Description
DESCRIPTION
CLASS 37 305 CENTRE HEADCODE BR BLUE
PROTOTYPE/HISTORY
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.
MODEL
1:76 Scale model of a Class 37 Diesel Locomotive decorated in BR livery. This model features lots of expertly applied details as based on the prototype, a high level of body detail and excellent running characteristics.
FEATURES
1:76 Scale Model
Analogue DC Model
NEM Couplings
Highly Detailed Finish
All axle drive
Electrical pickup from all wheels
Separate metal bearings fitted to each axle
Diecast metal chassis block and bogie towers
Diecast metal gearboxes, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
Detachable coupling pockets to NEM362 standards fitted to each bogie
Bogies constructed from multiple components featuring full relief detail
Separately applied metal detail parts, including grab handles, windscreen wipers and etched fan grilles
Sprung metal buffers
Each model supplied with a full set of decorated, model-specific bufferbeam pipework and accessory parts
Directional Lighting
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