Class 60 Number falling.

[Phoenix]

I have noticed in recent days through looking at the various class 60 workings that the number has gone this year from 20 examples to 15 examples and yesterday it was 14 of the class and finally it's 13 today.
So rather than a complete stop I see this being a slow gradual process seen as though in one month only 7 have gone.
Also though I have read that both 60040 and 60074 are going to be kept out by DBS till the very end to keep the company looking good basically.

 

[Donny Dave]

The 60s will be back when there is some work for them to to.

Due to the effects of the recession and the end of the RHTT season, there is a lot of spare locos floating around. Scunthorpe Steelworks has gone from having iron ore delivered ever 2 hours, to only 3 or 4 deliveries a day. One class 60 can cover that easily.

 

[Ferret]

Also though I have read that both 60040 and 60074 are going to be kept out by DBS till the very end to keep the company looking good basically.

That said, 60074 is currently OOS - not overly impressed with that cos I could still do with a decent sunny shot of it However, I gather the NVR want it for their gala so all may not be lost!

 

[heart-of-wessex]

040 and 074 should be kept to the end really, they've not long had a new coat!

 

[43034 The Black Horse]

040 and 074 should be kept to the end really, they've not long had a new coat!

Yes, but if they're not sound mechanically, there is no point what so ever! Just because it's had paint it doesn't really make a blind bit of difference, EWS would rather a sound loco on their flows than a dodgy one, just because they've 'had a new coat'

Paint isn't everything, in fact, it's really nothing

 

[The_Rail_WAy]

Think it has been discussed before but the 60's are declining mainly due to the following factors:

The industries whose freight they serve - such as metals and stone for construction and pertroleum are in decline due to the economic recession.

Very expensive to run and maintain in comparison to other locos.

 

[Phoenix]

Yes, but if they're not sound mechanically, there is no point what so ever! Just because it's had paint it doesn't really make a blind bit of difference, EWS would rather a sound loco on their flows than a dodgy one, just because they've 'had a new coat'

Paint isn't everything, in fact, it's really nothing

In this case I hate to say but it actually is everything...
as I said this is a move to keep a good face on a stuggleing company so if you have the choice of keeping two it is always going to be the celeb two.
And yes indeed the cancer one is having problems of late but it's PU I belive has been sent to Germany to be examined and fixed.

Honestly if you ask me I believe that it won't go to zero as the numbers are falling so slowly at this moment in time and also out of all the exclusive class 60 diagrams one of them must be unshedable at some point and remeber 66's cannot double head 9dbs ones anyway) and the 59's wont get moved out of the aggy industry.
But out of the whole class 60 fleet I think only 30 will come back 50 will end up sold and at least 20 of them scrapped for spares and the rest will stay languishing in DBS store.........

 

[37402]

In this case I hate to say but it actually is everything...

It most certainly is NOT! You say that to any engineer and they will laugh in your face.
60074 may be painted all pretty, but it is a sick loco. It has got through 1.5 power units in the space of just under a year. That is not good. It is not good business sense to keep persevering with something that is going to cost mega-ching to keep going and in addition to that, be in for repairs every other week - very unproductive. If the loco failed on a train carrying your traffic which was then delayed, you certainly wouldn't think 'oh well, never mind, it's painted a nice colour and gives a good image so I'll let DBS off this time.' Come on, wake up and smell the coffee.

Secondly, where has your idea come from that DBS 66s cannot work 'double headed' (or in the correct terminology, in multiple)? They are just as capable as any other 66 of doing that.

Finally, wait and see what happens in the run up to April 1st and the new financial year. If they are getting rid, that will be the time to do it. Happened that way with the grids...

 

[Muppet56097]

In this case I hate to say but it actually is everything...

No - what keeps a "struggling company" as you call it going is customers and revenue. That depends upon hauling trains reliably and cost-effectively. Paint has nothing to do with it. Also, bear in mind that customers don't care about "celebrities". They care about performance. Only trainspotters have a concept of "celebrity" locos.

but it's PU I belive has been sent to Germany to be examined and fixed.

Total tosh! Do you really think they would crane out a power unit and send it to Germany in a box, with 90+ other locos lying around with power units inside? Don't you think they'd be more likely to swap the unit with a better one if they had gone to the trouble of removing it. If what you said was true, it would have been stored, and bye bye to that loco.

Interesting though your fleet predictions are, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to predict that perhaps not all locos will come back. Railfreight in general, and DB in particular are in decline, and although UK enthusiasts seem reluctant to admit it class 60s are expensive to look after in comparison to 66s and very much less reliable.

 

[Phoenix]

It most certainly is NOT! You say that to any engineer and they will laugh in your face.
60074 may be painted all pretty, but it is a sick loco. It has got through 1.5 power units in the space of just under a year. That is not good. It is not good business sense to keep persevering with something that is going to cost mega-ching to keep going and in addition to that, be in for repairs every other week - very unproductive. If the loco failed on a train carrying your traffic which was then delayed, you certainly wouldn't think 'oh well, never mind, it's painted a nice colour and gives a good image so I'll let DBS off this time.' Come on, wake up and smell the coffee.

Secondly, where has your idea come from that DBS 66s cannot work 'double headed' (or in the correct terminology, in multiple)? They are just as capable as any other 66 of doing that.

Finally, wait and see what happens in the run up to April 1st and the new financial year. If they are getting rid, that will be the time to do it. Happened that way with the grids...

To be fair paint is everything though in this situation otherwise they wouldn't even be articles in mags saying that both celebs will stay the longest so to be fair I think this time its the engineers who aren't laughing.
To be fair with the multi thing I said I was pretty sure it didn't happen cause I heard it be mentioned and also I have never seen two 66's double heading.

Well im gonna wait till the 1st of April and see what happens and like I said I have my own suggestions so Ill keep monitoring the situation for entertainment sake and add it on to this thread.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

No - what keeps a "struggling company" as you call it going is customers and revenue. That depends upon hauling trains reliably and cost-effectively. Paint has nothing to do with it. Also, bear in mind that customers don't care about "celebrities". They care about performance. Only trainspotters have a concept of "celebrity" locos.



Total tosh! Do you really think they would crane out a power unit and send it to Germany in a box, with 90+ other locos lying around with power units inside? Don't you think they'd be more likely to swap the unit with a better one if they had gone to the trouble of removing it. If what you said was true, it would have been stored, and bye bye to that loco.

Interesting though your fleet predictions are, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to predict that perhaps not all locos will come back. Railfreight in general, and DB in particular are in decline, and although UK enthusiasts seem reluctant to admit it class 60s are expensive to look after in comparison to 66s and very much less reliable.

Well this PU business is what I have heard from others so have a go at them rather than me yeah?
And you also are giving me this "paint doesn't matter" TOSH well it apparently does to DBS doesn't it otherwise 60074 would have been put to bed a long while ago.

Also about my fleet predictions well there my own ideas and as for the rocket surgeon phrase you a complete idiot (brain surgeon-rocket scientist).
Next time try some manners before you try correcting me.

 

[37402]

To be fair paint is everything though in this situation otherwise they wouldn't even be articles in mags saying that both celebs will stay the longest so to be fair I think this time its the engineers who aren't laughing.

Seriously, get a grip. Stop assuming you have the superior knowledge on absolutely everything. Just because it says it in a magazine or you have heard it elsewhere then it doesn't necessarily mean its true. More often than not, especially in the railway world, these stories are not true and you end up making yourself look stupid. Take a minute to think whether it sounds sensible or not...

60074 received a replacement engine (after it blew its last one up) and a wheelset change (major work) at Toton towards the second half of last year when the fleet was in favour. The work was completed and it went back into traffic. Traffic levels declined, it was clear the fleet was to be cut right back. The quote, from the horses mouth so to speak (rather than LIAR), was actually as follows, "60040/074 will remain in traffic until final withdrawal date barring any major failure or repair deemed as not cost effective".

That is just what happened, a major failure not cost effective to repair. Game over.

 

[87015]

60074 now not going Nene Valley. Is 60059 stored serviceable or burst and therefore may not appear at Mid Norfolk?

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Oh I see didn't know there were both sounding bad, sorry my bad.

as for 66s double heading, I may have been dreaming seeing a double headed FL 66 then on youtube?

a then EWS double header 66 can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdFbwX4nTX0

 

[Muppet56097]

Also about my fleet predictions well there my own ideas and as for the rocket surgeon phrase you a complete idiot (brain surgeon-rocket scientist).
Next time try some manners before you try correcting me.

Mate - it was deliberate humour, a mixed metaphor, but I can see you weren't ready for it. I'll dumb it down for you next time and speak only in very literal phrases that you can understand. When do you leave school? When you do, feel free to lecture me on grammar, idioms and the English language. If that sounds patronising, it is meant to be. You were unwise to get into the "idiot" name calling.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Well this PU business is what I have heard from others so have a go at them rather than me yeah?

I'll have a go at anyone that posts groundless, platform end, ill-informed enthusiast gossip and rubbish. It has always been one of the most depressing aspects of the hobby - a willingness to repeat everything that is heard, irrespective of source or credibility.

If there was a posting rule that prevented any post that said "I've been told that..." and instead encouraged "I know that..." (quoting a credible source for that information) then this forum would be 20% the size, and there would be a lot less excitement over rubbish. It would never catch on, largely because the most prolific posters would suddenly be disenfranchised.

 

[Ferret]

60074 now not going Nene Valley. Is 60059 stored serviceable or burst and therefore may not appear at Mid Norfolk?

Mr R, I'm hoping the total cart that is 60059 doesn't appear (Spinning Gibbon, Kirkgate-Cleethorpes, 199x) - would be happy with 60044 should they feel the need to give it a break from the Lindsey-Westerleigh circuit it has been on for most of this month.........

 

[curly42]

60 back on the Robeston - Westerleigh tanks today after the 66 yesterday -
http://david-j-smith.fotopic.net/p56624106.html

 

[GNERman]

60059 is fully serviceable
Not happy...

 

[Ferret]

Not what I wanted to hear

 

[westcoaster]

have seen quiet a few 60's lately seen the same all blue mainline livered one in and out of st pancras yard, also seen 60's on the ardley/crawley stone trains, and i even saw one at the oddest of places going past selhurst depot towards norwood junc and crystal palace, never knew freight went that way?

 

[60004 lochnagar]

I have been given a date of march 31st for final withdrawal, this also allows for an extension, if need be, until April the 20th. I am wondering if this snd date is for 60040 & 74, or just a second deadline in general and that these two loco's shall continue for a while after the 20th.

These dates are not fact, but from a usually reliable source

 

[25322]

60040 was a on Liverpool BT to ironbridge service today

 

[Ferret]

I have been given a date of march 31st for final withdrawal, this also allows for an extension, if need be, until April the 20th. I am wondering if this snd date is for 60040 & 74, or just a second deadline in general and that these two loco's shall continue for a while after the 20th.

These dates are not fact, but from a usually reliable source

As was previously mentioned by 37402, 60074 is dead already! 60040 does soldier on though - seems to like the Ironbridge run at the moment!

I wonder how long it'll be before they return........

 

[60004 lochnagar]

60074 is currently without its power unit as this is being worked upon, also it has undergone turbocharger repairsin the past 2 weeks.

60004 has also undergone a test run on Tuesday this week after light repairs also.

 

[thefab444]

Interesting to note Phoenix has vanished!

 

[Phoenix]

Interesting to note Phoenix has vanished!

No still very much here just got fed up of being lamented so I felt like my input was neither wanted nor deserved.
So have a happy 60 count down I'll stick to getting the photo's.

 

[73110]

60013 was smoking out Gatwick/Crawley this morning!!!