The British Rail 1955 Modernisation Plan paved the way for the large-scale replacement of steam traction with diesel locomotives, and one of the most successful diesel locomotive designs to result from this was the English Electric Type 3. These 1,700hp Types 3 diesel-electric locomotives were built at English Electric’s Vulcan Foundry and by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns between 1960 and 1965, with 309 examples produced in total. When TOPS was implemented the type was designated Class 37.
The class proved popular with railwaymen and so in 1985, a major refurbishment programme for the Class 37 locomotives was sanctioned to extend the working lives of 135 locomotives. Features of the refurbishment involved plating over the four-character head codes and sealing off the nose end communication doors. Dedicated freight locomotives received lower gearing to increase the tractive effort, and some were fitted with extra ballast or even more powerful engines. A new subclass was created for locomotives refurbished with Electric Train Heating (ETH) equipment, allowing their use on passenger trains the whole year-round.
With the sectorisation of British Rail taking hold in the early-1980s, the locomotives returned to traffic following refurbishment in a wide and diverse range of liveries. Passenger machines appeared in BR Blue Large Logo, InterCity and Regional Railways schemes to name just three, whilst freight engines received numerous varieties of Railfreight livery, Transrail, Mainline and Loadhaul. The Class continued to be widely used into the Privatisation-era, with examples operating for the likes of EWS, DRS, West Coast Railways and Colas, whilst others have received ‘retro’ heritage repaints.
Features
- Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
- Era 7
- Pristine BR Blue livery
- Running No. 37034
- Equipped with a Plux22 DCC Decoder
- DCC Sound Fitted
- Split Headcode Panels – Glazed displaying ‘Dominoes’
- Original Buffer Beam Cowling
- Round Oleo Buffers
- Original Windscreen
- English Electric Cantrail Grilles
- Rivetted Boiler Roof with Double Row of Rivets
- Original Open Boiler Port and Safety Valves
- Sealed Water Filler Door and Plated Access Steps
- Fabricated Bogies
- Original Speedo Drive
- Mileage Counter
- Original Water and Fuel Tanks
- Water Filler Valve
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