Most Under Employed Class Of Locomotive?

[Modron]

I remember reading a few years ago that Class 67s were possibly the least used active locomotives (i.e. used regularly) on the railway network, however has this changed recently? If so, which class of locomotive is currently the least active or 'under employed?'

Thanks!

 

[Tom Quinne]

Class 92 surely ?

 

[Iskra]

There are a lot of class 70’s parked up at Midland Road.

 

[Ben.A.98]

Is there not a lot of class 60s out of work?

 

[Tom Quinne]

Whole life so far I’d stick with the 92s, the Eurostar batch saw a pittyful number of miles before storage.

 

[87electric]

If I remember rightly 92040 has only worked for 20 months since it was taken into stock in January 1996.

 

[Cowley]

If I remember rightly 92040 has only worked for 20 months since it was taken into stock in January 1996.

That's amazing really. Just goes to show what happens when life rapidly moves on.

 

[delt1c]

under BR as a whole class the 14's might be contender

 

[chubs]

Has to be 92's as already said?

 

[_toommm_]

60s surely?

 

[6Gman]

under BR as a whole class the 14's might be contender

Though quite a few of them were quite well-used by subsequent users in industry (mostly the NCB).

 

[thealexweb]

Class 60s by a country mile surely?

 

[Doomotron]

Fowler's Ghost?

 

[Strat-tastic]

The answer's 37 now what's the question?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

In terms of how many are in use daily compared to how many exist, there always seems to be a lot of 66s unoccupied in the various yards south of Doncaster... then there's all those 58s rusting away in France!

 

[DimTim]

The answer's 37 now what's the question?

That’s odd & a prime example!

 

[43096]

I wouldn't say the Class 92s because most of them are still used. I'd probably say the early diesel locomotives. Actually, no:

Fowler's Ghost.

Most? By my reckoning there are just 17 active in this country (11 GBRf, 6 DB Cargo) with a further one being reactived. That is somewhat less than 50% of the total fleet. There's a further 10 active in Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia having been exported after being declared surplus here.

Over their life, I'd say the Class 92s take it as they have never been fully utilised with the slow growth and then reduction of Channel freight and cancellation of Nightstar.

 

[delt1c]

Though quite a few of them were quite well-used by subsequent users in industry (mostly the NCB).

That is what I find so interesting, a class which had potential, but for which their work was disappearing before they were even built. Yet construction went ahead. Never understood why they could not have been concentrated on one region instead of 08/09

 

[Tom Quinne]

Cheaper to build them than cancel the order with the resultant fallout from unions at main works over lose of work ?

 

[Rail Blues]

Class 60s, i coukd never work out if yhey were nadgered by the collapse of the coal traffic or far too many being ordered in the first place or their reliance on late 80s technology made them prematurely obsolete and complex or a combo of all/some of these factors.

 

[alangla]

Class 88s don’t appear to do much. Have they got any real electric work other than the Mossend to Daventry Tesco train?

 

[trainmania100]

Class 89 perhaps

 

[Steamie Boxes]

Class 88s don’t appear to do much. Have they got any real electric work other than the Mossend to Daventry Tesco train?

Engineering trains?

 

[delt1c]

How about the NER EE1 electrics, they make the Fell Diesel look over worked,

 

[DarloRich]

How about the NER EE1 electrics

Got to be the winner. However this was a prototype for an electric express locomotive class that was still born after the LNER dropped the NER scheme to electrify the ECML between York and Newcastle. It was built at Darlington in 1922 and tested on the line to Shildon which was electrified. It lasted, stored, until 1950!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Got to be the winner. However this was a prototype for an electric express locomotive class that was still born after the LNER dropped the NER scheme to electrify the ECML between York and Newcastle. It was built at Darlington in 1922 and tested on the line to Shildon which was electrified. It lasted, stored, until 1950!

Wasn't there a proposal at one point to use it as a banking engine somewhere near Barnsley? I forget the name of the incline but was on the Woodhead/Wath 1,500v DC overhead system.

 

[DarloRich]

Wasn't there a proposal at one point to use it as a banking engine somewhere near Barnsley? I forget the name of the incline but was on the Woodhead/Wath 1,500v DC overhead system.

no idea! that might explain why it was stored for so long

 

[Ash Bridge]

Wasn't there a proposal at one point to use it as a banking engine somewhere near Barnsley? I forget the name of the incline but was on the Woodhead/Wath 1,500v DC overhead system.

Was it the Worsborough Incline by any chance?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Was it the Worsborough Incline by any chance?

Might well have been... if only I could remember where I read about it!

 

[ac6000cw]

Class 60s, i could never work out if they were nadgered by the collapse of the coal traffic or far too many being ordered in the first place or their reliance on late 80s technology made them prematurely obsolete and complex or a combo of all/some of these factors.

They are 'higher tech', more complex, more heavy-haul capable machines than the class 66 - the work that really *needed* them declined, so it wasn't worth spending the money maintaining them all when the 66's could cover the work that was available (and the 66's were all originally leased, so had on-going lease payments to be paid, whereas the 60's were owned by EWS/DBS/DBC so there was probably little cost in not using them). The nearest equivalent to a 60 in haulage capability is probably a class 59, which are still in active use because they are simple, rugged, reliable machines - the oldest ones have spent nearly 35 years hauling some of the heaviest trains ever to run in UK.

Note that EWS ordered the 66s primarily as replacements for the freight 47s/56s/58s etc. *not* to replace the 60s.