Class 66 anyone?

Wouldn't it be nice!

 

I can understand the NRM maybe one day preserving a class 66, but as for privately. Why would anyone want one ?

Do punters really want to turn up to a UK steam railway to see a class 66 ? Not me for sure

 

The NYMR and the Severn Valley have both acquired a number of Ballast Hoppers in the last year or 2. So we have started the ball rolling.

 

Why? What makes them different from any other diesel and unworthy of preservation?

I write as someone thoroughly underwhelmed by them as an enthusiast, who also appreciates their importance to the industry.


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If the NRM are preserving anything, it should be a 59 rather than a 66. Much more important, symbolising the end of BREL and the start of our reliance on foreign-builds.

They must be really knackered by now.

Simon

 

I believe that because of there higher tractive effort they are still in demand

 

Surely 66's are air only, so would require there own rake of coaches???

 

If you really want something different, one of these is up for sale from Network Rail.

http://www.ontrackplant.com/photo/dr79200-1

 

Would the fitting of Vac gear to a 66 be difficult?
How many times has the reverse happened with Air fitted to previously Vac only locos?

 

Or vac fitted to previously unbraked locos, such as industrial tank engines?

 

I personally would rather see a class 60 preserved than class 66 which I have considered a soulless looking locomotive.

 

Yes, the class 66 may look a bit soulless, but it is surprisingly what a different livery can do

I like this one!

http://www.mainlinediesels.net/images/basic/progressrail_20148150007_56.jpg

Isn`t this engine already reserved the NRM?

 

Bet that was said about engines like a std 4 tank forty years ago.

 

I am a steam fan primarily, but I do think the 66s have a powerful charachter and make an impressive amount of noise. I take my son to football training on Wednesday nights at an all weather pitch in Wilmslow which is next to the Manchester-Crewe line and a container working to Trafford Park passes each time at about 7.30 at night and you can hear it from quite a way off.

Yes, one should be preserved, they have a significant role in freight workings

 

One thing to remember is that the spares for GM 710 engines ( as used in class 66's) will be available for many years to come. They were a standard prime mover for GM for many years but have been replaced by lower emission power units. Spares for 645 series power units ( class 59's) are still easy to obtain as they are still in use with many class 1 railways in North America.

Cheers, Neil

 

Yes the 59's still move the 4000t stone trains from Westbury to Acton single headed. The high tractive effort comes in useful on many steeply graded lines in the former Southern Region. From memory, a 59 can lift 1750t from a standing start at Westbury through Warminster, whereas a class 66 can shift 1365t which is close to a 56 or a 58.

Cheers, Neil

PS Anyone interested and I can extract details from the Junction to Junction load book!

 

Do they have a mechanical or electronic fuel system??

If its the latter then it may be no..................

 

Electronic, I think this is where problems will lie in a few years time, it won't be so much as obtaining parts, but things to do with software, I recall that there was a problem with a 50 going to Holyhead a few years ago and it was software related so it had to go to Valley to be turned on the triangle, rather than swap it for a spare taken along.

 

Could it be possible to re engineer the fuel system to do away with the electronics and fit a mechanical or simple electrical system instead?

 

Anything is possible where engines are concerned, the problem comes when the rest of the components on the locomotive rely on an electronic system and intergrating the mechanical system with it, as a neighbour of mine discovered trying to fit an 3 litre straight six engine from an old MGC car into a series 5 BMW who after 3 years gave up and took it all to the scrapyard.