In the 15 years which followed the publication of the Modernisation Plan of 1955, which foreshadowed the demise of main line steam, some 3,000 diesel locomotives were constructed for passenger and freight traffic. Of these, more than 300 were the Type 3s built by English Electric between 1961 and 1965, the future Class 37s.
Amongst the most adaptable of all the designs delivered to BR during these years, the class was equally at home on express passenger services over the ex-GER main line between Liverpool Street and Norwich as on coal trains operating in the valleys of South Wales. The class was also one of the last of the pre-privatisation designs of diesel locomotive to remain in service in significant numbers. Allocated during their careers to much of the BR network, with the exception of the Southern Region, for many enthusiasts, the Class 37s in their later years, are perhaps most fondly remembered for their association with the remote but scenic lines in the north and west of Scotland, where they were often adorned with a distinctive Highland Terrier logo. Now approaching the twilight of their career, the survivors appear regularly on engineering duties and as rescue locomotives for Eurostar sets, bringing them regularly to Southern England for the first time.
As the class rapidly approaches final withdrawal from front-line duty, this is an appropriate time to produce this pictorial tribute to these locos which have given nearly 50 years of service. Compiled by John Vaughan, one of Britain’s pre-eminent railway photographers, and drawing upon the work of other noted photographers of the period, the book examines the history and operational record of the type over its entire career. Covering the full spectrum of the class’s duties, from passenger turns in the Scottish Highlands through to coal traffic in South Wales, the book reveals how adaptable was the the class. For many, they were, perhaps, the great unsung heroes of the first generation of diesel-electric locomotives on BR.
As the final examples of the first-generation diesel-electric classes are gradually withdrawn, so interest in the types has increased immeasurably. For modellers, preservationists and historians alike, interest in the period of Britain’s railway history from the mid-1950s onwards is growing rapidly and the new ‘Diesel Retrospective’ series will undoubtedly find a ready market amongst all those interested in the development of BR’s diesel fleet.
Author: John Vaughan
Title: DIESEL RETROSPECTIVE: Class 37
Format: PB 112 pages
Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd
Pub date: June 2007
ISBN: 9780711032002
List Price: £19.99
