Description
The Class 66 is one of the most ubiquitous diesel classes in the UK. 480 examples were built for the UK market with additional examples being imported from other countries pools to bolster the amount in service in the UK. The Class 66 is a progression of the privately commissioned Class 59 that Foster Yeoman had constructed to replace their aging and failing BREL locomotives. The Class 66 shares the same body as the 59 but has uprated internals.
In May 1996 EWS placed an order for 250 units to be built in London, Ontario. These would set EWS back £375 million, with the first units arriving relatively quickly in early 1998. The locomotives would be in service from the point they touched down at Newport Docks, with the locomotives shipped already filled with water and fuel. The last such example arrived in the UK in spring 2016.
Locomotive number 66789 is a named example of the class, named in honour of British Rail who managed the national network between 1948 and 1997, dates which are also commemorated on the name plate. The locomotive is in the employ of GB Railfreight, who have had the locomotive painted in BR Blue with a large logo and yellow ends, a glimpse perhaps of what a Class 66 locomotive may have looked like in BR service.
