicot on the up line 

gallery_2972_216_4348.jpg

 

As 6883 this was the other one I mentioned in my post above to which Crewe applied cabside arrows and bodyside numbers, similar to the old Tri-ang model. It is believed that due to its late repaint (again 4/70) it was also renumbered in this condition in 1974 but no photographic proof has ever been forthcoming (I've only ever seen one b&w shot of 37182 like this) so it's a pity this pic wasn't taken 2 years earlier! However on 19/6/74 this train or its equivalent was almost certainly not worked by a Class 37 and in 1974 less likely to have had a camera pointed at it anyway, so such wishful thinking is pointless! 

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I don't remember seeing class 37s on parcels services very often. 

I think they did sometimes very occasionally work the premium parcels trains between South Wales/Bristol and Paddington, I photographed Stratford allocate 37044 at Bridgend on 6/11/81.

I also took a photo of 37223 at Newport on a very dull and rainy day in 1980.

10649915065_4d9b7ff594_b.jpg.987c05b82ebfa9401530768fc0bc2d88.jpg

37223 at Newport.  This may be 4V20 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads which ran via Craven Arms and called at Newport to run round, and possibly detach? 14/11/80.

 

cheers

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