Hornby OO R30545 RailRoad British Steel Class 37 Teesside Steelmaster 37501

Built by English Electric at its Vulcan Foundry in Lancashire, the locomotive this RailRoad model is based on started life in January 1961 as D6705, going new to Stratford depot in London. After becoming 37005 under TOPS, it was rebuilt as a Class 37/5 in April 1985, which included replacing its EE generator with a new Brush unit, and a complete re-wire, with a consequent renumbering to 37501. It was then painted into its distinctive British Steel pale blue colour scheme, gaining Thornaby Kingfisher motif and British Steel logos. It was then named ‘Teesside Steelmaster’ in 1987. It was later modified for the proposed Channel Tunnel sleeper ‘Nightstar’ project (which was later aborted) to become a 37/6 in February 1995 and renumbered to 37601. It is currently one of six Class 37s leased by Rail Operations Group from Europhoenix for contracted movement of passenger stock, including EMUs. It was returned to its 1987 guise during a repaint in 2025.