Class 37 Locomotives returned to the Rhymney Valley line, South Wales in May 2019.
Transport for Wales (TfW) hired Class 37 Locomotives to provide extra capacity on the Rhymney Valley Line, while they await the arrival of new trains in 2020.
The Class 37’s are over almost 60 years old being first introduced in 1960 - 1965.
A shortage of rolling stock has forced TfW to use locomotive-hauled trains. Class 37s and 4 Mk 2 coaches (sometimes only 3 coaches) have been used on two peak-time duties. Monday - Friday with each train having 220 seats - the equivalent of a pair of Class 150s currently used on the route.
TfW have chosen Class 37s because they operated on the route before, and are therefore tried and tested. They were last used on the network in December 2005.
The current service started on Monday 17th June 2019 hauled by 37418.
Only one Class 37 operated service trains until Monday 12th August due to continued driver training.
Then x2 Diagrams were introduced with 37421 & 37025 ‘Inverness TMD’ (T&T) on most runs.
Some days I have gone out to video the scheduled service trains & the Class 37’s did not appear at all!
On a few occasions the Class 37’s were late due to problems with the loco.
I visited a number of locations I had filmed back in 2005 to find vegetation had obscured the view or structural changes e.g. introduction of new roads, etc.
So I have mainly limited my filming to stations.
The Locos are stabled at Cardiff Canton during the day & at Rhymney overnight & on weekends.
I videoed all the locos being stabled at Rhymney in August.
Its great to see & hear these wonderful diesel locomotives again roaring up & down the Rhymney Valley through Caerphilly.
I can hear them from my garden & videoed them on service trains from June to December 2019.
Enjoy!
14 янв 2020
