MIGHTY CLASS 66 MAKES DOUBLE HISTORY AT SWANAGE
9th-11th May 2008

Press Release from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 15th May 2008
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
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The 127 tonne First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724 hauls its first ever passenger train in this country during the early afternoon on Friday, 9th May, 2008 .

By Andrew P.M. Wright

Two pieces of history have been made on the Swanage Railway’s relaid Purbeck Line during the three fantastic days in May, 2008, that were its annual Grand Diesel Gala and Beer Festival.

It was early on the afternoon of the first day of the event – Friday, 9th May, 2008 – that a 127 tonne First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive hauled its first ever passenger train in this country.

And, on Sunday, 11th May, 2008, the £1.6 million Class 66 – No. 66 724 named ‘Drax Power Station’ – was the first Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive to ever be refuelled at Swanage station.

That scene with the mighty Class 66 at the refuelling point opposite the engine shed was a far cry from June, 1976, when the fledgling Swanage Railway took delivery of its first ever locomotive – a diminutive 0-4-0 wheel arrangement petrol shunter called ‘Beryl’ from Corral’s on Poole Quay.

Class 66 No. 66724 being refuelled at Swanage station with First GBRf driver and business implementation manager Paul Lemon (left) with founder Swanage Railway volunteer and locomotive driver Pete Frost of Corfe Castle.

Back then, a small band of Swanage Railway volunteers had only been given access to the boarded up station buildings for some four months – and track laying was only allowed in the goods shed. The rest of the area was huge wasteland of earth, grass and gravel.

Returning to the present at Swanage, all three days of the Grand Diesel Gala and Beer Festival saw the GBRf Class 66 haul the 1.10pm from Swanage which returned to the resort’s terminal station as the 1.50pm from Norden park and ride.

With Corfe Castle in the background, the 127 tonne First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724 hauls the 1967 Southern Region four-coach VEP electric unit No. 3417

Because the Class 66 is air braked and not vacuum fitted, it had to haul the 1967 Southern Region four-coach VEP electric unit No. 3417 from South West Trains’ Wimbledon depot in London.

The VEP used to run between Bournemouth and London Waterloo and was built for the start of electric services between the resort and the capital on Monday, 10th July, 1967, after the end of steam traction late the previous day.

First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724 hauls the 1967 Southern Region four-coach VEP electric unit No. 3417

The appearance of the popular VEP – resplendent in BR blue with yellow cab ends – on the Swanage Railway, at its second Purbeck Line diesel gala and beer festival, brought back memories of the push-pull 3TC and 4TC stock operating on the branch on through London trains between 1967 and 1969; the locomotives then normally being Class 33s with occasional appearances by Class 73 and Class 74 electro-diesels.

The last appearance of 4TC stock at Swanage was in the summer of 1971. That was when a Class 33 performed the honours for a rail tour that also visited the Hamworthy branch, West Moors on the truncated ‘Castleman’s Corkscrew’ or ‘Old Road’ as well as Maiden Newton at the start of the Bridport branch.

When not hauling a train, the Class 66 was stabled in the squint at the end of the run-round loop at Swanage station – against the stopblocks.

The diminutive Class 07 0-6-0 diesel shunter No. 007 operating brake van rides from Swanage station to the limit of shunt at the western end of the station limits passes the 127 tonne First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724

And while being refuelled opposite the station’s Victorian engine shed, the mighty Class 66 – with its 1,200 gallon fuel tank – was passed by the diminutive Class 07 0-6-0 diesel shunter No. 007 operating brake van rides from Swanage station to the limit of shunt at the western end of the station limits.

Also resplendent in its BR blue livery with yellow ends, the shunter which has not been out of Eastleigh Works since 1971 was built by Ruston and Hornsby in 1961 for work at Southampton Docks.

The diminutive Class 07 0-6-0 diesel shunter No. 007, resplendent in its BR blue livery with yellow ends, passes the 127 tonne First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724

For the technically minded, Class 66 No. 724 is 21.3 metres long and has a tractive effort of 2,238 kilowatts - the more modern version of horsepower measurement. It was built in London, Ontario, Canada, by General Motors to the UIC2 emission standards and model number JT42CWR-T1.

Delivered new to First GB Railfreight in 2006, No. 724 is one of several Class 66 locomotives that work country-wide on infrastructure, coal, inter-modal, gypsum, petrochemical and rolling stock delivery services.

First GBRf’s Class 66 locomotives complete some 4,000 miles per month per loco with fuel consumption being two gallons to the mile as the locomotives are hauling more than 1,000 pulling tonnes!

The three First GBRf drivers that drove the Class 66 at Swanage were Ian Shonhard, regional operations manager, south; Paul Lemon, business implementation manager and Steve McGlynn, operations manager, Peterborough.

Formed in 1999 and now a part of First Group, First GBRf runs around 200 freight services of differing characteristics each week in the United Kingdom.

Its first contract - an eight-year deal to haul engineering trains for Railtrack, now Network Rail - was secured in April, 2000, and since then, the company has gone from strength to strength.

In February 2002, First GBRf won a five-year contract with Medite Shipping to move containers from the Port of Felixstowe in East Anglia to Selby in North Yorkshire and Hams Hall near Birmingham - the agreement breaking Freightliner’s monopoly at Felixstowe.

First GB Railfreight Class 66 diesel-electric locomotive No 66724 at Swanage

Further deals that have powered First GBRf’s development include major deals to move coal including contracts with Drax Power Limited, EDF Energy, British Energy and Alcan; a five-year agreement with British Gypsum to move desulphogypsum from two power stations, West Burton and Drax; a ten-year contract with Metronet to run engineering trains to track replacement sites across the London Underground network; contracts with Royal Mail to transport mail between London and Scotland as well as a contract with Petrochem Carless to move gas condensate in East Anglia and drilling mud oils to Scotland.

First GBRf’s reputation for innovation was further enhanced early in 2004 when it signed a ground-breaking five-year deal to not only manage the operations at Network Rail’s newest and largest distribution centre at Whitemoor Yard in Cambridgeshire but also to market the spent ballast.

As a result, the company has entered into a deal with aggregate recycling specialists to return the ballast - which would otherwise be dumped in landfill sites - back to the aggregates market.

The trio of First GBRf drivers also drove the Class 73 electro-diesel ‘Spitfire’ which is on hire to GBRf from its owner Michael Owen.

Class 73 electro-diesel ‘Spitfire’ which is on hire to GBRf from its owner Michael Owen

Based at St Leonard’s in Kent, Class 73 No. 107 is available for main line hire and is used by GBRf on an ad-hoc basis to supplement its own fleet of locomotives engaged in infrastructure work on busy weekends.

Also present during the Swanage Railway’s three-day Grand Diesel Gala and Beer Festival were two other members of First GB Railfreight staff – Paul Taylor contracts manager, network services, as well as Mark Robertshaw, business development manager, north.

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