I saw a Class 37 hauling around 10 ( I think it was 10 but it was going at a fair old lick and I was busy driving so couldn’t really count them ) brown and cream old fashioned Pullman coaches with another class 37 on the rear tramping up Shap in Cumbria at full pelt. Lead Class 37 was in BR blue with the massive white British Rail logo on the side and the rear Class 37 was just in BR blue with no decals from what I could see. What a wonderful and evocative sight. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen heritage diesel locomotives on the WCML in Cumbria. ( I’ve seen more heritage steam trains ) You can keep all your Pendolinos, Electric multiple units and the forthcoming HS2, the old British Rail diesels had surprising class and the people who payed to go on this particular bank holiday special would have throughly enjoyed their journey despite the journey time obviously being slower than one done in a modern train. Although the speed it was going at was pretty rapid!
It’s all fun and games now when the old locos get a much better quality of care where they are still used, and made to look pretty, however back in the days of BR it was a very different story that too many people like to look back on like it was the good old days.
There is no denying there is something interesting about the old BR diesels when you see them being used today on somewhere like the WCML. I well remember the British Rail days and even when the diesels back then weren’t in pristine condition they still looked cool as proper grimy everyday work horses. Somehow I don’t think the current crop of modern trains will evoke such memories years in the future? Then again who knows? Btw why weren’t the two locomotives being used as a double header at the front rather than one at the front and one at the very rear. Was there a particular reason for this apart from making it easier for the return journey maybe?
