Hornby expands TT:120 diesel range with three Class 37s in stock

Hornby has put three TT:120 Class 37s into stock, and the important detail is not just that another diesel has arrived. The spread of identities now reaches from 1980s-era workhorses to early-2000s survivors, which gives TT:120 modellers a locomotive they can actually build a scene around instead of a one-off curiosity. Split-headcode 37086 in BR blue and centre-headcode 37254, Driver Robin Prince M.B.E., are the kind of named, era-specific releases that make a layout feel anchored in a real period.

That matters because Hornby had already signalled the class’s importance to TT:120 before this stock arrival. In October 2025, the company had announced TT:120 Class 37s with a planned autumn release and pricing of £159.99 for DCC Ready and £214.99 for DCC Sound-fitted. Hornby then brought the locomotive back into the spotlight in its April 2026 TT:120 range launch, where it sat alongside a BR Class 37 freight train set and other diesel additions, and the company described the Class 37 as a fan-favourite that had proved extremely successful.

The two key TT:120 identities tell the story. Hornby’s TT3057M 37086 is an Era 7 model, set in the TOPS years from 1971 to 1986. Hornby says the locomotive entered service at Gateshead in December 1962 as D6786, was renumbered 37086 in February 1974, later became 37516 in 1985, and is still in operation with West Coast Railways. That makes it a strong fit for late BR freight and passenger scenes where a tired but still hard-working Class 37 belongs on the front of a mixed rake.

TT3045M 37254 pushes the other way, into privatisation-era territory. Hornby says it was built in 1964 at Vulcan Works near Newton-le-Willows, entered traffic on 5 January 1965 as D6954, was renumbered in April 1974, later named Cardiff Canton, withdrawn in 1999, restored by the 37254 Locomotive Group, and repainted in retro InterCity Swallow livery in 2013. Hornby places it in Era 9, and says it is currently operational with Colas Rail.

That kind of spread is exactly what TT:120 needed from a diesel staple. The Class 37 class itself numbered 309 locomotives built between 1960 and 1965, and its long life has kept it useful on freight, secondary passenger work, and preservation scenes alike. Hornby’s TT:120 versions add working directional and cab lights, a 170g die-cast chassis, and a Next-18 decoder socket, which makes the range feel less like a token entry and more like a credible operating roster. With stock on shelves and road numbers that reach across eras, TT:120 now has a Class 37 that can finally do the job layouts have been waiting for.