Class 37's fitted with Central Wales line headlights (1960's & 1970's)

Diesel Dilemmas - top page

Locomotive hauled trains using the Central Wales line between Craven Arms and Pantyffynnon in the late 1960's and 1970's utilised Class 37 locomotives fitted with headlamps.  These headlamps were mounted between the nose end lamp brackets.  What doesn't appear clear from what has been published is precisely which locomotives were so fitted and when.  Thus, the aim of this dilemma is to try and establish which locomotives were so fitted and when.  The requirement ceased by early 1980 when portable headlamps started to be used instead.

Locomotives so fitted were drawn from the Landore (87E - LE) allocation with fifteen different locomotives identified as having been fitted at various times.   However, it seems that the norm was only ever to have four or five locomotives fitted at anyone time.  Since 1974 all locomotives so fitted also possessed a steam heat generator.  Prior to that there was a mix of locomotives with/without steam heat generators fitted.

The earliest traced mention of Central Wales line headlamps is with regard to DMU's (September 1967 'Modern Railways' - p.515). Whether locomotives were so fitted then isn't clear.  The earliest mention with regard to locomotives so far traced comes in the January 1969 edition of 'The Railway Observer' (p.18).  There it states  that a  new allocation list of locomotives issued in October 1968 lists 6931-6934 as fitted with headlamps.  However, 6889 had been so photographed that August with a headlamp suggesting locomotives had been fitted prior to October 1968.  The July 1970 edition of 'The Railway Observer' (p.225) records 6882/9, 6932/3/4 as then fitted and that they had been removed from 6931/5.  6935 though can't be correct as it was an Eastern Region locomotive at the time . Oddly, the January 1971 edition of 'The Railway Observer' (p.12) records 6889 as headlight fitted, possibly an error for 6887,  and 6932/4 as headlight removed whilst the March 1971 edition of 'The Railway Observer' (p.91) records 6882/9, 6933 as fitted as at 31st December 1970.  Clearly some swapping had taken place in the first few years as it did in later years.

Below is a chronolgical summary of locomotives believed to have been fitted.  As more emerges this summary will be refined.

From	To	Locomotives
cAugust 1968	cOctober 1968	6889
cOctober 1968	cMay 1969	6889, 6931, 6932, 6933, 6934
cMay 1969	cMay 1970	6882, 6889, 6931, 6932, 6933, 6934
cMay 1970	October 1970	6882, 6889, 6932, 6933, 6934
October 1970	May 1971	6882, 6887, 6889, 6933
May 1971	Spring 1972?	6877, 6887, 6889, 6933
Spring 1972?	February 1974	6877, 6887, 6888, 6889, 6931, 6933
February 1974	March 1974	6887, 6888, 6889, 6892, 6931, 6933
March 1974	September 1974	37188, 37189, 37190, 37192
September 1974	October 1974	37177, 37180, 37188, 37190
October 1974	May 1976	37177, 37180, 37181, 37190
May 1976	September 1976	37177, 37181, 37182, 37190
September 1976	November 1976	37177, 37179, 37181, 37190
November 1976	mid 1977	37179, 37181, 37189, 37190
mid 1977	mid 1978	37177, 37181, 37187, 37188, 37190
mid 1978	cSpring 1979	37177, 37181, 37187, 37188, 37191
cSpring 1979	cAutumn 1979	37177, 37187, 37188, 37191
cAutumn 1979	cAutumn 1980	37177, 37188, 37191, 37192

 

For each of these locomotives a listing of dates observed when fitted with headlamps can be viewed by clicking the individual locomotive number in the list below.  Further observations or references to photographs etc would be very much welcomed.  Also, sightings and photographic references to the locomotives in question not carrying headlamps when the table suggests they did.

Locomotive	Period fitted
6877 - 37177	May 1971 - February 1974, September 1974 - November 1976, mid1977 - Autumn 1980
37179	September 1976 - mid 1977
37180	September 1974 - May 1976
37181	October 1974 - Spring 1979
6882 - 37182	(by mid 1969 - after January 1971)?, May 1976 - September 1976
6887 - 37187	October 1970 - March 1974, mid 1977 - Autumn 1979
6888 - 37188	Spring 1972? - October 1974, mid 1977 - Autumn 1980
6889 - 37189	cAugust 1968 - September 1974, November 1976 - Mid 1977
37190	September 1974 - mid 1978
37191	mid 1978 - Autumn 1980
6892 - 37192	February - September 1974, Autumn 1979 - Autumn 1980
6931	cOctober 1968 - March 1974
6932	cOctober 1968 - October 1970
6933	cOctober 1968 - March 1974
6934	cOctober 1968- October 1970

 

This is still very much a work in progress, thus comments, sightings and photographs that could be added to theis dilemma would be welcomed by Peter Hall.

This page is maintained by Peter Hall.