HNRC to strip its newly acquired 37703 for spares
Harry Needle Railroad Company plans to use recently acquired 37703 for component recovery.
The ‘heavyweight’ 37/7 was purchased from a recent Direct Rail Services (DRS) tender list. It had been based at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway (BKR) since July 2014, when it arrived by road. Carrying its previous 37067 identity, the Class 37 featured in the recent winter gala at the Scottish heritage line, making its final working appearance at the event operating alongside the SRPS’S newly overhauled 37403 Isle of Mull, which itself had spent several years on hire to Direct Rail Services before being returned to the SRPS.
HNRC managing director Harry Needle told Railways Illustrated that 37703 was to be used for “parts”. It was brought south from the BKR on January 28 by Locomotive Services Ltd’s (LSL) D8096 and D8107 Jocelyn Fielding 1940-2020, as part of a move to bring EX-DRS 20302/305 to Crewe. The two Class 20s had also been stored at the BKR by DRS prior to their sale, with them being bought by LSL.
DRS bought 37703, along with 37714/716/718, after they were repatriated from Spain by DB Cargo. They had moved abroad in 2001 to haul high-speed line construction trains. Also brought back from Spain at the same time were 37800/884, which are currently part of the Rail Operations Group fleet, on hire from Europhoenix.
While 37716 returned to main line duties by DRS and 37718 was scrapped in July 2015 for components, both 37703 and 37714 were earmarked to be used as super shunters at Daventry International Railfreight Terminal, although this proved problematic and both were hired to preservation groups.
37714 was subsequently acquired by the Heavy Tractor Group and is now based on the Great Central Railway, but 37703 remained in DRS ownership.
HNRC currently has 37607/610/612 certified for main line use, although 37607/612 require new wheelsets. The Class 37/6s are hired to Colas Railfreight for infrastructure monitoring trains.