Restoration work begins on long-stored Warcop Class 37
AFTER LYING at the end of siding at Warcop on the Eden Valley Railway for more than 13 years, work on the revival of privately-owned 37042 is underway, with the locomotive found to be in surprisingly good condition despite its prolonged period out of use. Operated by English Welsh and Scottish Railways prior to its withdrawal by the freight company in January 2005, 37042 is one of several locomotives now owned by preservationist Graham Harris ( Railways Illustrated issue 228) and has been located at
Warcop since 2011. With little physical evidence of restoration work having been carried out, its increasingly shabby external appearance has seen an increasing amount of speculation as to its longer-term future. However, work on the revival of 37042 has finally begun, with the restoration of the Class 37 being spearheaded by Iain Fitzpatrick, the locomotive enthusiast and engineer who successfully returned 26040 to a serviceable condition at the Whitrope Heritage Centre before starting a substantial bodywork restoration of the locomotive and who is also currently working on the ongoing bodywork overhaul of 27005 on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. Discussions between Mr Fitzpatrick and Mr Harris earlier this year saw agreement reached for its restoration to get underway, with several working parties since carried out on the Class 37.
Despite its long period out of use, 37042 is largely complete, apart from a few minor components which should be reasonably straightforward to source. One of the biggest benefits that has been discovered is that 37042 was completely rewired from end to end by EWS as part of a heavy general overhaul, not too long before it was withdrawn by the company, and the wiring is still in good condition. Using a set of testing batteries, it has already proved possible to get the oil pump on the Class 37 operating allowing the English Electric 12CSVT engine to be barred over, and the team has carried out some initial system tests on 37042. The brushes have been removed from the generator, which will be given a thorough clean. In terms of the bodywork, it is in better condition than its flaking paintwork indicates, although it does still require a reasonable number of repairs to deal with corrosion in the usual places which tend to suffer bodyrot on Class 37s. Mr Fitzpatrick said that the bodywork on 37042 is in better condition than 26040 was when he first started working on that locomotive at Whitrope a couple of years ago. Since work began earlier this year, a small team of volunteers from the Eden Valley Railway have got involved in the revival of the Class 37, and owner Mr Harris is delighted with the progress that has been made so far in such a short time. The restoration team have also been supported by other Class 37 owners offering help and advice. Anyone who wishes to support Mr Fitzpatrick can donate at www. buymeacoffee.com/iain0