09:45

Welcome to Railway Forum!
Welcome!

Thank you for finding your way to Railway Forum, a dedicated community for railway and train enthusiasts. There's a variety of forums, a wonderful gallery, and what's more, we are absolutely FREE. You are very welcome to join, take part in the discussion, and post your pictures!

Click here to go to the forums home page and find out more.
Click here to join.


Go Back   Railway Forum > General Railway Discussion > Freight Operations and Observations

will the class 66 be ok on rival of class 68?

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 11th April 2009, 16:39
SOUTHEASTERN-465
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Question will the class 66 be ok on rival of class 68?

when the new class 68 for freightliner is put into service do you think other companys will join them,and the class 66 will be displaced,or do you think when the new class 68 arrives they will be both used equilly?


Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11th April 2009, 22:18
LesG's Avatar
LesG LesG is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Keith, NE Scotland
Posts: 284
Images: 28
My opinion as a train driver, (which will probably count for zilch), is that like the 66, when EWS ordered the loco other companies waited to see what the loco would,

a. Look like and

b. The reliability of the loco.

Once the loco had proved itself as a biuld, ship it to the UK and start work all the other freight companies joined the band wagon. I think that this new class 68 will have the same start to life in the UK.

In other words let the loco prove itself then watch the order book swell.

Les
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 14th April 2009, 22:44
Pom Liner Pom Liner is offline  
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: South Coast
Posts: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by LesG View Post
My opinion as a train driver, (which will probably count for zilch), is that like the 66, when EWS ordered the loco other companies waited to see what the loco would,

a. Look like and

b. The reliability of the loco.

Once the loco had proved itself as a biuld, ship it to the UK and start work all the other freight companies joined the band wagon. I think that this new class 68 will have the same start to life in the UK.

In other words let the loco prove itself then watch the order book swell.

Les
FOC's probably didnt give a damn what the sheds looked like, their main concerns being:

Off the shelf loco - EWS did the hard work (none in the cab admittedly) of getting the design within the loading guage of UK railways - yes I know the body is almost a 59, but thats were the similarity ends. The 66 is a different animal inside (yes - im trained on both types!) In fact, the first Freightliner ones, 66501 - 66505 were actually destined for EWS.

Route Availability - A shed can go almost anywhere....ask any grumbling lineside photographer.

Fuel Consumption - Cheap to run

Maintainance & Reliability - Cheap to run, minimal maintainance, standardized spares pool.


Sadly, the cabs are what let them down. Noisy, draughty in winter, SCORCHIO in summer........but hey, the beancounters dont have to concern themselves with the comfort and health of the trained monkies driving their trains....

As for the new GE locos, well the jury will be out until we've had a full year or so on them. Certainly if they are any good it would be nice to see the sheds sent abroad, or preferably to the bottom of the sea.

What FOC's are concerned about primarilly is unit costs, thats why if the new locos are any good the sheds will be moved on. If there is negligable savings to be made, then the sheds will soldier on until they rot away or start breaking in half........but that story can wait for another day.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:45.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.