Class 68 Progress, what's the latest?

[ac6000cw]

'Winter 2014' was suggested in the press releases, I think.

 

[Sunbird24]

When will we start seeing the Chiltern 68s appearing on the rail?

There may be one or two in the next batch which could be end of July or early September (August is the main holiday month so many factories here either close completely or do only a limited amount of work). The remainder are likely in October or November.
The Chiltern plan was to have them all in use before the end of the year.

 

[The Planner]

Last I had heard was that they intended to start driver training in August.

 

[Sunbird24]

Last I had heard was that they intended to start driver training in August.

That would figure as the one awaiting painting with 68009 is almost certainly 68010, if not from the 68011 up series, which are all for Chiltern and should be in the July shipment. They do seen to be appearing in 3's at the moment so we could see 10 & 11 (both Chiltern) in the next shipment, along with 9 (DRS) and maybe 1 (DRS) if it gets finished, if it didn't sneak out already!
I may get more info in a couple of days, if not then at the end of the month.
A partly built 68012 was seen on the traverser on 10th June being moved between shops and another 68 was inside the small 2-road shed.
68006, 68007 & 68008 were unloaded from MV Atlantic at Liverpool's Gladstone Dock this morning. Picture here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuarts-phots/14388467671/
I see from the picture that 68007 is still missing a cabside number!

 

[Sunbird24]

Things have been quiet since the delivery of 68006/7/8 but the latest news from Valencia is that 68009 Titan is now virtually complete in full DRS livery and the nameplate fitted.
The first two Chiltern liveried locos have appeared but so far without any logos/numbers/names and no sign of the paper which usually shows the ID but they are likely to be 68010 & 68011. They are 2-tone grey, or silver and grey, the same as 67010/13/14.
A 4th loco is also outside so probably 68012, still in 2-tone beige and white, which is the standard factory base finish.
Still no sign of 68001.

 

[js47604]

Chiltern Driver training to start towards the end of September,won't happen before due to normal summer leave demands etc.

 

[92002]

68003 has been based a DRS Motherwell for the last
Couple of weeks and made some runs to Grangemouth.

The plan is to run from Motherwell to both Inverness, over the
Hills and finally to Aberdeen. To finally test the type

68005 is currently at Carlisle for staff training.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Managed to see 68003 at Motherwell, bit out of the way for me all the way from Croydon. It was behind the big shed so is in not visible from the Motherwell to Cumbernauld line. It was easily visible from the B&Q car park which means it is visible in the distance across the B&Q car park from the West Coast Mainline (Motherwell-Newton).

 

[Sunbird24]

Seen on the morning of 11th July 2014.
68001 still in white livery with a large Vossloh logo on the side is in the main yard next to 68011.
68009 Titan in DRS livery is in the storage yard, may be complete.
68010 in Chiltern livery in the main yard being worked on in an open shed.
68011 in Chiltern livery in the main yard between 68001 and a shed.
68012* (possibly) in Chiltern livery, no logos, number or nameplates.
68013* could be in the painting bay.
68014 in base finish in the storage yard, possibly awaiting painting.
68015* next to come out of the erecting shop.

*The status of these 3 is not certain as no ID papers could be seen but the 3rd one to receive Chiltern livery is most likely 68012 and 68013 is likely to have followed it into the paint shop. One in base livery was at the front of the erecting shop is likely to be 68015.
Only the ends of 68010 and 68011 could be seen so no idea if logos, nameplates and works plates have been fitted yet.
68014 has paper ID labels attached (Loc No 14 DRS).
7 of these locos were seen in the space of a few minutes but it took a while longer trying to ID some of them.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Status on morning of 18th July 2014.

68001 - not seen.
68009 Titan - leaving on a low loader as I arrived!
68010 - not seen. Might have gone or inside waiting for low loader to return.
68011 - Chiltern livery, no visible logos, nameplate or works plate.
68012 - not seen or not painted - see 68014 below.
68013 - Chiltern livery, no logo or nameplate.
68014 - still unpainted, or was this 68012?
68015 - in an overall pale cream livery with paper ID plates LOC No 15.

One 68 will be at Innotrans, Berlin, in September, no idea which one.
I have not seen nameplates on any of the Chiltern locos.
I will add a link to the photos of 68009 later.
I have no idea yet whether 68009 is travelling alone or will be joined by one or two others as 68010 and 68011 were both close to completion.

 

[Rhydgaled]

Any pics of a 68 in the livery that led to the unfounded rumour that some would be in Pullman (Northern Belle) livery?

 

[Sunbird24]

I have lots but I have an agreement with the factory staff that photographs taken on the premises cannot be published. I do have a few taken on the test track which runs parallel to a canal and road/footpath away from the factory so I will move some to another album and put the link here. Give me some time as currently I cannot upload to facebook.
I have put them in this album along with the pictures of 68009 Titan setting off today. Interestingly, 68009 is the one that was photographed on the test track (as UKLIGHT No 9) along with ETF No 1 (became 4029) which was wearing a similar livery.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...130.1073741830.1192973669&type=1&l=4d65098acc

 

[Rhydgaled]

Thanks for the pics, it does look a bit like (faded) Pullman livery I suppose

 

[ac6000cw]

Having now seen several 68s 'up close' (and heard one running, albeit stationary) at the DRS open day yesterday, I have to say I'm impressed with the build quality and standard of finish. The Vossloh people should be proud of their product - right down to the builders plates on the bogies, which are cast and properly painted.

And as for the noise when the engine is revved up - as another enthusiast commented to me, these are probably the best locos to have arrived on these shores since privatisation - they not only look as if they mean business, they sound like it too....

General opinion from the DRS people I chatted to was that they should be out on the mainline earning their keep within the next few weeks.

 

[Sunbird24]

68011 in Chiltern livery of 2-tone grey with orange lining at the roof line, no logos and no name, is sitting on a low-loader in the yard and will probably leave for the docks tomorrow morning to join 68009 Titan.
68010 in Chiltern livery is at the back of the yard almost hidden from view.
Another Chiltern liveried 68 is inside the small 2-road shed with no number on the end so probably 68013 which was in that condition 2 days ago.
68015 is still in its cream undercoat with paper ID labels.
68014 (or 68012) is at the back of the yard. These were the only two not painted as of last week.

 

[The Planner]

Doesn't matter if they look like Pippa Middleton, if they aren't up to the job they might as well be Susan Boyle, until they can prove they can haul better than a 66 then they are just another loco.

 

[Emblematic]

Doesn't matter if they look like Pippa Middleton, if they aren't up to the job they might as well be Susan Boyle, until they can prove they can haul better than a 66 then they are just another loco.

Why would you even expect them to 'haul better' than a 66, whatever that means? They are a mixed traffic loco, not a dedicated heavy freight machine, so they are unlikely to be put on similar jobs to even do a comparison. They are going to appear on passenger services, so looks are not entirely irrelevant.

 

[bigdelboy]

Seems appropriate on this thread class 68 seems to have missed its first opportunity for a passenger hauled railtour on 19th july from Eastleigh to Crewe/Chester which it was heavily promoted to head.

Discussed more fully here::
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=103365

 

[Sunbird24]

Doesn't matter if they look like Pippa Middleton, if they aren't up to the job they might as well be Susan Boyle, until they can prove they can haul better than a 66 then they are just another loco.

Do you not consider it a little unfair to compare a light weight, medium speed mixed traffic Bo-Bo with a heavy-weight, lower speed freight Co-Co. It's more a question of will they perform as per the design and purchase requirements. Much of this has already been proved with the testing carried out at Velim with 68001 and the ongoing testing in everyday use with the two prototype Eurolights. The main changes from the Eurolights was fitting them into UK gauge bodies, which involved lengthening the frames by about 4', which increased weight by about 5 tons. Time will tell.

 

[The Planner]

So are DRS not expecting to run Intermodals with them?

 

[ModernRailways]

Doesn't matter if they look like Pippa Middleton, if they aren't up to the job they might as well be Susan Boyle, until they can prove they can haul better than a 66 then they are just another loco.

Are 70s more or less powerful than 68s? And which costs more, the 70 or 68? In my view, the 68s need to be proven to be more useful on passenger services, than a 67 or a Traxx loco and on freight they need to be better than the 70s or 66s and potentially on par with a 92!

 

[ash39]

In my view, the 68s need to be proven to be more useful on passenger services, than a 67 or a Traxx loco and on freight they need to be better than the 70s or 66s and potentially on par with a 92!

What you're describing is impossible.

They are not designed for heavy freight. For a start, 66's and 70's are co-co and can apply traction more easily due to an extra axle on each bogie. The benefit of the bo-bo arrangement on the 68 is lack of weight which means it can run faster (100mph, in this case).

So a fairer comparison for the Class 68 would be the Class 67, which you mentioned in your post as well. They will probably be more fuel efficient due to being more modern (which is probably why Chiltern want them to replace the 67's), and I suspect they will be slightly more competent on freight due to the lower top speed (100mph vs 125mph) which may give it better traction at lower speeds.

As for the 68's still in Valencia, I'm surprised photos haven't surfaced of the Chiltern liveried one yet. Looking forward to seeing how that looks on them.

 

[ac6000cw]

Doesn't matter if they look like Pippa Middleton, if they aren't up to the job they might as well be Susan Boyle, until they can prove they can haul better than a 66 then they are just another loco.

Note - my 'best loco' comment was a bit of diesel-head fun based largely on the noise they make (as I thought the sentence made clear).

I agree with Sunbird24 - the design has been/is being tested by Vossloh, but time will tell what their real-world performance is like.

And yes, they will be used on intermodal trains - that's why they are designed as mixed-traffic locos.

 

[Beveridges]

So are DRS not expecting to run Intermodals with them?

Yes Intermodals and Chiltern LHCS are two of the types of work they will do

 

[Sunbird24]

As for the 68's still in Valencia, I'm surprised photos haven't surfaced of the Chiltern liveried one yet. Looking forward to seeing how that looks on them.

The reason photos have not appeared yet is that Vossloh Espana will not permit any photographs taken on or of (not off) their premises to be published without their express permission. This was given to DRS for their locos for the unveiling ceremony. Since none of the Chiltern locos have left yet no pictures. Tomorrow may be a different story when 68011 comes through the gates. Since it is in plain 2-tone grey I suspect vynils may be added when it arrives in UK. I have photos of 10, 11 & 13 in 2-tone grey but they cannot be published.
PM me
PS It looks like a grey version of the plain blue one in my avatar.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I wonder if there will be vinyls on the Chiltern locos. Except for the usual legal/safety stuff there are no vinyls on the silver class 67s. Have they been given names yet? Will they be following on the DRS scheme or will they have something more referential to Chiltern?

 

[ac6000cw]

By the way, the DRS compass livery 'paintwork' is actually all vinyl on the 68's - I was looking at the overlapping joins in it on Saturday.

(and the Cumbrian map in the 'compass' doesn't show any rail lines, just roads complete with road numbers.....!)

 

[ash39]

I wonder if there will be vinyls on the Chiltern locos. Except for the usual legal/safety stuff there are no vinyls on the silver class 67s. Have they been given names yet? Will they be following on the DRS scheme or will they have something more referential to Chiltern?

I hope and expect they will be named in a similar fashion to the rest of them.

By the way, the DRS compass livery 'paintwork' is actually all vinyl on the 68's - I was looking at the overlapping joins in it on Saturday.

(and the Cumbrian map in the 'compass' doesn't show any rail lines, just roads complete with road numbers.....!)

I noticed this as well, the loco is actually royal blue underneath (similar blue to the Bardon Aggregates Freightliner 66). The general finish of the locos is very good but there were a few dodgy bits where the vinyls were too tricky to fit, and there was just exposed light blue paintwork!

 

[158722]

Silver 68s on Rail Express twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/railexpress

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Rehosted those images for people who can't access Twitter:

 

[Sunbird24]

Must have been taken several days ago as 68011 was put on the low loader last week and is now on its way with 68009. Both are likely on a quayside in a part of Valencia port which is not open to the public. 68010 was still present on Sunday but could have followed 68011 yesterday or today. No ships have been recorded leaving Valencia for the UK up until last night but a possible carrier is in port at the moment. Destinations of ships are only given after departure. Most of the berths are hidden from view by the huge piles of containers between them and the public areas of the harbour.
I tried to look from the south beach today but the situation with containers is the same, they are piled high all around the port and 2 fully loaded container ships completed the screen! At the moment I have been unable to find any public location with a view of the inside berths where they are most likely to be.