Accurascale Class 37/6
◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Accurascale Class 37/6 37605 DRS blue ◆ PRICE £169.99 (DCC-ready), £259.99 (DCC sound)
◆ AVAILABILITY Accurascale stockists Web www.accurascale.co.uk
The third batch of Accurascale’s Class 37s arrived in September and we were lucky enough to receive a sound-fitted sample of 37605, resplendent in the original Direct Rail Services blue livery.
The Class 37/6 fleet was created in the mid-1990s, when a dozen locomotives were converted for European Passenger Services (EPS), with the intention of hauling Nightstar services between London and the South West/South Wales, as well as moving Class 373 Eurostar sets with the aid of barrier vehicles.
The 12 chosen locomotives were taken from the Class 37/5 sub-class (confusingly, some of the refurbished Class 37/5s – designed for freight work – also carried numbers in the 376XX series!) and modified at Doncaster Works in 1994. Along with the previous modifications, including extra fuel tanks and replacement alternators, the new ‘37/6s’ were fitted with ex-Class 50 bogies, re-geared for 90mph running. Electric Train Supply equipment was also installed, with external control switch panels added to each side of the nose. Vacuum brake gear was removed and extra jumper cables were fitted to the front of each nose.