DRS offers more heritage locomotives for sale

On July 12, Direct Rail Services (DRS) announced a further disposal by tender of locomotives from its heritage fleet. This is the fourth such sale in the last year and marks further progress in the elimination of older types of traction, which will reduce the operator’s carbon footprint and progress its ambitious fleet modernisation plans.

However, for the first time, ten of the locomotives are being offered on a sale and lease back arrangement in order to permit DRS to fulfil its contract for RHTT work during the autumn leaf fall season.

These are Class 37s as follows: 37218/401/402/407/419/422425/716. Three locomotives, 37069/602/57002, are offered for outright sale. The closing date for return of bids is July 29.

In recent years, DRS owned and operated the largest fleet of Class 37s, together with refurbished Class 20/9s and also Class 57s. After the latest round of disposals, all the ‘37s’ will have gone and the operator’s heritage fleet will comprise 57307-9 for West Coast Thunderbird duties on behalf of Avanti West Coast and 57305/306/310/312 in the XHSO DRS locomotives for Network Rail SCO operations pool. Missing from the previous and present disposals is 37605, which was disposed of to Loram UK Ltd in a separate deal.

DRS Rail Director and NTS Deputy CEO Chris Connelly told RAIL that he would be sad to see the departure of the last of the Class 37s. He has been with DRS since its inception and these locomotives played a key part in the growth of the business. When it comes to locomotives, his mantra now is “fewer, newer, greener” and these disposals will leave the operator with one of the newest fleets of locomotives.