Warning: Sporadic Colourful Language Not Suitable for Younger Ears English Electric Locomotive 37717 banking a fully loaded steel train up Britain's steepest railway gradient, The Lickey Incline Date: July 2003
Great sound! It does the engine good to be worked consistently hard from time to time. I used to service / load-bank diesel generators; the difference between an engine that has only run light and after 4 hours at rated power is amazing. The exhaust is burnt clear, any water boiled out of the cases, the injectors get a good working, and there is almost no smoke at the end. 5 mins warm-up, 5 at 25%, 15 at 50%, and the balance up to 4 hours; slow-down is the reverse procedure.
No offence intended but this footage looks like a group of 37 cranks have nicked a tractor and then taken it for a joyride up the lickey. 5 stars.superb.
You can stick your Alcos, GEs and GMs- there is nothing on earth that sounds like an EE!! Wonder how many Amps she was pushing with that lot? It's no wonder they've lasted so long as they are supremely suited for their work.
For those that enjoy tractor thrash I thoroughly recommend the "French Thunder" video produced by Slug Six Productions (I have no stake in the outfit) which shows single, double, triple & quadruple headed 37s being thrashed mercilessly on 1 in 28 gradients building the French TGV route from Valence to Marseilles. Two hours of thrash.
Clearly not the most powerful loco in the world, but probably one of the best sounding ever. At least at the same level as a German V200 or the French CC72000. Gotta love those old diesel beasts...
When i was a new secondman in 79 was on tank train with a 40 about to climb hoghton bank, told my driver i was nipping to retrieve my bag in back cab, knelt up on drivers seat for ten min of mega thrash! Happy days
I was a 19 year old fireman 1974 at eastfield depot my uncle was a driver at the same time he used to let me take the controls of the 37 up the west highland line best days of my life 37s best loco ever
Barking like a dog ,turbo's singing like a banshee awesome !!! although the Lackenby -Corby coil trains took some beating for thrash hammering through Barrow on Soar
@Qmodeller Once at the top and it dosent release its a quick phone call to Saltley box to be put in the loop between Barnt Green and Longbridge so you can release the couplings, any other freight and you just drop off as normal at Blackwell change ends and come inside and wait for the peg back down.
@Qmodeller The signals are still the same at the grove banker pulls up to the rear gets down track side presses one of the buttons, that triggers a light on the gantry outside the front drivers cab (if hes pulled up far enough, if not he has to get down track side) he leans out presses the button and if theres nothing about the points will go over and after a three min wait we are let out the loop by the green signal at the front and the two gantrys lighting up RA signs at the back.
Cracking stuff, 66s just aren't as much fun! What's the procedure with the AWS/TPWS for the bankers - isolated presumably for any intermediate signals on the bank?
@50046ajax Sorry just to clarify its isolated only when coupled up ie. when pushing HTAs there is a release button on the dashboard for uncoupling at the top and also a light fitted to the front of the loco for manual lining the buck eyes up however only 66055-66059 are fitted with this mod, the AWS is isolated so that if the uncoupling dosent work at Blackwell (has happened a number of times) still coupled up it would drag you to Barnt Green from the Gloucester section into the Saltley section
Yes, interesting stuff, thanks. Presumably, once at the top, the lead driver is required to look back to make sure the banker has been released if it's one of the special 66s shoving some HTAs? Or is there a radio for the banker driver to request the lead driver to stop to effect a manual release? Another thing, are the special signals at Bromsgrove still in use, or is the comms between lead and banking drivers done by radios/phones? It's an interesting bit of line.
The banker is not coupled up, once it crests the incline it drifts back as the train continues, it then slows and moves back to base, by the central refuge loop at the top.
Hello There Again it is Mr Cannadine T. Boxill-Harris, I have another interesting idea for most of you Class 313, Class 314 and that also is including those interesting Class 315 Fans out there, rather than scrapping most of those Class 313's Class 314's including the Class 315's maybe you guys can convert them and including the refurbishment into those Leyland 680 Engine, Volvo B10M Engine, Cummins M11 Engine, Gardner 6LXC Engine, Gardner 6LXB, Engine, Gardner 8LXB Engine, Class 313's, Class 314's and the Class 315's and convert all of them into a 2 Carriages and Three Carriages of the Class 313's, Class 314's and that is including those Class 315's for most of us Class 314's and the Class 315's Diesel Train Fans Pretty Please Are you still going to do this interesting type of Project for all of us out there Please?
@50046ajax All other bankers ie, other 66s,60s, 37s ect are not isolated and have to acknowledge the signals, the buck eye system can be a real pain if you have a few to bank in a row especialy if it dosent release as you are only allowed to hit the release button once. Hope this helps
The original footage wasn’t brilliant but the machine that transferred it to digital file was even worse lol May repost in better quality soon if I can find time
Never been a fan of heavy metal music etc.But why do so many rail enthusiasts have to keep telling me they dislike this or that class, or something else.FFs, you will be dead one day, and it won't be cared about even more than now.
