Now in stock are a duo of newly tooled TT:120 Scale diesel locomotives from Hornby - the iconic Class 37 and the Class 50!
The first releases of these new toolings are available now - with the Class 37 available in EW&S maroon/ gold and the Class 50 available in classic BR blue and GBRailfreight liveries. Further variations of each model are expected to follow along in the near future.
The modesl come fitted with a Next 18-Pin decoder and speaker, meaning they can be run on DCC and with Hornby’s HM7000 Bluetooth-controlled system, which also includes sound via a speaker inside the locomotive.
Class 37 Locomotives - In Stock Now
Class 37 Locomotives - Coming Soon
Class 50 Locomotives - In Stock Now
Class 50 Locomotives - Coming Soon
Product Features
Highly detailed models with separately fitted parts including handrails, etched grilles, pipework, lamp irons, underframe relief etc.
Digital & Sound capability - NEXT-18 decoder socket with pre-fitted speakers
Heavy diecast chassis
Powerful 5 Pole Skew wound motor with dual flywheels, dual bogie drive and brass axle bearings
All wheel electrical pickup
Front and rear kinematic coupling arm system
Directional lighting - Night/Day Headlights (requires a DCC decoder to be fitted) + Separately controllable taillights (requires a DCC decoder to be fitted).
Cab interior lighting (requires a DCC decoder to be fitted)
Diecast metal buffers
Accessory bag contains optional fit snow ploughs, vacuum pipes and couplings.
Prototype Information - Class 37
Given the designation Class 37 under the TOPS classification system rolled out by British Railways in 1973, 309 examples of what until then had been known as English Electric Type 3s were built between 1960 and 1965. These locomotives had two bogies, each with six powered wheels, referred to as Co-Co, and a power output of 1,750hp (1,305kW) from their turbocharged V12 diesel engines.They were designed for freight work, but also for passenger duties on secondary routes, for which many of the class were fitted with steam-heat boilers to warm the passenger coaches.
They had relatively low gearing, which was ideal for moving heavy freight trains, yet they were also capable of speeds of 90mph (140km/h) which was equally useful on passenger trains. Originally numbered D6700-D6999 and D6600-D6608, under TOPS they became Nos. 37001-37308. Although it was an English Electric design and built at its Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows, a number were also built by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns in the north-east, the company having become part of English Electric in 1955.
The class 37s were extremely versatile machines and saw service across the whole of the UK, apart from on the Southern Region south of London. In the 1980s, they were selected as a standard Type 3 and many were given overhauls to extend their working lives into the 1990s. Fitted with Electric Train Heating (ETH), several examples went to Scotland to work passenger services on the West Highland Line and also the Far North Line, while others were deployed on Welsh Marches trains, the Wherry Line in Norfolk, South Wales, the West Country and the Cumbrian Coast line.
Some were given replacement Mirrlees or Ruston engines for a proposed Class 38, but in the event were given the sub-classification 37/9. The locomotives’ relatively low-axle loading for their weight and power left it as the only main line type available in significant numbers for lines with weight restrictions. Many are still in use to this day, used mainly on freight, maintenance/engineering trains and empty stock movement, with a growing number finding their way onto charter work with operators such as West Coast Railways. As of 2024, 65 examples were still registered for main line work, plus there are more than 30 that have been preserved in the UK.
Prototype Information - Class 50
The Class 50 locomotives, built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967-1968 were the last purpose-designed mixed-traffic locomotive built in the UK. 50 examples were built in total.
Upon their introduction they were used on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The aim was to speed-up passenger timings on the then non-electrified portion up to Glasgow, and to haul express passenger trains at 100 mph.
By 1974, the entire line had been electrified so the locomotives were re-deployed to other regions as had been planned. When delivered, the Class 50s were leased to British Rail by a subsidiary of English Electric. They were later sold to the British Railways Board.
The Class 50s proved to be incredibly powerful, indeed following the full electrification of the WCML and the introduction of more powerful DMUs in the late 1980’s they were almost pointlessly powerful, and they began to be withdrawn as their roles were handed to more efficient DMUs.
All examples of the Class were named which was rather unusual for corporate BR diesel locomotives, and in the end 18 examples have been preserved.