32-781SDDS Class 37 No. 37116 BR Blue (Special) DCC Sound OO Gauge In Stock
Built at the English Electric Vulcan foundry in 1962 and numbered D6816 this class 37 was first allocated to Sheffield Darnall where it spent its early years working around Sheffield and various northeast depots. In February 1974, upon gaining BR blue livery, it was renumbered to No. 37116. Within just under a year it was transferred to Stratford in January 1975 becoming an eastern region regular.
No. 37116 first gained celebrity status when it appeared at the Norwich Crown Point open day on the 30th May 1987, wearing a very striking variation on BR large logo blue with some unique embellishments. It is in this livery that our model is represented. By June 1988 it had lost its unique livery after overhaul at Doncaster works in favour of the ubiquitous large logo blue, but it was still unique in being the only 37 in this livery that retained its original buffer skirts.
No. 37116 was later transferred back to Tinsley during mid-1989 where it gained the unofficial painted name ‘Comet’. After cascading into Transrail ownership in 1996, it kept its celebrity status being repainted into a unique version of BR blue with Transrail branding but losing its bufferbeam skirts and rebuilt with flush fronts. It was also named ‘Sister Dora’. Secured for preservation and restoration by the Chinnor and Princes Risborough railway in 2007, it is one of several class 37/0s currently working on the mainline for Colas rail providing power for test trains and various duties.
