BR Class 37 37263

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 37 37263
37263 at Kidderminster (August 2024)
Built By	English Electric at Vulcan Foundry
Configuration	Co-Co
Power type	Diesel-electric
Status	Operational
Loco Number	37263
Other Numbers	D6963
History
Built	1965
Type	Class 37
2003	Preserved
2021	Restoration completed
2023	Arrived on the SVRSevern Valley Railway
Technical
Length	61ft 6in
Weight	102 tons
Diesel Locomotives

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Class 37 37263 is a Type 3The British Railways classification for diesel locomotives of 1500 bhp to 1999 bhp diesel-electric locomotive which has been present on the SVRSevern Valley Railway since May 2023. A summary of the Class 37 can be found on the 37308 page.

37263 in service

The locomotive was built by the English Electric Vulcan Foundry as works number 3523/D952 and entered service as D6963 at Darnall, Sheffield (41A), in January 1965, moving to nearby Canklow (41B) in July of that year. In June 1966 it was Involved in a head on collision at Dore and Totley, and was admitted to Doncaster works for repair.

D6963 was reallocated to Stratford, East London (30A) in October 1967 after which it was regularly seen working passenger services out of Liverpool Street. It was renumbered 37263 under TOPS in March 1974.

From 1985 37263 was moved to Scotland including Eastfield (Glasgow), Inverness and Motherwell. After a further move to Cardiff Canton in May 1988, it was transferred into DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. use and subsequently served with Trainload Freight West (1994) and EWSEnglish, Welsh & Scottish Railway, a rail freight company (1998). In late 1999 it was stored for disposal/component recovery, and was sold into preservation in December 2003.

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  37263 in BRBritish Rail or British Railways blue livery with small logos at Didcot, March 1989

37263 in preservation

37263 was initially bought for preservation by the 'Class 37 Preservation Group' at the DeanWilliam Dean, Chief Locomotive Engineer of the Great Western Railway 1877-1902 Forest Railway. In September 2012 it was moved by road to Tyseley Locomotive Works. After being sold to new owners, it was moved by road to the Telford Steam RailwayTelford Horsehay Steam Trust Limited, a Charitable heritage railway located at Horsehay, Telford with proposals for running heritage trains into the Ironbridge Gorge and onto the former GWR Severn Valley branch. in May 2017, where it was restored to working condition, including repainting into DepartmentalRolling stock used for the railway’s own functions (engineering etc.) rather than for general passenger or goods traffic. grey livery, before entering revenue earning service at Telford in June 2021.

After working occasional passenger services at Telford in 2021 and 2022, 37263 was moved to the SVRSevern Valley Railway in May 2023 for an appearance as a guest at the 2023 Spring Diesel Gala. It proved popular and went on to be used on rostered diesel-hauled passenger workings and 'sell-out driver experience trains' through the summer. It appeared at the 2023 Autumn Diesel Bash, although being withdrawn for a day while a brake issue was addressed.

37263 has remained at the SVRSevern Valley Railway through 2024, seeing further use on passenger services and driver experience trains. On Saturday 27 July it deputised at short notice for 75069 on the afternoon service after the Class 4 was declared a failure on arrival at Kidderminster.

See also

• Diesel Locomotives visiting the SVR for galas
• Diesel Locomotives hired by the SVR
• BR Class 37 37308
• BR Class 37 37906
• BR Class 37 37688 Great Rocks

Notes

References

External links

• British Rail Class 37 on Wikipedia
• 37263 on class37.co.uk
• 37263 loco group on Facebook (private group)
• Telford Steam Railway stocklist