GB Railfreight has announced that testing of the first Class 69s should begin on the Severn Valley Railway in January, with the locomotives entering traffic later in the year. Ten Class 56s are being converted into ‘69s’ by Progress Rail at its Longport facility, near Stoke-on-Trent. They are required to meet GBRf’s growing portfolio. Speaking exclusively to RAIL, GBRf Engineering Director Bob Tiller said that work was under way on seven locomotives, with three more to follow. The contract includes an option for a further six if required.
The idea to re-engine Class 56s, which were built in 1976-84, first surfaced just after the Trainload freight companies set up just before privatisation (Loadhaul, Mainline and Transrail) were acquired by Wisconsin Central to create what became English, Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS). The Americans looked to upgrade existing British Rail fleets (such as the ‘56s’) before instead ordering 250 Class 66s, so no design was ever taken forward.
Why resurrect the idea almost 25 years later?
Tiller explained: “We need motive power. Luckily I have been able to find Class 66s abroad.”