Colas 70's

[Wavertreelad]

I don't think you'll have the opportunity for any of that I'm afraid; they probably won't be able to withstand the speed at which they're unloaded off the ship :P

Last I heard was all future deliveries of locomotives across the Atlantic to the UK would be using the Atlantic Container Line Roll On/Roll Off vessels into Liverpool. The locomotives are loaded on to mafi trailers and secured and hauled on and/off the ship over the stern ramp. The risk in the lift at each end substantially reduced plus the service operates 52 weeks of the year so individual locomotives can be shipped instead of waiting for a suitable charter vessel to be available. This route was used to return the damaged Freightliner 70. This video shows in some detail to process in Halifax Nova Scotia for the Flying Scotsman last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUp5pzD7VlM

 

[Photohunter71]

Have Freightliner cancelled their balance of 11 then? That's 10 plus replacement for 70012.

 

[Beveridges]

Have Freightliner cancelled their balance of 11 then? That's 10 plus replacement for 70012.

Yes

GBRF were then given the chance to take the final 11. Sadly they turned it down as well and Colas got it instead.

 

[Photohunter71]

Then from what I interpret,means we will not see any more GE traction in this country after the completion of the class 70 programme.

 

[Beveridges]

The "big four" ( DB, FLiner, GBRF and DRS) aren't interested, so yes, I assume no more GE production for the UK!

 

[TrainBoy98]

No more 66s?

 

[Monty]

No more 66s?

GBRf have recently ordered another 8 machines.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Not many more 66s. They don't meet the latest emissions regulations. The only ones coming are those built already (like 66747-751 from Europe) or built/ordered (GBRF*8 ?) before some soon to expire deadline (cannot find the thread with the facts in).

 

[stevekay73]

are the 70s deffo on the way for november?

 

[Beveridges]

There won't be a great deal of new locomotives coming into this country. Freight is not rising, the largest operator (DB Schenker) has lost a lot of traffic over the last ten years.

You only need to take a visit to Toton and it says it all. Loads of 60's stored. Rows of old mail vans stored and rotting away. Very little movement even though its the biggest freight depot in the midlands. Freight on the railways is in decline.

 

[Photohunter71]

The "big four" ( DB, FLiner, GBRF and DRS) aren't interested, so yes, I assume no more GE production for the UK!

Now you've mentioned that,will FL/DB start looking elsewhere for alternatives or just try to use what they've got?

 

[D365]

Not many more 66s. They don't meet the latest emissions regulations. The only ones coming are those built already (like 66747-751 from Europe) or built/ordered (GBRF*8 ?) before some deadline (cannot find the thread with the facts in).

All correct.

Now you've mentioned that,will FL/DB start looking elsewhere for alternatives or just try to use what they've got?

Just read the post above yours. DBS do have a load of slowly rotting 60s which they can add to their 'Super 60' overhaul programme if they need any more traction.

 

[Monty]

Though I would argue DBS's current state of affairs is not representative of freight sector as a whole, they have been losing flows to other FOCs consistently for sometime now. Lets not forget DB's main incentive for purchasing EWS was for it's subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail (ECR) and gain access to the French market. Since then DBS's actions can almost be compared to that of an asset stripper and sent numerous locomotives and rolling stock to continent (Poland, Bulgaria and Romania spring to mind) where market is far more lucrative. Truth be told DB have very little interest in any real serious railfreight development in the UK and I can see them reduce their operations even further with more stock going abroad.

 

[Beveridges]

The decline did not start with DB Schenker, but with EWS when they changed MD to the appropriately named "Mr Heller" in 2003. It was downhill all the way from there. The first month he came into power he stored 70 locomotives! Says if all, and it was at that moment when I realised rail freights future was going to be very grim. Lots of traffic has been lost to road, not just other FOCs. Loadhaul/Transrail/Mainline/RFD and then EWS in their early days looked promising, and look at them today. Some freight yards are so quiet you'd think they had closed down! Freight is very few and far between at locations that used to be frequented by it.

 

[D365]

Truth be told DB have very little interest in any real serious railfreight development in the UK and I can see them reduce their operations even further with more stock going abroad.

Made worse by the company's stubborn refusal to sell any (relatively) modern locomotion (Classes 60, 90/92) and their contentness to just let it all rot or ship it out of the country... Thank goodness they are seeing sense in leasing 92s to DRS for what was their (EWS/DBS before they lost it) 'Tesco train'.

 

[Beveridges]

Made worse by the company's stubborn refusal to sell any (relatively) modern locomotion (Classes 60, 90/92) and their contentness to just let it all rot or ship it out of the country... Thank goodness they are seeing sense in leasing 92s to DRS for what was their (EWS/DBS before they lost it) 'Tesco train'.

You can add 56/58 to that as well, I'm sure these would have found use by other operators if it wasnt for EWS stubborn refusal to sell anything, these got shipped abroad for the continental trainspotters to enjoy when they could have stayed over here for our entertainment.


Is there any freight that EWS didn't lose to other operators? Christ, GBRF, DRS and FLHHs entire business is made up of freight they stole from EWS/DB. The same can even be said for Colas Rail. Then you can add a s**tload (or should I say, ten s**tloads) of traffic they lost to road. Most notably the Royal Mail and the entire Enterprise network.

 

[455driver]

Is there any freight that EWS didn't lose to other operators? Christ, GBRF, DRS and FLHHs entire business is made up of freight they stole from EWS/DB. The same can even be said for Colas Rail. Then you can add a s**tload (or should I say, ten s**tloads) of traffic they lost to road. Most notably the Royal Mail and the entire Enterprise network.

Stole?

Dont you mean DBS gave it away!
If DB cant run the trains the customer needs then they will take the business elsewhere, you can include Network Rail in that! There are some renewals that were due to be done but were cancelled at the last minute because DBS couldnt provide a driver for the ballast train, is that good for NR or DBS?

 

[Monty]

Wagonload traffic was already on it's way out well before EWS first took over from BR so there is no real great surprise there. Loosing the mail contract was unfortunate, however neither EWS and their successor DBS have done themselves no favours in keeping the customers they already have. Their management in their charter operations is a recent example of this, and yea while they have lost a fair bit of work to their competitors it's unfair to say that all they have done is poach work off EWS/DBS. Colas for example have worked very hard to create entirely flows.

 

[Beveridges]

Wagonload traffic was already on it's way out well before EWS first took over from BR so there is no real great surprise there. Loosing the mail contract was unfortunate, however neither EWS and their successor DBS have done themselves no favours in keeping the customers they already have. Their management in their charter operations is a recent example of this, and yea while they have lost a fair bit of work to their competitors it's unfair to say that all they have done is poach work off EWS/DBS. Colas for example have worked very hard to create entirely flows.

Colas:

The log trains that they run to Chirk used to be EWS, I remember them well!

Oil Tanks to/from Grangemouth/Sinfin - again - all used to be EWS.

Coal / Infrastructure - again, all work EWS used to do and no one else. EWS had a total monopoly on this when they took over Loadhaul / Transrail / Mainline.

I don't blame other FOC's for taking it off EWS I entirely blame EWS as they have been extremely poor since 2002, running British railfreight down. Bit of a difference to when they first took over in the 90's and promised mass expansion, tripling freight in ten years (even wagonload traffic was part of that plan), promising every branch line will have a freight train. Then as we all know, the opposite happened.

 

[Ciderking]

70801 now with yellow ends. hock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ7n3oD1440

 

[Monty]

That have to be the most horrific application of yellow ends I have ever seen. Am I right in thinking their is a specific 'standard' shade of yellow that has to be used? That looks far too faded IMO.

 

[swt_passenger]

That have to be the most horrific application of yellow ends I have ever seen. Am I right in thinking their is a specific 'standard' shade of yellow that has to be used? That looks far faded IMO.

That could just be an undercoat? Work in progress?

 

[455driver]

That could just be an undercoat? Work in progress?

my thoughts as well.

 

[anthony263]

my thoughts as well.

The green livery is the same livery it was painted in when it arrived in the uk before being stored til Colas decided to take it on.

Colas are probably starting to repaint it into the standard colas livery and I cant see them letting it out into service in the current livery it is wearing

 

[Ciderking]

They need to do driver training before the arrival of their new locos so it's possible that it might stay green until then.

 

[class 9]

Colas:

The log trains that they run to Chirk used to be EWS, I remember them well!

Oil Tanks to/from Grangemouth/Sinfin - again - all used to be EWS.

Coal / Infrastructure - again, all work EWS used to do and no one else. EWS had a total monopoly on this when they took over Loadhaul / Transrail / Mainline.

I don't blame other FOC's for taking it off EWS I entirely blame EWS as they have been extremely poor since 2002, running British railfreight down. Bit of a difference to when they first took over in the 90's and promised mass expansion, tripling freight in ten years (even wagonload traffic was part of that plan), promising every branch line will have a freight train. Then as we all know, the opposite happened.

Colas's entry into coal was not an EWS flow, it was a brand new flow from Wolsingham disposal point on the old Eastgate line.

 

[fgwrich]

Still green. And ugly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/turners_pics/10496095206/lightbox/

 

[Peter Sarf]

The cabs really don't seem to belong on the rest of the loco - as though the cab is for a larger gauge and has been stuck on too low to help it fit under bridges etc. The fact that only the bottom 2/3rds is yellow amplifies this.

 

[Class 92]

Still green. And ugly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/turners_pics/10496095206/lightbox/

I don't mind the green (even though its plain and boring!) but that yellow on it makes it look awful.

 

[Loki]

We really need to get rid of this yellow front requirement. It's not relevant anymore.