Does anyone think there will be even more new freight locomotives after the class 68?

[Photohunter71]

Just a wee question which I'd been thinking about for a bit,I was wondering if there would be any more new freight and or passenger locomotives after the class 68? I personally would like to see it,but a varied fleet of modern traction and not a uniform samey class which made me stop filming and hunting numbers in the first place.

 

[David10]

With most of the UK diesel fleet under 15 years old and there being a surplus at that, not likely to be much new in the future. Only potential new locos on the horizon aside from the 68s may come as a result of Arriva's tender for loco haulage. But any return to the more varied days of the past, forget it.

 

[jopsuk]

If the 68 is succesful, expect to see retirement from front line freight use of the Class 37, 47 56 and 57 that remain. Perhaps even the 20s.

 

[jonhewes]

It's a shame that the Class 66 couldn't have been designed to run at 100 MPH and be ETS enabled (or at least be capable of having it fitted if required) without compromising on it's heavy haul capabilities.

If this had been the case we could have avoided the need for Class 67s and forthcoming Class 68

 

[jopsuk]

I thought part of the point is that the 68 should be a somewhat lighter loco? The 67 would be rather more "go anywhere" if it had been delivered as a Co-Co; it weighs 30tonnes less than a 66.

 

[fgwrich]

If the 68 is succesful, expect to see retirement from front line freight use of the Class 37, 47 56 and 57 that remain. Perhaps even the 20s.

I'd have thought the 20s would be one of the first locos to be leaving the DRS fleet if successfull.

New loco wise, i wouldn't give up yet - any future loco order are probably likely to be Electric locos though (Hopefully some Taurus too).

 

[Yew]

I'm not sure about 20's. They are useful for sandite trains, 2X66 is overkill really.

 

[HSTEd]

I'd think that the Class 20s are safe barring an order for additional CargoSprinters, anything else on flask and small engineering trains, especially sandite and RHTT, is really insane overkill.

 

[jopsuk]

I'm not sure about 20's. They are useful for sandite trains, 2X66 is overkill really.

but the Eurolights (68s) will be only a few tonnes more than 20- though rather more powerful than 20s, 37s and 47s.

 

[gage75]

Chiltern Main Line are looking to procure new locos for their passenger service, having specified that to be required by the end of dec '14, (rail magazine)

 

[Photohunter71]

Would be good to see some Traxx and Taurus here too,,maybe the new East Coast operators may buy some? I thought there wasn't a surplus of Locomotives anyway,and the GBRf 66 734 being written off by loss adjustors should add to the deficit of locos now.Anyway about the 68's for DRS,,any progress reports on how they are getting on with the construction of them?

 

[Class86Fan]

It's a shame that the Class 66 couldn't have been designed to run at 100 MPH and be ETS enabled (or at least be capable of having it fitted if required) without compromising on it's heavy haul capabilities.

The Class 66 locos were designed for heavy freight duties.

 

[whhistle]

Class 68?
I must have missed that somewhere :P

I see, it's really a Class 70.

 

[ainsworth74]

I thought there wasn't a surplus of Locomotives anyway,and the GBRf 66 734 being written off by loss adjustors should add to the deficit of locos now.

You mean apart from the all the 66s that have been sent overseas in the last few years because there's no work for them here? There might be specific operators with a shortage of locomotives but there certainly isn't a shortage overall in the UK.

 

[MK Tom]

Chiltern Main Line are looking to procure new locos for their passenger service, having specified that to be required by the end of dec '14, (rail magazine)

Yeah according to the Railway Magazine they're to be 100mph capable and will obviously need to be able to work with the DVTs. Would the 68 fit the bill?

 

[David10]

Yeah according to the Railway Magazine they're to be 100mph capable and will obviously need to be able to work with the DVTs. Would the 68 fit the bill?

Yes, built with a top speed of 160kph and not a big deal to modify for use with DVTs.

 

[captainbigun]

The first batch of 68s are not going to be AAR fitted and currently there's no intention of doing so.

 

[Rhydgaled]

The first batch of 68s are not going to be AAR fitted and currently there's no intention of doing so.

How about TDM, or anything else that would enable them to run push-pull services?