ROG leases additional Class 37 to haul EMUs

Rail Operations Group will lease a sixth Class 37 in the New Year, when 37510 returns to traffic.

Owned by Europhoenix, the locomotive is being reactivated at Leicester by UK Rail Leasing. It was bought from Direct Rail Services by EP in 2016, and will join EP’s 37601/608/611, 37800/884 on a long-term lease to ROG.

Like its classmates, it will be fitted with Dellner couplings to enable it to haul electric multiple units (EMUs) across the network.

In an exclusive interview with RAIL, Rail Operations (UK) Ltd Chief Executive Karl Watts explained that the company’s plan is to retain Class 37s for a longer period than its ‘47’ fleet.

He said part of the reason was that the Type 3s can be used to haul stored EMUs to various location for warm storage running. The ‘47s’ do not have the required couplings, nor are they as environmentally friendly owing to a lack of filtration systems.

ROG has four operational Class 47/8s (47812/813/815/848) and two stored examples (47843/847).

The ‘37/5’ was withdrawn by DRS in March 2012. The freight company had bought it in 2005 from Harry Needle Railroad Company, which had in turn acquired it from EWS in 2003. It was first withdrawn in 2000, when it returned from France following a period hauling construction trains.

ROG is also leasing two Class 57/3s on a long-term deal from DRS, and is considering buying them outright. The locomotives (57305/312) were previously dedicated to the Northern Belle contract that DRS lost. They are leased from Porterbrook by DRS, on what is understood to be a lease to buy deal. They were acquired by ROG as they are fitted with Dellner couplings that can couple to second and thirdgeneration EMUs.