Peak Forest heavy ‘shunters’.

[19Gnasher69]

Yesterday WNXX had photographs of 37901 at Peak Forest and an accompanying description. Within the latter was a note stating ‘Class 60s are actually far more suitable but that's another story’.
Anyone know what is this other story?

 

[Alanko]

People still wistfully holding a candle for 60s and their ability to single handedly pull heavy stone trains out of Peak Forest from a standing start. Presumably.

There seems to be a belief in some quarters that 60s were brilliantly capable locomotives, cruelly put out to pasture when EWS appeared purely so that inferior US-built locos could be flown in instead.

 

[alexl92]

People still wistfully holding a candle for 60s and their ability to single handedly pull heavy stone trains out of Peak Forest from a standing start. Presumably.

There seems to be a belief in some quarters that 60s were brilliantly capable locomotives, cruelly put out to pasture when EWS appeared purely so that inferior US-built locos could be flown in instead.

By all accounts I have heard, Class 60s are still superior to 66s when it comes to starting heavier trains.
The 66s are the highly capable all-round freight loco but 60s do outperform them in certain situations.
Whether that’s the reason for the comment or not, I couldnt say.

 

[43096]

People still wistfully holding a candle for 60s and their ability to single handedly pull heavy stone trains out of Peak Forest from a standing start. Presumably.

There seems to be a belief in some quarters that 60s were brilliantly capable locomotives, cruelly put out to pasture when EWS appeared purely so that inferior US-built locos could be flown in instead.

The 60 is a heavy-hauler par excellence, matched in this country only by a Class 70. In terms of shifting a heavy load it is superior to a 66; the 66 being designed as a general freight workhorse.

 

[19Gnasher69]

Yes, I understood that the 60s have a superior starting tractive effort to the 66s.
Though the WNXX quote seems to refer to them being better suited to the shunting job than the 37s. I’d have thought that was a given but the WNXX comment appeared to infer that 60s would be used but aren’t for unspecified reasons. I guess it could be as simple as DBC’s predilection for 66s and apparent wish to run down the 60s.

 

[Killingworth]

Dunno about 37s and 60s but good to see these two still in harness after 60 years or so. And another pair at the Breedon site at Hope.

 

[eastwestdivide]

…Class 60s are actually far more suitable but that's another story…

Maybe they just meant that there are hardly any serviceable ones available. A throwaway remark that we’re reading too much into?