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Class 50 (English Electric 2,700hp Type 4 Diesel-Electric)

The Class 50 was built in the late 1960s, and initially hired by British Rail from English Electric, to power the remaining non-electrified portions of the West Coast Main Line from Crewe to Scotland [1] on passenger trains and freight. The Class 50, a development of the English Electric DP2 prototype, often worked these WCML trains in pairs (though they could also work in multiples of three) to provide sufficient performance to match the timings of the electric locomotives that they shared their trains with. The locomotives were bought outright by BR in 1973 but by the mid-1970s were being displaced from the WCML due to the completion of electrification and the arrival of the Class 87. The Class 50s were sent to Western Region to work in the south and south west of England.

GB Railfreight liveried 50 049 at Kidderminster Town




Information
Number built: 50
Built: 1967-68
Builder: English Electric, Vulcan Foundry
Motor: English Electric 16CSVT diesel
Power: 2, 700 hp (2, 013 kW)
Wheel arrangement: Co-Co

At first the reliability of the Class 50 was poor with failures often due to problems with the then-novel electronic systems fitted. Crews joked that they were called the Class 50 as there was only a 50:50 chance that they would make it to their destinations! [2] The Class 50 received a full refurbishment in the late 1970s/early 1980s to improve reliability by removing little used and redundant equipment such as the slow speed control.

Much of the locomotives' time was spent on west of England express passenger trains out of London Paddington and London Waterloo and other passenger services. This made them vulnerable as multiple units became the favoured mode of people mover in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the supply of work dried up. There were attempts to utilise the class for slower freights and one locomotive was modified with lower geared bogies though the experiment was not a success.

The Class 50 was withdrawn from BR service by 1994, though no less than eighteen have been preserved (thirty six percent of the fleet) and several are mainline certified. The Class 50s were the first class of diesel locomotive to only carry BR blue livery (and later variations) though one preserved locomotive has been given a "what might have been" BR green livery. One British Rail exception came in the 1980s when one Class 50 was renamed Sir Edward Elgar and repainted in Brunswick Green to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the GWR.

Also in GBRf livery, 50 007 at Bewdley

Network South East livery is carried by 50 026 at Kidderminster Town

50 049 when it carried BR large logo livery

50 007 approaches Highley

50 034 at Kidderminster Town



[1] Brian Haresnape, Production Diesel-Electrics Types 4 and 5 (Ian Allan, 1984) p. 67
[2] Michael Welch, Diesels on the Western (Capital Transport, 2013) p. 107

Class 69

The Class 69 is a rebuild of the Class 56 with an EMD 710 engine and updated controls and some equipment (similar to those used on the Class 66). GB Railfreight ordered the rebuilds from sixteen Class 56s they bought in 2018, some of which had been out of service for some time. Ten were rebuilt in the initial batch with an option for six more added later on.

69 005 in BR green livery, at Kidderminster


Information
Number built: 16 (conversions from Class 56)
Built: 1976-84
(Conversions 2020-)
Builder: BREL Crewe, Doncaster, Brush Traction Electroputere
(Conversions Progress Rail)
Motor: EMD 12N-710G3B-EC-T2 diesel
Power: 3, 200 hp (2, 390 kW)
Wheel arrangement: Co-Co

The first Class 69 began trials on the Severn Valley Railway in early 2021. The locomotives began to enter service in 2022. The first seven locomotives were withdrawn from service in early 2023 to address some issues but following modifications were returned to service.

As well as GB Railfreight livery, a number of Class 69s have been completed in versions of heritage liveries.

69 010 on test at Derby, still in undercoat, later it was finished in GB Railfreight blue

69 005 approaches Kidderminster hauling two Class 73s

Another view of 69 010 at Derby

69 005 at Kidderminster Town