Class 37s out of Inverness

[Inversnecky]

Watching some archive footage on YouTube of Inverness last night, it got me thinking about whether certain classes were preferred for certain routes out of Inverness.

Is seemed that journeys to the west and north tended more often than not to be led by Class 37s, whereas to the east, they were a rarer sight.

Is this correct (eg 37s preferred for clearing snow; 26s and 27s more for summer?), or is it another case of passing time addling the memory?

 

[hexagon789]

Watching some archive footage on YouTube of Inverness last night, it got me thinking about whether certain classes were preferred for certain routes out of Inverness.

Is seemed that journeys to the west and north tended more often than not to be led by Class 37s, whereas to the east, they were a rarer sight.

Is this correct (eg 37s preferred for clearing snow; 26s and 27s more for summer?), or is it another case of passing time addling the memory?

I understood that 37s were brought in to provide more power and thus accelerate the Far North workings (in tandem with some speed limit increases). 47s replacing the Baby Sulzers on Aberdeen-Inverness (though not fully for some years), then 37s took over Wick/Thurso first before becoming the main power on the Kyle Line a few years later.

This video on Vimeo by Colin Kennington shows the situation during 1983; 47s on Inverness-Aberdeen, 26s on the Kyle Line and 37s on the Far North:

Diesels in Scotland 1983

This video is about Diesels in Scotland 1983

vimeo.com

 

[Magdalia]

Inverness only had a small fleet of class 37s, starting in time for the May 1982 timetable, usually comprising 8 locos. They were mainly confined to the Far North and Kyle lines because they were the locos fitted with headlights and RETB radios, required for operating those routes.

 

[CW2]

Once the 37s had displaced the 26s from the Kyle and Far North lines, it settled into a fairly regular pattern with 47s on the Aberdeen and Perth lines, 37s on all points north and west, and a mixture of 26 / 27 / 37 / 47 on freights towards Perth and Aberdeen. (I think by then Inverness had no allocation of 27s (?), but they still worked in and out of there fairly regularly). Periodically the class 47 availability would take a nose dive, and then class 37s would start appearing on the Aberdeen road. It was found that the 37s could keep time with the trains perfectly adequately. Pairs of 26s would still put in an occasional appearance from Inverness, e.g. on the Sunday am train to Lairg and return. I had a pair of 27s to Wick in 1985 (27042 + 27050) but that was exceptional. On a couple of occasions in 1986 I did the overnight to Inverness then did a couple of round trips on the Aberdeen road with 37s. I actually preferred the Aberdeen road to the Far North as it was much faster running, and the locos were worked hard to keep time.

Once the RETB signalling was commissioned then the type of locos which could work those routes was severely restricted. Initially it was trialled Dingwall to Kyle, so only RETB-fitted 37s could run the Kyle route under normal circumstances. Subsequently it was etended to the Far North too.

 

[Bevan Price]

There were starting to become surplus Class 37s in England from about 1982/1983, e.g. displaced from Liverpool Street to Cambridge & Kings Lynn services by Class 47s. Scotland was seen as a useful place to use some of those 37s. Apparently Class 26 were considered more reliable than Classes 25 & 27, and although a few had been withdrawn, many were sent to Central Scotland to replace withdrawn 25s (and some 27s) on freight and some of the lighter passenger services (e.g. Dundee to Glasgow & Edinburgh)

 

[Inversnecky]

Once the RETB signalling was commissioned then the type of locos which could work those routes was severely restricted.

I overlooked that point!

 

[Inversnecky]

I understood that 37s were brought in to provide more power and thus accelerate the Far North workings... 47s replacing the Baby Sulzers on Aberdeen-Inverness

Considering 47s were more powerful than 37s, and the Kyle, Wick and Thurso lines more arduous than the Aberdeen route, why wouldn’t 47s have been the preferred option for those routes?

 

[hexagon789]

Considering 47s were more powerful than 37s, and the Kyle, Wick and Thurso lines more arduous than the Aberdeen route, why wouldn’t 47s have been the preferred option for those routes?

Route availability - i.e. axle load

Also, the Kyle Line in particular has low speed limits even now, and back then (late 70s/early 80s) the Far North was 65 max and mostly 50-60, so even if more 47s were available AND the axle load wasn't an issue debatable if it was the best use of resources.

 

[Inversnecky]

Ah, thank you, hexagon.