#3534
British Rail Class 37
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by English Electric· from 1960· class of 309 Co′Co′ 1750hp diesel-electric locomotives
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 19890714a Strathcarron: Roehrensee· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. 37019 Tinsley 1990: No machine-readable author provided. Goose assumed (based on copyright claims).· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. 37891 British Rail class 37 diesel loco: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. BR Class 37 37 409: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. Class 37s on oil train: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Class 37 no 37602 & 37606 at Seaton Snook: The joy of all things· CC0
- 7. 37411 at Derby: Donnchadh H· CC BY 4.0
- 8. 37706 at Kings Cross 036: Panhard· CC BY 2.5
- 9. 37706 at Kings Cross 037: Panhard· CC BY 2.5
- 10. Bridgnorth railway station MMB 01 37906: mattbuck ( category )· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel–electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were originally numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 66 years ago, in 1960.
- Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- 1.3 MW is about 15 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 18.6 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1960–1965
- in service from
- 1960
- number built
- 309
- kind
- Diesel–electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- English Electric, Vulcan Foundry, Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
- operators
- Direct Rail Services, Eastern Region of British Railways, North Eastern Region of British Railways, London Midland Region of British Railways, West Coast Railway Company, Western Region of British Railways, Scottish Region of British Railways, Colas Rail
- top speed
- 145 km/h
- power
- 1.3 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- length
- 18.6 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3306037, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 37 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.