Museum exhibit future for two Class 37s
LOCOMOTIVE SERVICES Ltd 37190 has moved from the Severn Valley Railway to the company’s Margate facility in the former Hornby factory, which is eventually destined to be opened as a museum under the banner of the One:one Collection, joining a number of locomotives that have been delivered there over the past few months.
The BR blue Class 37, which was previously preserved by the Class 40 Appeal at the Midland Railway Butterley, visited the SVR last year to take part in a diesel event, but suffered a serious failure and remained at Bewdley awaiting collection.
Its move to Margate indicates that the previous plan to return it to main line service with LSL will now not be happening for the foreseeable future. Also facing its future as a museum exhibit is 37198, which Network Rail has donated to the Head of Steam Railway Museum at Darlington.
The locomotive, the final one to be built by English Electric at Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns works in Darlington, was delivered to the museum on August 9, going on public display the following day and returning it to the town where it was built. After withdrawal by EWS 37198 was purchased for preservation, before being bought by Network Rail in 2004, although it was never returned to mainline use during NR’S ownership. It was based on the Great Central Railway for a number of years but was involved in a collision with some coaching stock in May 2014 following a runaway incident, causing damage to one of the Class 37’s cabs. Despite undergoing cab repairs to correct the accident damage it was stored at Loram in Derby and used as a source of spares for NR’S fleet of Class 97/3 locomotives. Although cosmetically restored, it is understood that internally the locomotive is incomplete.
The Class 37 has been repainted into BR green with small yellow warning panels, regaining its original D6898 identity. The cab skirts and round buffers have been reinstated to give it an as-built appearance, although it does not have route indicators at the present time and the headcode box remains plated over.