GBRf Class 99 - 30 locomotives now ordered

[Trainman40083]

Anyone know if either or both 99003 99004 are outside at Leicester or tucked up in the warmth of their new home??

When I passed by a couple of weeks ago, only 99001/99002 were outside.

 

[Dood75]

When I passed by a couple of weeks ago, only 99001/99002 were outside.

Thank you...

 

[99009]

Wnxx website reporting that 99005 and 99006 due to dock at Portbury on February 5th.

Assuming that this is still accurate, I've had a look at this website linked below.

The link shows a list of vessels that are expected to arrive at Portbury in the coming days.

Port of Portbury (United Kingdom (UK)) - Arrivals, Departures, Expected vessels - VesselFinder

Port of Portbury (United Kingdom (UK)) - Real-time data for recent ship arrivals and departures, ships in port and scheduled vessel arrivals. Weather information and forecasts for the next 7 days.

www.vesselfinder.com

99001+99002 arrived on Constance, which according to the website above is a General Cargo Ship.
99003+99004 arrived on Nereus Highway, which according to the website above is a Vehicles Carrier.

The only vehicles carrier scheduled to arrive at Portbury in the next 3 days (according to the above link) is the Grande Roma tomorrow at 10:00. So could that be the ship for 99005+99006?

Also while I'm typing here, a quick question. Did anyone see either 0Q75 or 0Q76 on Saturday and if so, can anyone please confirm that 99002 led 0Q75 Millerhill - Peterborough and 99001 led 0Q76 Peterborough - Leicester?

 

[HMTrains]

Assuming that this is still accurate, I've had a look at this website linked below.

The link shows a list of vessels that are expected to arrive at Portbury in the coming days.

Port of Portbury (United Kingdom (UK)) - Arrivals, Departures, Expected vessels - VesselFinder

Port of Portbury (United Kingdom (UK)) - Real-time data for recent ship arrivals and departures, ships in port and scheduled vessel arrivals. Weather information and forecasts for the next 7 days.

www.vesselfinder.com

99001+99002 arrived on Constance, which according to the website above is a General Cargo Ship.
99003+99004 arrived on Nereus Highway, which according to the website above is a Vehicles Carrier.

The only vehicles carrier scheduled to arrive at Portbury in the next 3 days (according to the above link) is the Grande Roma tomorrow at 10:00. So could that be the ship for 99005+99006?

Also while I'm typing here, a quick question. Did anyone see either 0Q75 or 0Q76 on Saturday and if so, can anyone please confirm that 99002 led 0Q75 Millerhill - Peterborough and 99001 led 0Q76 Peterborough - Leicester?

There is another ship expected to arrive on Wednesday that is a General Cargo Ship and originates from Spain

 

[ExRes]

Reported on WNXX that the delivery of 005 & 006 has been put back by about a week, anticipated delivery now around the 12th via Avonmouth Docks, future deliveries are also expected via Avonmouth

 

[Sheldonian]

Anyone know whether they have arrived yet or still on course for 12th?

 

[99009]

No idea about 99005+99006 unfortunately. And my question about if 99002 led 0Q75 and 99001 led 0Q76 on Saturday 31st January 2026 is still valid if anyone happened to see these moves?

The next outing of a 99 is tomorrow afternoon in daylight to Peterborough. I don't think all the paths are in the system yet, so I've only posted the Peterborough related ones here for now, but whichever 99 (or 99's) go to Peterborough will be testing on the GEML between Ipswich and Temple Mills loop tomorrow night/Saturday morning.

0Q04 Leicester - Peterborough:

Realtime Trains | 0Q04 1520 Leicester L.I.P. to Peterborough North Yd Gbrf | 13/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 0Q04 1520 departure from Leicester L.I.P. to Peterborough North Yd Gbrf on 13/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

4Q04 Peterborough - Ipswich:

Realtime Trains | 4Q04 1807 Peterborough North Yd Gbrf to Ipswich Reception Gbrf | 13/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 4Q04 1807 departure from Peterborough North Yd Gbrf to Ipswich Reception Gbrf on 13/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Obar123]

Looks like they will then do 3 runs between Ipswich and Felixstowe on Sunday. Then back to Peterborough in the evening.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The next outing of a 99 is tomorrow afternoon in daylight to Peterborough. I don't think all the paths are in the system yet, so I've only posted the Peterborough related ones here for now, but whichever 99 (or 99's) go to Peterborough will be testing on the GEML between Ipswich and Temple Mills loop tomorrow night/Saturday morning.

If it helps, the pair visible outside at Leicester yesterday ( 11/02/26 ) were 99 001 + 99 003, so very possibly those two?


Edited to avoid confusion: Later posts show it was in fact 99 001 + 99 002 on the actual move.

 

[PJM]

Anyone know whether they have arrived yet or still on course for 12th?

99 Facebook page reporting that 005/6 are on the Canadian Highway, now due to dock on Feb 17th at 11.00.

 

[GB]

Looks like they will then do 3 runs between Ipswich and Felixstowe on Sunday. Then back to Peterborough in the evening.

Yes.
4Q26 0900 Ex Ipswich
4Q28 1028 Ex FXN
4Z28 1137 Ex Ipswich
4Q29 1331 Ex FXN
4Z29 1437 Ex Ipswich
4Q30 1625 Ex FXN
4Q05 1801 Ex Ipswich (To Peterborough)

 

[chipbury]

99 Facebook page reporting that 005/6 are on the Canadian Highway, now due to dock on Feb 17th at 11.00.

The ship looks to be sat in the lee of southern Portugal/Spain waiting for the weather to drop. There’s currently 6m+ waves in the Atlantic.

 

[Nottingham59]

Looks like they will then do 3 runs between Ipswich and Felixstowe on Sunday. Then back to Peterborough in the evening.

Would those be with a trailing load to test performance on the hill?

 

[66701GBRF]

Would those be with a trailing load to test performance on the hill?

Full train, as close to 2200 tonnes as possible.

 

[Obar123]

Full train, as close to 2200 tonnes as possible.

Only timed for 1600 tonnes for the Felixstowe runs. 1200 for the Stratford and 2400 to/from Peterborough. So they must all be less than 1200 unless they take off and then add back on some wagons at Ipswich.

 

[Rail Quest]

Only timed for 1600 tonnes for the Felixstowe runs. 1200 for the Stratford and 2400 to/from Peterborough. So they must all be less than 1200 unless they take off and then add back on some wagons at Ipswich.

According to RTT, the first run to Felixstowe, 4Q26, is timed for 2400 tonnes.

RTT link: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R32236/2026-02-15/detailed
[URL redirects to RealTime Trains for 4Q26]

 

[Peter Sarf]

Yes.
4Q26 0900 Ex Ipswich
4Q28 1028 Ex FXN
4Z28 1137 Ex Ipswich
4Q29 1331 Ex FXN
4Z29 1437 Ex Ipswich
4Q30 1625 Ex FXN
4Q05 1801 Ex Ipswich (To Peterborough)

Note 4Q24, 4Q26 and 4Q27 involve two visits to Temple Mills in London via the GEML !.

 

[99009]

Here are the schedules for the runs along the GEML to/from Temple Mills loop tonight in case anyone was after them:

4Q24 Ipswich - Temple Mills Loop:

Realtime Trains | 4Q24 2332 Ipswich S.S. to Temple Mills Loop | 13/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 4Q24 2332 departure from Ipswich S.S. to Temple Mills Loop on 13/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

4Z24 Temple Mills Loop - Ipswich:

Realtime Trains | 4Z24 0235 Temple Mills Loop to Ipswich Reception Gbrf | 14/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 4Z24 0235 departure from Temple Mills Loop to Ipswich Reception Gbrf on 14/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

4Q26 Ipswich - Temple Mills Loop:

Realtime Trains | 4Q26 0447 Ipswich Reception Gbrf to Temple Mills Loop | 14/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 4Q26 0447 departure from Ipswich Reception Gbrf to Temple Mills Loop on 14/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

4Z27 Temple Mills Loop - Ipswich:

Realtime Trains | 4Z27 0704 Temple Mills Loop to Ipswich Reception Gbrf | 14/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 4Z27 0704 departure from Temple Mills Loop to Ipswich Reception Gbrf on 14/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

4Z27 tomorrow morning, if it runs on time or delayed, will be in daylight.

 

[Adrian Barr]

0Q04 Leicester - Peterborough (post #1267) consisted in TOPS as 99001 + 99002

4Q04 Peterborough - Ipswich consisted as 99001 + 99002 + 66301 + 66721 and loaded container traffic which had originated from Doncaster Iport.

(Container traffic had run south on 4L98 06:39 Doncaster Iport - Peterborough Yard, normally a through service to London Gateway. There's a 4Z98 10:24 Peterborough Yard - London Gateway on Monday which may be a special to get the containers to their destination after being used on the class 99 trials).

4Q24 23:32 Ipswich Yard - Temple Mills loop has the same consist in TOPS as 4Q04, showing as 99001 hauling and the other 3 locos dead, which gives a trailing tonnage of 2357 (pulling 3 locos + 36 wagons). Total train length is 2222 feet / 677 metres, about 106 SLU (standard length units).

 

[Rail Quest]

Just watched some clips of 4Q04 on YouTube (linked below). 99001 was certainly trying it's hardest! Considering the weight of this train is more akin to an aggregate working rather than an intermodal, it looked like it did well. I did notice it accumulated a delay on RTT, not clear if that was because of the performance of the loco or something else.

YouTube clips:

[URLs both redirect to YouTube videos of 99001 hauling 4Q04]

 

[800001]

99 Facebook page reporting that 005/6 are on the Canadian Highway, now due to dock on Feb 17th at 11.00.

wnxx website now stating the 20th for docking and 23rd Feb for onward movement.

Class 99s... The arrival of 99005 & 99006 (both MBEL) into the UK has been delayed slightly again, shipping arrangements, and they are now currently expected to arrive on/around the 20th. Movement from Avonmouth is currently scheduled to take place on the 23rd.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Looking at the Sunday runs listed in post #1271 above:

4Q26 this morning (09:00 Ipswich Yard - Felixstowe North) was consisted with 66721 / 66301 / 99002 / 99001 and the full train of 36 wagons used on 4Q24 Friday night (see post #1279).
If the 66s were leading as per consist (?) this may have just been a positioning move.

4Q28 10:26 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard is consisted as 99001 / 99002 / 66721 / 66301 and 24 of the intermodal wagons ex 4Q26. Assuming 99001 is working solo, this gives a trailing weight of 1651 tons (3 dead locos + 24 wagons). It departed late and lost a further 30 mins on the way to Ipswich, but this appears to be due to regulation for passenger trains on the branch rather than any performance issues.

 

[Unobrow]

Anyone know what the total weight of 4Q04 was? Another good comparison test would be Peterborough-Nuneaton. If the 99’s really can match a 66 on that route, the future could be very interesting.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Anyone know what the total weight of 4Q04 was?

Same as 4Q24 (post #1279) - assuming 99001 was working solo, it would have been a trailing tonnage of 2357 (pulling 3 locos + 36 wagons).

*

4Z28 11:37 Ipswich Yard - Felixstowe North today was 66721 / 66301 / 99002 / 99001 and the same 24 wagons off 4Q28 this morning (post #1282).

4Q29 13:31 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard and 4Z29 14:37 return were cancelled due to accumulated late running (4Z28 was 108 late into Felixstowe).

4Q30 16:27 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard is interesting as the consist shows 99001 / 99002 / 66301 / 66721 with the full formation of 36 wagons marshalled back together that had arrived on 4Q26 this morning. It's not clear on TOPS if 99001 was working solo (should be some YouTube videos to check later) but if so it would be 2357 tons trailing again. If 99001 + 99002 were working in multi it would be 2244 tons trailing.

 

[Rail Quest]

Looking at the Sunday runs listed in post #1271 above:

4Q26 this morning (09:00 Ipswich Yard - Felixstowe North) was consisted with 66721 / 66301 / 99002 / 99001 and the full train of 36 wagons used on 4Q24 Friday night (see post #1279).
If the 66s were leading as per consist (?) this may have just been a positioning move.

4Q28 10:26 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard is consisted as 99001 / 99002 / 66721 / 66301 and 24 of the intermodal wagons ex 4Q26. Assuming 99001 is working solo, this gives a trailing weight of 1651 tons (3 dead locos + 24 wagons). It departed late and lost a further 30 mins on the way to Ipswich, but this appears to be due to regulation for passenger trains on the branch rather than any performance issues.

By the looks of this video, 4Q26 was indeed headed by the sheds and 4Q28 headed by 99001 (though it's hard to tell if this was on its own under power as, in the departure seen at 2:10 in the video, I feel like I can hear 99002's engine idling):

[URL redirects to YouTube video of the 99 test runs to Felixstowe]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Feb 2026 ==

4Q30 16:27 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard is interesting as the consist shows 99001 / 99002 / 66301 / 66721 with the full formation of 36 wagons marshalled back together that had arrived on 4Q26 this morning. It's not clear on TOPS if 99001 was working solo (should be some YouTube videos to check later) but if so it would be 2357 tons trailing again. If 99001 + 99002 were working in multi it would be 2244 tons trailing.

Final clip in the video is of 4Q30 with 99001 working very hard. I think it's the only one under power but again can't quite tell for sure. That 36 wagon consist is absolutely huge! Presumably 4Q28 was intended as a software test with 4Q30 being the stretch goal for testing.

 

[dk1]

Looking at the Sunday runs listed in post #1271 above:

4Q26 this morning (09:00 Ipswich Yard - Felixstowe North) was consisted with 66721 / 66301 / 99002 / 99001 and the full train of 36 wagons used on 4Q24 Friday night (see post #1279).
If the 66s were leading as per consist (?) this may have just been a positioning move.

4Q28 10:26 Felixstowe North - Ipswich Yard is consisted as 99001 / 99002 / 66721 / 66301 and 24 of the intermodal wagons ex 4Q26. Assuming 99001 is working solo, this gives a trailing weight of 1651 tons (3 dead locos + 24 wagons). It departed late and lost a further 30 mins on the way to Ipswich, but this appears to be due to regulation for passenger trains on the branch rather than any performance issues.

Trouble building air I was told caused the late start.

 

[Unobrow]

Same as 4Q24 (post #1279) - assuming 99001 was working solo, it would have been a trailing tonnage of 2357 (pulling 3 locos + 36 wagons).

Thanks for that, I must have skimmed it and not clocked that. Certainly a hefty load then, the results are going to be very interesting!

 

[99009]

My apologies if any of this has already been discussed, but I'm currently updating my Class 99 records (Temple Mills is done, now got to do Felixstowe!) and can confirm the following bits of info:

Firstly, if anyone wants to see a video that includes all 4 of the workings to/from Temple Mills loop, that's here: (The same Youtube channel extremely helpfully also has a video that covers all 4 workings to/from Felixstowe - thank you if you're reading this!)

Secondly, if anyone is after the consist of the Temple Mills loop workings, I've seen a video that 100% confirms the 4Z27 consist was as follows:
66721+66301+99002+99001+704520319-2+704521095-7+704520318-4+704663046-0+704663045-2+704663034-6+704663033-8+704520197-2+704521034-6+704520196-4+704663184-9+704663183-1+704520203-8+704521037-9+704520202-0+704520350-7+704521111-2+704520351-5+704663306-8+704663305-0+704663264-9+704663263-1+640689+704663173-2+704663174-0+704520316-8+704521094-0+704520317-6+630021+630022+704520325-9+704521098-1+704520324-2+704520134-5+704521003-1+704520135-2.

Thirdly, for anyone interested in routing info for 99's, I can confirm after watching Traksy that on both occasions to run around at Temple Mills loop, the 99's and 66's went via Lea Bridge (reverse), Temple Mills East Jn, Olympic Park Jn, Stratford Platform 12 (reverse) and then back to Temple Mills loop. If anyone is interested I can post here a full version of all the routes where 99's have visited so far.

Finally (for now), the eagle-eyed among you may have realised that 99001+99002 are still at Peterborough after working 4Q05 from Ipswich and that they haven't returned to Leicester. That's because today one (or both of them) will work the following moves to/from Doncaster:

0Q17 Peterborough - Doncaster Decoy via Spalding + Lincoln Central:

Realtime Trains | 0Q17 0900 Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf | 16/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 0Q17 0900 departure from Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

0Q18 Doncaster Decoy - Peterborough via ECML and almost 1 hour stopped at Newark Northgate:

Realtime Trains | 0Q18 1155 Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf to Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf | 16/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 0Q18 1155 departure from Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf to Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

0Q19 Peterborough - Doncaster Decoy via Spalding + Lincoln Central:

Realtime Trains | 0Q19 1426 Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf | 16/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 0Q19 1426 departure from Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

0Q20 Doncaster Decoy - Peterborough via Lincoln Central + Spalding:

Realtime Trains | 0Q20 1657 Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf to Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf | 16/02/2026

Real-time train running information for 0Q20 1657 departure from Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf to Peterboro Maint Shed Gbrf on 16/02/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

NOTE: 0Q17 and 0Q18 have paths to run until at least Wednesday morning/afternoon. 0Q19 and 0Q20 have paths to run until at least Tuesday afternoon/evening. Only 0Q18 is scheduled to run via the ECML.

 

[Harlequinuk]

99001 climbs the Clickett Hill bank out of Felixstowe North​

Not my video, but an excellent view (and sound) of the single engine hauling the very much loaded train out of Felixstowe

 

[hwl]

Same as 4Q24 (post #1279) - assuming 99001 was working solo, it would have been a trailing tonnage of 2357 (pulling 3 locos + 36 wagons).

If 99001 + 99002 were working in multi it would be 2244 tons trailing.

But does any one know the actual container weights? Most container services are lighter than the wagon max weights would permit, hence surely those numbers are the maximum they could be and in reality the train would be lighter than the maximum?
I could actually be quite tricky to find enough heavily loaded containers to get on one train with out delaying some.

Edit to add:
The video posted by @Harlequinuk shows are reasonable number of 20' containers and empty spots which suggest it might not have been that heavy a loading of containers, the 3 extra trailing locos adding some weight but with less overall resistance than the equivalent weight in containers.