The Future of UK Heavy Freight?

Popped to Ipswich today and the Class 70 there for crew familiarisation came off the stabling point to work a 'liner. Now, some might argue that a loco's appearance is of little consequence, I on the other hand am of the opinion that the lack of asthetic design input on this product is appalling. Rarely these days does anything get made without some sort of professional consultation on how the finished product will look, be it cars, washing machines or whatever.
It has been said the loco's adhere to the most stringent crash safety tests, if that is the case, then this product is a portent of things to come when Health & Safety are let loose on industrial design. A very ugly future awaits us all.

Tiny Tugs

During the Xmas break, I took the opportunity to weather a couple of my model locomotives. The above pic shows what will eventually become 60009 Carnedd Llewelyn fully filthied up with just numbers and nameplates required. This one will probably be the dirtiest of the Class 60 fleet so I was careful not to go overboard on the application of grime.

Other planned members of the Class are:

60014 Alexander Fleming in Petroleum sector livery

60078 in Mainline blue

60100 Boar of Badenoch in the same livery as 009 but cleaner.

Hornby's excellent model is of course the starting point for the loco's with 78 and 100 already purchased. I may also do 002 in EWS livery, you can't have too much of a good thing!

Echo Forty-One

Very few reports of 60 hauled trains nowadays. One working that appears to be solid though is 6E41, the Westerleigh-Lindsey tank train. Got a fair shot of 085 doing the train during the summer (the sun hid at exactly the wrong moment unfortunately) and it is a fair sized consist!

I shall ask my friendly neighbourhood Bobby to do a bit of digging on TRUST and post the times sometime soon.

John Hooson's Cl.60 Fotopic gallery link has been added to "Tugs on the Web", many thanks John.

BOGOF 66s

Although a small quantity of freight is still being shifted about by 60s, a new development has seen pairs of 66s being utilised on trains which were previously handled by single Tugs. Although 66 double-heading has been proposed before, on "jumbo-trains" designed to move large tonnages in one go, my view is that this can only be seen as a retrograde step akin to the old days of the Midland Railway, who were keen on using multiples of lower powered steam engines rather than one powerful enough to do the job solo!

I can't believe that this way of working makes economic sense either, although I suppose if you have to pay leasing charges on 250 loco's, but only have 125 jobs, you might as well double up. This must also be perceived as a backward move in terms of the positive environmental benefit of using one diesel unit rather than two.

BTW, I've added a gadget with links to a couple of Fotopic sites worth a look. My thanks to the respective owners for permission to share their sites.

Crystal Balls

The rumour mill is grinding away like a spin-dryer with the future of the 60s.

My most trusted source has informed me that the withdrawal date for the entire class was going to be the weekend of the 5th and 6th of December. Having booked on the "Pie-Man" for the 12th obviously this was not good news! However, with 66s being committed to leaf-fall duties the end date was revised to the same weekend as the tour, although I'm told DBS were reluctant to release a 60 on the day in question.

A few are saying that the withdrawal will only be temporary, with one pundit going as far to say overhauls and repaints are on the cards for up to 75% of the class because of reliability issues with the 66s.

It is a fact the 60s are the most powerful diesel traction unit in the DBS fleet and it would be hard to see how they can do without. Unfortunately, DBS have every right to remain tight lipped about how they want to run their business so rumour and speculation are rife amongst the hobby.

Post-tour, a handful have been plodding away today on various freight duties, much the same as they were before the supposed "Doughnut Doomsday". From my point of view, obviously I'm thrilled a few are still active, for one it means I haven't reached the end point of this blog before it has had chance to begin!

60040

040 might well end up as having the accolade of being the last Cl.60 to haul a passenger train. Seen above on the rear of the "Pye Bridge Pie-Man" railtour on Saturday December 12th at Pinxton, she did the business from Stanton to Toton and from Tuxford to Toton via Sheffield.
(Picture by Robert Reedman.)

Toton Tugs

The Pye Bridge Pie-Man railtour on December 12th included a trundle around the back of Toton depot offering the chance to see many of the 60's stored there.
60052 and 60080 started off the list of around 30 loco's on and around the main shed.

Toton Tugs

60003.

Toton Tugs

004, 021, 500 & 087.

Toton Tugs

068, 004, 021 and more!

Toton Tugs

052 and 080

60011

Mainline Blue Tug at Peak Forest.

60059

Star of the MNR 2009 Gala.

20135 & 20030

Of course, man cannot live by Tugs alone. A hankering for times past means model layouts placate ones memory of "better days". Whether they actually were better is subject to your view thru those rose tinted specs of course,

20030 & 20135

The layout is effectively "two-in-one". Whilst the track layout stays the same, by changing the stock, motor vehicles and other period detail, it can represent either the GE/GN area as it was in May 1980 or operations around West Yorkshire between 1996-1999.

60019

Tug 19 hauling 6L39 Mountsorrel-Trowse stone train through Thetford on Monday 28th September 2009.