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Class 69 - Return of the body snatchers?


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7 hours ago, russ p said:

For the sake of the surviving 56s I hope its not a great success as they will go after the rest of them. As I've said before the 58 would probably have been a better starting point 

What would you rather happen to the class 56 then? Sit and rust until scrapping? Refurbishment so they last another 10 years? 

 

Surely this is the best option? It makes good use out it a redundant asset, should be better for the environment emissions wise and helps provide jobs. 

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1 hour ago, rka said:

What would you rather happen to the class 56 then? Sit and rust until scrapping? Refurbishment so they last another 10 years? 

 

Surely this is the best option? It makes good use out it a redundant asset, should be better for the environment emissions wise and helps provide jobs. 

 

They aren't 56s anymore,  would rather see at least some left as 56s . 56s are  a fantastic loco lots of character massive power and great to drive this thing is as dull as ditchwater makes a 57 look characterful.  I would rather see them scrapped than all turn into 69s.... sorry! 

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2 hours ago, russ p said:

 

They aren't 56s anymore,  would rather see at least some left as 56s . 56s are  a fantastic loco lots of character massive power and great to drive this thing is as dull as ditchwater makes a 57 look characterful.  I would rather see them scrapped than all turn into 69s.... sorry! 

fair enough

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I'm in a middle ground position to you both it seems. From a business perspective the rebuilds make perfect sense, demics are demics and their only usefulness is exhausted once robbed of spares. 

My problem comes knowing full well that some of the scheme's donor vehicles were perfectly servicible Class 56 locomotives, and I mean kick in the BIS, press a button and off you go servicible. Ripping good Grids apart smacks to me of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. 

 

Still, nostalgic fondness never made money. They're only assets. Let's stick a battery pack in Flying Scotsman's tender with a pantograph on top.

 

The 69s bogies will be ideal to go back under a proper 56 one day.

 

C6T. 

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1 hour ago, Classsix T said:

I'm in a middle ground position to you both it seems. From a business perspective the rebuilds make perfect sense, demics are demics and their only usefulness is exhausted once robbed of spares. 

My problem comes knowing full well that some of the scheme's donor vehicles were perfectly servicible Class 56 locomotives, and I mean kick in the BIS, press a button and off you go servicible. Ripping good Grids apart smacks to me of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. 

 

Still, nostalgic fondness never made money. They're only assets. Let's stick a battery pack in Flying Scotsman's tender with a pantograph on top.

 

The 69s bogies will be ideal to go back under a proper 56 one day.

 

C6T. 

Have you seen a class 56 in service - the one Colas uses for the Crewe trip smokes like a Black 5.

 

They are knackered and the engines going into them are new, the electrics are up to date and can be monitored properly.

 

I reckon a lot of the classic traction will disappear in the new future with ROG purchasing class 93s and GBRF experimenting with re-engineering.  Will the remaining 47s and 37s see something similar or will they go off to scrap I wonder.

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It can only be a matter of time before someone re-engines a batch of 37s for work on RA5 routes.  Kind of like the 37/9s but lighter and actually modern.  Do GM do a 2000ish hp engine or will it come from Europe?

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13 minutes ago, Hesperus said:

It can only be a matter of time before someone re-engines a batch of 37s for work on RA5 routes.  Kind of like the 37/9s but lighter and actually modern.  Do GM do a 2000ish hp engine or will it come from Europe?

It's that or some more class 73s get the MTU treatment - a full on 37 power is probably no longer needed but something with the Route Availability, the MTU is 1600 versus 1750 of a 37.

 

But there are plenty of spare 37s so taking some of DRS and putting through a re-engineering programme wouldn't restrict anyone's capacity in the meantime.

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17 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

It's that or some more class 73s get the MTU treatment - a full on 37 power is probably no longer needed but something with the Route Availability, the MTU is 1600 versus 1750 of a 37.

 

But there are plenty of spare 37s so taking some of DRS and putting through a re-engineering programme wouldn't restrict anyone's capacity in the meantime.

 

And then someone will no doubt complain about the rebuilding of them.............

 

 

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4 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

And then someone will no doubt complain about the rebuilding of them.............

 

 

Plenty preserved and West Coast have a few spares donors - give them the guts, take the shells down to Stoke or Loughborough and let some engineers loose on them.

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If they are maintained properly there is nothing wrong with them as they are. Although both 37s and 56s are a bit smokey when starting cold they are actually  quite economical.  

The 37s im familiar with certainly drive and peform as they have always done

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Wasn’t it the maintenance that killed off the 56 really ? EWS said the man hours involved were astronomical compared with something new.

 

I’m constantly impressed by GBRfs expanding portfolio and initiatives such as this - I’d rather see them run with a yin yang, than as razor blades which is pretty much the alternative 

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On 18/02/2021 at 09:11, russ p said:

Mind whoever approved a controller which went the opposite way to everything else should have been shot!

 

Agreed on that 

I don't know why they didn't just fit them upside down - admittedly that may have put the reverser above the power handle but I don't see that that would have been a problem.

Even after the best part of twenty years driving them I still moved it the wrong way sometimes!

Edited by 101
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5 hours ago, Hesperus said:

Do GM do a 2000ish hp engine or will it come from Europe?


They did, the EMD 645, V12 cylinder power unit rated at 2000hp and was fitted to their GP38/38-2’s.  During their rebuilding, Class 57’s were fitted with reconditioned 645-F3B units but as they were done in the 1990’s,  I think they could be subject to tougher EU emissions now.

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I personally don't see the point of it , a bit like receiving an organ from a doner then going around in a tshirt with a picture of the doner on!

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Apart from the obvious changes I was trying to put my finger in what doesn’t look right and I think it’s the lack of front handrail below the window.

 

also I think they should have put 2 lamp brackets on, that’s going to be a pain if changing ends top and tail in a platform and the bracket is away from the platform side! 

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9 minutes ago, big jim said:

Apart from the obvious changes I was trying to put my finger in what doesn’t look right and I think it’s the lack of front handrail below the window.

I agree the handrail breaks up the front but I can’t see it being easy to put these Into multi!

Edited by Mark Saunders
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By the time the first ten are outshopped I wonder how many different liveries there might be?

Each livery variation gives GBRF more publicity, and if these locos are wide ranging across

the network they will become well known. This will make a model more likely, as someone will buy one of each colour!

 

Unless something goes catastrophically wrong with the rebuilding programme

then I expect one manufacturer to bring out a model before long,

 

cheers

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14 minutes ago, big jim said:

Apart from the obvious changes I was trying to put my finger in what doesn’t look right and I think it’s the lack of front handrail below the window.

 

also I think they should have put 2 lamp brackets on, that’s going to be a pain if changing ends top and tail in a platform and the bracket is away from the platform side! 

 

There also should be some yellow above the windscreens 

Where are the horns or do you knock on the windscreen?

 

I see one end has the remains of the NRN aerial but the other end doesn't 

Edited by russ p
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