Search Results

Work so far in April has focused around getting the cab stripped back to a bear frame and giving it a deep clean and assessing all the pipe work that's normally hidden under the cab floor. The frame work has been cleaned, rust treated and given a few coats of paint to help protect it for years to come before we look at putting the new floor sections down. The second man's side has been rubbed backed down and has uncovered a fair bit of original green paint work which has been hid away for many years. Original red oxide primer and BR Green hiding under where the foot rest is normally bolted on Undercoat being applied to area's of the cab The frame work has been given a coat of black gloss to help protect for years to come, once some repairs to the small step wall are carried out (at the bottom of the picture) this cab can then start to be fitted out with new flooring. Work has continued on the cab front area mainly around the tops of the marker light panels. This area has suffered badly with water ingress over the years which seems to have come from holes being drill into the body to secure the overhead live wire enamel signs. The require the horn funnel to be removed which sadly wasn't a five minute job as the two bolts nearest to the middle doors are not accessible from the inside. A decision was made to cut the horn out from the front and just replace a larger area of steel with new fittings on the back to hold the funnel and grill back on the front. A new section of steel welded in around where the horn funnel goes, not the easiest of areas to repair but another job ticked off the list. A nicely cleaned up horn grill showing its had a very hard life with rather a few hammer marks on it. With the No2 in cab progressing really well the same can also be said with the west side of the loco. Large areas of steel work have now been replaced starting from behind the No2 end working our way back to the No1 end.. The three bodyside grills have been removed to gain access the the rotten area's behind where the filter trays sit These grills will be made up as new item and them welded into place on the loco. Members of the team tackling the area around the three bodyside grills. As you can see new steel work has been added in around the boiler access steps.

With the windows previously removed, the frame work has since been rust treated, primed and is awaiting the attention of some filler in various places. The inside has also been rubbed down and given a coat of primer. All cleaned down and primed, ready for some filler in a few places Inside of the No2 end cab showing the cleaned up area with a coat of primer applied Whilst we was stripping down the inside of the No2 end cab around the drivers side, we found that the wooden mouldings around the windows have suffered badly from water ingress. Upon some investigation from the team we found two main area's of concern, one being some welding blow holes caused by welding of the angled gutter strip down the cab and a rather large hole in the cab roof. Both areas have now had these area's attended to, new wood work will be required before the cab goes back together. Some of the blow holes in the metal which have caused the water ingress into the cab Another hole that's caused us problems, sadly this is what we was expecting from something 65 years old. With some new steel work added in above the door and the batch on the roof, work can now continue on getting this area fully cleaned and primed. Work continues on the bodyside steel work at a great pace, as you may have seen from previous postings that the bodyside has not faired well with age with large areas of corrosion. Sadly most of the large bodyside grills have suffered with corrosion over the years, the frames have been pushed out causing the aluminium grill slats to become distorted. With the old section of body removed, and the frame exposed, this area will now be cleaned, rust treated and painted before a new steel work is added. And just like magic and new section of steel is added in place Member's of the team hard at it on the bodyside of 37003. As you can see one of the exposed grill area's showing the rotten frame work behind. A new section of steel work having been cut to size is test fitted before being welded into place. The stripped down No2 end cab of 37003, showing some original green 1960's paint coming through 60 years worth of dirt and filth, including a mars bar rapper from 1987!! A removed sand box cover, having some new gaskets made for it. The metalwork will now be treated painted before it al gets refitted at a later date.

A small update to start the month off, work continues at a steady pace. One of the No2 end bonnet doors had sadly seen better days and was treated to some new steel work. Upon rubbing the door down for painting the original cream was uncovered. A nice little bit of history  With the window screens now removed from the loco, attention has turned to the frame work around the windows. This area will be rubbed down, rust treated, filled and the prepared for painting

With the loco having arrived in the shed in mid November, we gave it a few weeks to dry out and assess the condition of the loco and come up with a work programme.  It was decided that we could start by stripping down No2 cab, this included removal of all the fittings like the tail lamp brackets, taillights and safety hoops along with the bonnet side doors and top bonnet doors. No2 end in the process of being stripped down to aid repairs A selection of the parts removed from No2 end, all labelled up to what side they belong to, these will be cleaned up, repaired and refitted at a later date. With the bonnet side doors removed it gave us proper access to fix the bottom of the drip trays, sadly over the years water has got into these and eaten away at the frame supporting these. New steel work has been welded in place and the whole area given a coat of primer No2 end driver side area getting some primer applied after repairs The top bonnet doors needed some metal work replacing on them,  it was easier and far safer to remove them off the loco to repair them. With these out of the way, we decided to remove the hinges to thoroughly clean that area up. Its likely that these hinges have never been off the loco since the day it was built. Driver side of the bonnet top cleaned and primed, attention will then turn to the secondman's side Sadly some components on the loco are life expired and gone beyond repair, this is the replacement sand box cover for the No2 end drivers side ready to be refitted. Update 31/01/2026 Today saw the removal of the No2 end window screens, this is being done due to the window rubber being life expired and has gone very brittle with age. Whilst the window are out, attention will turn to the window frames. This will also give us better access to the the more fiddly areas around the window wipers and screen washers. Work has also carried on stripping No1 cab front apart, this end being in far worse condition than No2 end. Attention has also turn to the bodysides, with sections of the body being marked up for replacing over the next few week. The gutter's have also been removed due to being life-expired and in very poor condition, these will be replaced at a later date but in the meantime it gives a good opportunity to clean the area's up.  With the windows removed out and stored away, the area was rust treated and left to dry As you can see, sections of the bodywork have seen better days, this area was not helped by the sand box being full of rather wet sand which has contributed to the rot. The No2 end gangway now cleaned up and painted to help protect it. The No1 end second man's side, having been rubbed down and primed. Progress so far, still a long way to go but we are slowly getting there

A new year means new challenges! Fancy getting hands on with a restoration project in 2026? Why not become a member of the C37LG and volunteer with our team, in order to bring D6703 back to life? There's plenty to do, from working on the restoration of our locomotive, to helping our sales team at events in order to fundraise the work carried out. Check out the link below to find out more: https://www.c37lg.co.uk/membership

Christmas may be over, but the celebrations haven't stopped within the C37LG! On 28th December 1960, D6703 entered traffic at Stratford depot. The subsequent years saw the loco travel the network, calling depots such as Thornaby, Gateshead and Tinsley 'home'. 65 years later, 'home' is the Mid Norfolk Railway where the loco is undergoing extensive bodywork restoration to return it to that "as built" condition. If you'd like to give the loco a little birthday gift, to help return it to traffic, please consider donating via the link below: https://www.c37lg.co.uk/donations   Spending its 65th Birthday undercover at Dereham. Photo J Powley

November 20th was a bit of a milestone for us at Dereham as the locomotive entered the shed for its full body restoration to begin, The main highlight for us was that it managed to drive itself in there. The team will then spend the next few weeks assessing the loco and making a start on its restoration.  37003 photographed in Dereham T&RS shed. J Powley

Having now arrived back on home soil, it was time for the group to start doing some testing of what worked and didn't work on the loco prior to it entering the T&RS shed at Dereham for its restoration to begin. 37003 over the maintenance at Dereham undergoing a series of tests. C Clark

After eight years, and many challenges along the way, D6703/37003 moved from UKRL Leicester by rail to UKRL Loughborough on the 23rd October 2025 sandwiched between 37218 and 37901. 37003 leaving UKRL Leicester. Photo R Reedman After a short stayover at UKRL Loughborough, 37003 finally departed there on the 3rd November by road heading for Dereham with out chosen haulier S A Smith and arrived back home at Dereham the following day. 37003 at UKRL Loughborough. G Wolfenden Finally Home at Dereham (MNR) Photo C Clark

Another milestone reached! On 21st August 2025, for the first time in just under twelve years, D6703 moved under its own power at UKRL, Leicester, following another round of load bank testing. Words can not begin to describe how great this feels for us, after many years of toil to get to this point. Testing and fault finding remains ongoing, but we just had to share this one with you! If you'd like to help D6703 proverbially move forward some more, and over the finish line, you can donate to support our efforts by following the link below: www.c37lg.co.uk/donations - Video courtesy of Colin Makcrow

Work remains ongoing with engine testing on D6703, with load banking underway. Here D6703 is seen firing up ready for another session on 21/08/2025 - Video courtesy of Colin Makcrow

D6703 lives! 24th July 2025 saw the first sustained start up for D6703 since the power unit went back in to the loco. This is a monumental moment for us, and a major step in bringing the loco back into service. The power unit is now undergoing hours of running in tests, after which it will be load banked. Be sure to stay tuned for future updates as this work progresses. - Video courtesy of Al Pulford