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Class 68 Progress, what's the latest?

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Phil.

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Class 33 said:
I had a journey onboard a Class 68 back in September. I did a Bristol-London-Birmingham-Bristol trip especially just to get a ride on a Class 68 from London-Birmingham. Loved the journey, very nice trains with a lovely engine sound, and comfortable seating too.

So far my only journey onboard one though. Will have to book another journey before too long. A shame I have to go out of my way to get a ride on them though. Wish they had these running through my region(Bristol). They'd be perfect and much better for use on Arriva Cross Country services instead of those silly Voyagers! But fat chance of that actually becoming a reality I expect! If I want to travel between Bristol and the North East or Scotland instead of travelling direct(no change of train) on a Voyager with Arriva Cross Country, I instead travel via London with GWR and Virgin Trains East Coast instead on far more comfortable trains! But if Class 68's were operating between Bristol and the North East/Scotland, I'd be happy to travel direct. But as I said, fat chance of that ever happening!
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Confused of Penzance here.
"I had a journey on board a class 68...". "...very nice trains", "...and comfortable seating too". "So far my only journey on board one".

Do you mean you were on board a train hauled by a class 68 or that you were seated on the class 68?
 
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Harbornite

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Phil. said:
Confused of Penzance here.
"I had a journey on board a class 68...". "...very nice trains", "...and comfortable seating too". "So far my only journey on board one".

Do you mean you were on board a train hauled by a class 68 or that you were seated on the class 68?
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I see you're being pedantic, I think he means he was on a train hauled by a class 68.
 
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MatthewRead

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37038 said:
2nd set tnt 68s, not replacement. Will work the following SX from w/c 27/06

2P06 06.52 Norwich to Great Yarmouth 07.24
2P07 07.32 Great Yarmouth to Norwich 08.04
2P10 08.09 Norwich to Great Yarmouth 08.40
2P11 08.45 Great Yarmouth to Norwich 09.16
2J70 10.05 Norwich to Lowestoft 10.49
2J73 10.57 Lowestoft to Norwich 11.32
2P26 15.36 Norwich to Great Yarmouth 16.08
2P27 16.17 Great Yarmouth to Norwich 16.49
2P30 17.06 Norwich to Great Yarmouth 17.40
2C31 17.47 Great Yarmouth to Norwich 18.22
2P38 19.33 Norwich to Great Yarmouth 20.05
2P39 20.17 Great Yarmouth to Norwich 20.49
2J92 21.05 Norwich to Lowestoft 21.49
5S36 22.00 Lowestoft to Norwich 22.39
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Will this just be on weekdays or on weekends as well?
 
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Phil.

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Harbornite said:
I see you're being pedantic, I think he means he was on a train hauled by a class 68.
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I'm not being pedantic. "I had a journey on board a class 68" has a very different meaning from, "I travelled on a train that was hauled by a class 68".
 
Harbornite

Harbornite

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Phil. said:
I'm not being pedantic. "I had a journey on board a class 68" has a very different meaning from, "I travelled on a train that was hauled by a class 68".
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Just think about it, why would he be in the cab of a class 68? It's pretty obvious that he traveled on a 68-hauled train, even I can tell despite the poor wording of the original comment.
 
Sunbird24

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68028-68031 are all looking complete at the factory today and have been moved to the front so may move to the port this week. Still no sign of the last 3.
 
Sunbird24

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Bobcp said:
Eemslift Hendrika on its way from Sagunto to Workington.
Scheduled to arrive on Sunday May 21st. at 14.00 hrs.
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I wonder what is on it as I photographed 68029 at the factory on Sunday but did not see the other 3. It's possible they were already at Sagunto and 68029 was moved there on Monday or yesterday. Will be passing by the factory later today.
 
CosherB

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WNXX reporting:

DRS notes...


Re-visiting the earlier speculation regarding additional Class 68s - this seems to be still on the table with an order for ten tier 111b compliant locomotives said to be being the/an option (68035-68044).
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Does DRS have enough work to keep 54 68s and 88s occupied?!
 
TimboM

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CosherB said:
WNXX reporting:



Does DRS have enough work to keep 54 68s and 88s occupied?!
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I would very much think they have (and will in future) only ordered locos to meet (expected) demand.

The 68s particularly are pretty much the go-to loco now for any passenger hauled services (Chiltern, Scotrail, East Anglia, TPE to come etc.) - considerably better than 67s - so there's plenty of demand there for the foreseeable future. The Chiltern deal is near the start of a 10 year (I think) contract for 6 locos and I believe the latest TPE requirement was 19 locos, so that's 25 accounted for already.

Added to that the nuclear flask work which requires 2 locos and they're now using 68s on mostly (as requested by the new DRS boss) and other freight (e.g. Tesco) and Network Rail work...

There's also an evident fleet refresh going on, with a lot of the 'classic traction' DRS started life off with (20s/37s/47s etc.) being sold on/taken out of use, so some of these 68/88s are replacing those, rather than being for new work.

I expect in the not too distant future, DRS will have a fleet that comprises the 68s/88s and the 66s and not much else, other than perhaps the Thunderbird 57s.
 
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ac6000cw

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TimboM said:
I expect in the not too distant future, DRS will have a fleet that comprises the 68s/88s and the 66s and not much else, other than perhaps the Thunderbird 57s.
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That is my feeling too.

I also wouldn't be surprised to find the DRS 66s 'under review' when their leases come up for renewal, given that DRS is now more a 'mixed-traffic' operator than a freight operator and (AFAIK) the 68s are probably more fuel-efficient.

A (not very serious) thought - for those situations when 4 axles is not quite enough to start a heavy freight, maybe DRS could think about a variation of the American 'road slug' idea - i.e. a loco without diesel engine, mated to a 'mother' loco which supplies its traction motors with current at low speeds, so you get a Bo-Bo + Bo-Bo all powered from the 'mother' diesel engine. The ETS supply on a 68 is probably good for a few hundred hp, so that might be enough to provide some low-speed traction via the 'slug'. Once the train is moving at a reasonable speed the power to the 'slug' can be removed. Perhaps a Class 20 would be a suitable candidate for conversion to a 'slug'? (American 'road slugs' are usually converted from old 4-axle locos)
 
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CosherB

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ac6000cw said:
That is my feeling too.

I also wouldn't be surprised to find the DRS 66s 'under review' when their leases come up for renewal, given that DRS is now more a 'mixed-traffic' operator than a freight operator and (AFAIK) the 68s are probably more fuel-efficient.
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I'd say DRS is a freight operating company in the first instance, that sub-leases locos for passenger use (i.e. Chiltern and TPE). They've got 19 66s - I'd be amazed if they gave them up any time soon. When does their lease expire?
 
TimboM

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CosherB said:
I'd say DRS is a freight operating company in the first instance, that sub-leases locos for passenger use (i.e. Chiltern and TPE). They've got 19 66s - I'd be amazed if they gave them up any time soon. When does their lease expire?
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Fair shout on them being a FOC (Freight Operating Company) - as I understand it, Beacon Rail own the 68s, with DRS leasing them, and then they're sub-leasing some of them to Chiltern/TPE etc. I'm fairly sure the relevant Train Operating Company (Chiltern/TPE etc.) supply the drivers and do the routine maintenance, so DRS are really a 'middle-man' for these contracts (although they'll do the heavy maintenance/exams and ensure the availability of locos).

As opposed to 'actively' operating the traction for regular passenger services (e.g. like GBRf on the Caley Sleeper where they are contracted to provide the whole traction package - locos, drivers, maintenance etc.).

I'd have thought DRS would keep the 66s too - an essential piece of kit for any FOC it would seem... they're also able to do things 68s/88s cannot (and vice versa).
 
D6975

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TimboM said:
I'd have thought DRS would keep the 66s too - an essential piece of kit for any FOC it would seem... they're also able to do things 68s/88s cannot (and vice versa).
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Recently some DRS 66s have been receiving a very plain blue livery with relatively small DRS logos/insignia. Is this a possible indication of them not being part of their long term plan? They have after all already let go about 20 of them.
 
ac6000cw

ac6000cw

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CosherB said:
I'd say DRS is a freight operating company in the first instance, that sub-leases locos for passenger use (i.e. Chiltern and TPE). They've got 19 66s - I'd be amazed if they gave them up any time soon. When does their lease expire?
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No idea about the actual leases, but Beacon Rail say on their website:

Beacon Rail Leasing offers a range of rolling stock on operating leases of up to 15 years. The Beacon Rail fleet contains a variety of locomotives, freight wagons, and passenger trains.
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...which might give an indication of typical lease periods. That feels about right compared to what I know about the US loco market, where the big railroads tend to review the future of a diesel loco after 15-20 years of front-line service from new and decide what to do with it (overhaul it/rebuild it/return it to the lessor/sell it on the used market etc.)

My 'mixed-traffic' comment was more related to the makeup of their current loco fleet than the traffic they haul in their own trains - the total of the 68s, 88s, plus ETS fitted 57s & 37s is already probably more than the total of freight-only locos in the fleet.
 
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Bornin1980s

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I thought a 68 couldn't be made Stage IIIb compliant because of the small British loading gauge. Perhaps they could if reduced to type 4 power?

Anyway, if more UKLight type locos are ordered, might it be possible to reduce its axle load restriction to RA 5 or less, creating a go-anywhere loco to replace the last 37s? After all, the 68 is lighter than a 37, and I believe the EuroLight has been built with six axles for another country.
 
BMIFlyer

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Pleased to announce 68019 is now being modified for TPE:

Door controls for the coaches (drivers will release doors from loco/driving coach and guards will close them from the coaches)
Passenger info system control unit
Cab to cab communications (driver to guard intercom/buzzer)
Traction interlock
Destination display on the windscreen (voyager style).
 

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