AFTER months of discussion, Direct Rail Services has sold five of its Class 37s, with 37401 Mary Queen of Scots joining Jeremy Hosking’s large fleet at Crewe and 37402 Stephen Middlemore 23.12.1954- 8.5.2013 transferring to Andania Engineering.
The deals, announced in mid-December, also mean new owners for three others.
Europhoenix has taken 37069, 37218 and 37423 Spirit of the Lakes. They join 37510 Orion, 37601 Perseus, 37608 Andromeda, 37611 Pegasus, 37800 Cassiopeia, 37884 Cephesus, and 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer in the EP fleet.
As 37218 was withdrawn with a main generator flashover, it is possible it could donate its bogies to 37069 to make one good locomotive out of two. However, given the company’s fleet is all alternator-fitted refurbished locomotives, both could be sacrificed for spares.
37423 is likely to either join the fleet, which is used mostly for spot hire and stock moves, or be hired to Rail Operations Group.
Andania Engineering owns Class 40 D213 Andania, which is just coming to the end of a five-year hire contract with Locomotive Services Limited (LSL), although talks are ongoing for a renewal of this deal for another five years.
It has acquired 37402 speculatively for spot hire or contract hire. The ‘37/4’ will have new wheelsets fitted at Barrow Hill, but is fully main line-compliant.
37401 will join LSL’s recently reactivated 37409, which has been taken to Eastleigh for a repaint into a new livery. The acquisition will give the company a pair of Class 37/4s to join its existing fleet of three refurbished Class 37/5s (37521/6
