Class 50 & Class 37 Driver Experiences, 21/09/18.

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5 жыл бұрын

This video features the 'Light Engine Driver Experiences' at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway Diesel Gala, 21/09/18. These £50 sessions offered amazing value because you got about thirty minutes of driving, most of which was at 25mph. The line is well worth a visit as both branches to Bodmin General are on some tasty gradients. The locomotives work hard when hauling stock up the incline, so much so that you get a proper mainline feel with all the noise that was once commonplace when these veteran machines were in every day use with BR.
Boscarne Junction to Bodmin General is three miles long and as steep as 1:40 in places. Bodmin Parkway to Bodmin General is also a very steep climb and reaches 1:37. The driver experiences in this video were on the latter section, covering Bodmin General to Colesloggett Halt and return, although experiences to Boscarne Junction were also available. Several sessions were available each day and ran alongside the passenger train.
Initially I was booked on 50 042 and my friend was on 37 142. However, we were given the option to share each loco, so he stepped up first and drove down to Colesloggett Halt leaving me with the main event; the gradient up to Bodmin General. Then the opposite applied to the 37; myself being a bit naughty with the power going downhill then my friend driving uphill to Bodmin General. The video has been edited down to cut out the temporary speed restrictions and any chatter which won't be of interest. I've tried to include as much thrash and views of the line as possible.
I thoroughly recommend a visit to the BWR. The line is scenic, the locos loud and all the volunteers are friendly.
For more English Electric excellence, please check out this video of a class 73 driver experience course...
• Driving a Class 73 up ...

Пікірлер: 52

@craigsmith9843 4 жыл бұрын

The unmistakable chortle of the 37 is like a symphony of power.

@ToonandBBfan 4 жыл бұрын

Things in the 1960's were built well and built to last.

@jxmxsm350 4 жыл бұрын

My dream job, thank you for this video! Always needed a cab view

@pimpinopazzo2639 Жыл бұрын

love the 37 by the looks off it the 2nd guy does to hangs out the window lol

@marklewis9638 2 жыл бұрын

Love that bit at 14:54 "Little bit of thrash up to the summit" *Full power*

@mikemikesndbs6271 5 жыл бұрын

Wow very cool and with the class 50 very happy memories :) seems like only yesterday!

@ValentaLamenter 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike. I really enjoyed driving the 50. It would be great to see one on the West Coastway again. ;-)

@jameswillis3848 3 жыл бұрын

The 37's a beast :)

@RYNT1157 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant , always important notch by notch and pause in notch 1 to leave the engine revs and amps go down before shut off. I drove the Metropolitan Vickers A class on the Irish Rail system and I still practice that on the GM locos . Very hard to get new drivers to do that now.

@faustobrindisi5745 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for your quick response to my question, I will keep it in mind for my next trip. Sincerely, Fausto from Argentina

@marcodonegal 2 жыл бұрын

Argentina- el mejor pais en el Mundo!

@pedrozuquete5051 Жыл бұрын

O inconfundível motor diesel English Eletric igual às nossas 1800 da CP. Grandes máquinas. Excelente 👏.

@adrianbates7621 2 жыл бұрын

Just awesome 👍

@Finsami71 3 жыл бұрын

Drivin a bit of 37 in the afternoon and then havin a bit of pint, not bad!

@garyhawkins-pianoteacherpi6490 4 жыл бұрын

Looks like an amazing experience - i am tempted to do one too,

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

You won't be disappointed. Price might have gone up a bit now, but still amazing value considering the distance driven / time in the hot seat.

@garyhawkins-pianoteacherpi6490 4 жыл бұрын

ValentaLamenter I looked - it’s now £280 but as you say, it’s a dream experience for any train enthusiast. How much actual driving time did you get then?

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

Ah I see, you have been looking at a driver experience course which lasts a full day. I'm sure that would be a great day out. Featured in this video are two driver experience sessions which ran during the 2018 diesel gala. Priced at £50 for thirty minutes of driving, each session offered amazing value. The two of us paid £100 between us (in addition to the gala rover tickets) and got to share the two sessions. So in other words, we each paid £25 for fifteen minutes on a class 37 and £25 for fifteen minutes on a class 50. Quite a few railways offer short 'Driver for a Fiver/Tenner' sessions (during events) which involve a shunt up and down a platform/yard or out to a home signal. These can be low speed runs which last about five to ten minutes, give or take. During this diesel gala, several driver experience sessions were running on both branches at the BWR, depending on where the main service train was. Our trips were fifteen minutes each way and at the full 25mph speed limit. There are some tasty gradients to get stuck into too, so plenty of noise to enjoy. £280 for the whole day strikes me as good value when you take into account how much it would cost to fill the tank on one of these beasts.

@MatthewRailways50033 5 жыл бұрын

Great KZfaq train video's 😁😀😀🚂🚂😎

@bigcasey4143 3 жыл бұрын

Paying £50 for the privilege of driving a locomotive at 5mph in the sidings???? The railway PAID ME to do this for 40 years.... on Class 33, 37, 47 & 50 Locomotives, as well as various DMU's & EMU's.... no 5mph speed limit for me, unless of course when in the yard... it was full speed with the regulator wide open when out on the main line.... Now happily retired....

@saintnick7 3 жыл бұрын

Done this myself, mind you it helps when you're a volunteer restoring class 50s, we get to do it for free 😁

@ThStg 3 жыл бұрын

LUCKY!!! sods being given the privilege to drive a class 37 although not at full speed just on a little single track. I love the we sound of the class 37 it sounds like, it looks. SHEAR POWER!!! 👍😁 I'll have to see check online or at one of my local stations & enquire about details. if I can get the privilege to drive one near one on my local railway lines. ( UNLIKELY!!! ) TOO MUCH RISK!!! to others 😀😀😀😀😃😃 Mind you you never know though. 🤨

@ValentaLamenter 3 жыл бұрын

I guess Covid may have temporarily suspended driver experience courses this year or there will be a backlog of courses from earlier in the year. Anyway, a few lines where you can drive a 37 are the Great Central Railway, East Lancs Railway, Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, North Norfolk Railway, Epping & Ongar Railway, Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and, of course, the Bodmin & Wenford Railway.

@ThStg 3 жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter Many thanks for your information on the, many places to go & drive a locomotive 😁👍 Willl look into one that seens the, nearest to me, & check details of their location, prices etc etc etc. Sometime in the future. 👍

@ebutuoyYT 2 жыл бұрын

The 'Light Engine Driver Experiences' is now priced at £280, according to their website, that is some increase over the £50 mentioned in the video details.

@ValentaLamenter 2 жыл бұрын

That's the full day experience. This was one of the "tasters" which took place during a diesel gala. The normal full day driver experience courses most likely happen while the railway is closed (no public service trains running) and will cover more of the line to increase the mileage. If it's just a taster you want, then keep an eye out for a gala in the Autumn. Covid might change things of course.

@ebutuoyYT 2 жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter Good to know, thanks for the info.

@faustobrindisi5745 4 жыл бұрын

Dear Friend: I am a fervent admirer of the railways and next year I will visit England for 12 days, the cities of London, York, Liverpool and Manchester. I am interested in knowing some station around London to observe the trains at speed. Which would you recommend for filming train passes at good speed? Many thanks and warm regards from Argentina, Fausto.-

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

Alexandra Palace is a good place for seeing fast trains on the East Coast Main Line. I used to watch High Speed Trains there as they headed north from London towards Peterborough.

@joebond5012 3 жыл бұрын

I hope you had a good time.

@ToonandBBfan 4 жыл бұрын

Which did you guys prefer? The 50 or the 37?

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

I think my friend (seen first) wouldn't mind me saying his choice would easily be the 37. These locos are his favourite type of rail traction and he had been itching to drive one for years. For me, well the short answer is the 37 too. I had driven a 37 on load five vacuum before and it was brilliant, but on this occasion I was actually looking forward to the 50 the most as it was something new. In fact it was supposed to be me on the 50 and my friend on the 37, until we were offered to share each loco. The BWR is the ideal place to drive a 50 as the gradients mean you still get some thrash without exceeding the 25mph limit too quickly. Being a type four with 2700hp on offer, a 50 would reach that speed really quickly when running light engine anywhere else. Obviously as the 37 is a type three you get even more thrash and for longer. You just get to see and hear more, like the ammeter gauge, engine note etc etc. If I was lucky enough to drive both classes with heavier loads out on the main line, then that question would be more difficult to answer. However, in preservation you have that unpleasant 25mph limit hanging over you, so the less power you have the better the experience. A 20 or a Sulzer type two would make ideal driver experience locos on railways with little or no gradients.

@danielwalker2613 2 жыл бұрын

£1.70 per minute seems like a bargain to drive one of these iconic locos. ....

@stevenr2463 3 жыл бұрын

Please excuse my silly question but I am not really familiar with trains - apart from as a passenger. Can someone please explain why the windscreen (3 windows toward the front) are so high up? Perhaops because of the "bonnet" in front? If so, whats under the "bonnet"?

@ValentaLamenter 3 жыл бұрын

When the locomotives were built, the noses housed headcode blinds and nose end doors (a kind of gangway) for crews to walk between locomotives. Examples without these features still have access doors in the cabs (and bonnets on top) to help with maintenance of parts like brake equipment and air filters.

@stevenr2463 3 жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter Thank you!

@grahamallen1970 3 жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter traction motor blowers and vacuum brake exhausters

@TheEnglishTrainSpotter2021 4 жыл бұрын

Upload more videos

@danielwalker2613 2 жыл бұрын

What's the average fuel consumption of these 37's .... What sort of MPG would they get ?

@ValentaLamenter 2 жыл бұрын

A friend of mine who was a part owner of a class 37 said it was 1-3 mpg at best. That's at a heritage line (25mph) with a usual load of five mk1 carriages, moderate gradients plus occasional engine dead on rear.

@macflod Жыл бұрын

Whats behind that little door in the front of the train? Is it a toilet?

@ValentaLamenter Жыл бұрын

If memory serves, the toilet is in the engine room. Behind that door in the cab (which goes inside the loco's nose) can be found brake equipment like the compressor/exhauster and tanks. I think the traction motor blowers are in there too. Early examples also had gangway doors and headcode blinds, in fact there's a few preserved with that equipment still in situ.

@macflod Жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter cool thanks for letting me know, I always wondered. Yeah i have seen ones with doors on the front outside. So you can enter the cab via that door too? Its sad the manufacturers of these are not in business anymore, it be cool to see what future versions may have looked like.

@ValentaLamenter Жыл бұрын

The exterior gangway doors were typically used when locos ran in pairs, but we're talking way back when. Health and safety regs would never allow it these days. I don't think these variants would have been popular with crews either, particularly in Winter when the drafts would have been most unwelcome.

@macflod Жыл бұрын

@@ValentaLamenter ahh ok I understand

@buffplums 2 жыл бұрын

Something ghostly about the 37

@charliewardle62 4 жыл бұрын

Great video , just checked the website and it costs £280 . You mentioned you got the sessions for £50 . Did you do something differently ?

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

Their diesel galas in September usually offer a short 'taster' but these sessions only become available to book a few weeks before the event and sell out very quickly.

@charliewardle62 4 жыл бұрын

ValentaLamenter Thanks for the speedy reply .... okay , I’ll have to keep an eye out . Looks like a great experience!

@ValentaLamenter 4 жыл бұрын

No problem. The price might be slightly higher now, I didn't make it to the gala this year to confirm but I know they were still offering driver experiences.

@danielwalker2613 2 жыл бұрын

£280 seems more like it ? .... I thought the £50 was an absolute bargain !!

@ValentaLamenter 2 жыл бұрын

That price is a full day. This was a half hour drive during a diesel gala (usually held in September before the pandemic). I will try to get an answer about mpg from a friend who used to be a part owner of a 37. Many variables of course. Speed, load, gradients, weather etc.