The Anonymous Widower

Hopefully We Won’t See This Much Longer

Whilst waiting for a train at Canonbury station today, a Class 70 diesel engine went through with a long train of intermodal freight.

Hopefully We Won’t See This Much Longer

They are noisy beasts and hopefully, they will be replaced by more environmentally friendly electric locomotives soon. Note the overhead wires used by most trains on this line.

An order has been placed for Vossloh Eurolite engines, which are effectively electric locomotives, with the ability to work off the electrified network, using an on-board diesel engine. They will be called Class 88, when they are delivered.

There’s more about the Class 88 order here.

The Class 88 increasingly looks like a very good design to solve one of big problems of freight on UK railways; the need to use diesel engines on most trains, as there is not a large enough continuous electrified system.

If we take a simple example of a freight train from Felixstowe to Manchester via London, which at present needs a diesel engine to Ipswich and then an electric one for the rest of the journey, this could be Class 88-hauled all the way.

I think we could see a lot of Class 88s and similar engines in the future.

It won’t just be on freight, as the engine has a top speed of 200 kph, when working passenger trains. Could they be used on difficult services like Euston to Holyhead, where much of the route past Crewe is not electrified?

Surprisingly, the electro-disel concept is not new, as the old Class 73, which dates from the 1960s, was also an electric engine with an onboard diesel, designed for the third rail lines south of London.

Some of the original 49 engines are still in use.

Does this show that you can’t keep a good idea down?

September 23, 2013 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 88 Locomotive, Freight, Trains