CLASS 37
Locomotive Services’ Type 3s Nos. 37667 Flopsie and 37521 hauled a Llandudno-Crewe private charter from Chester North Junction on April 7, (see Class 40) and later took the train to Bristol via the North & West route. Next day the tour continued into Cornwall visiting Truro via the Fowey branch, Penzance and later Kingswear. In ‘top and tail’ formation the ‘37s’ returned to Penzance on April 9, prior to traversing the branch to St Ives. Having travelled back into Devon they powered the 1Z31 08.45 Kingswear-London Euston on April 11. Unusually, the start of the ‘Jacobite’ season brought dry weather for much of April necessitating the use of a diesel locomotive on the rear of the 10.15 Fort William-Mallaig and 14.10 return services, West Coast Railways No. 37518 Fort William/An Gearasdan rendering assistance on nine separate days. The empty coaches for the afternoon ‘Jacobite’ left Carnforth for Fort William behind No. 37668 on April 28.
Inbetween ballast work on the former Cambrian main line, Colas No. 37254 Cardiff Canton teamed up with Network Rail No. 97302 Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways/ Rheilffyrdd Ffestiniog ac Eryri to power the 1Z67 05.33 Bristol Temple Meads-Pwllheli forward from Shrewsbury on April 21, later handling the 1Z68 16.23 return trip ready for DB Cargo No. 67006 Royal Sovereign to take over at Shrewsbury. No. 37418 An Comunn Gaidhealach took saloon No. 975025 along both the Wensleydale and Weardale lines in the north east on April 3, before heading for Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors line next morning. By April 6, however, No. 37418 was back on routine work taking JNAs from Derby to Bescot. That same day Rail Operations Group No. 37800 took off-lease electric multiple unit No. 321302 from Clacton to Walton Old Junction (Warrington) for storage before reaching Great Yarmouth with No. 321434 on April 17. Four days later, No. 37800 was back in Warrington this time delivering No. 321319 for store, while on April 23 it left Birkenhead North overnight taking former Merseyrail EMUs Nos. 507024 and 507025 for scrap at Newport Docks.
