http://www.railmagazine.com/trains/current-trains/the-resurgent-60s
Work on each locomotive includes a complete power unit overhaul, and fitting new pistons, cylinder liners and cylinders heads, crankshaft and camshaft.
The locomotives receive a full bogie refurbishment that also sees the traction motors undergo similar work. The electrical system is overhauled, including radiator fan motors and fuel pump motors, while the traction control gear is upgraded and fitted with the latest software. Cabs are refurbished, and reliability modifications carried out.
- See more at:
http://www.railmagazine.com/trains/current-trains/the-resurgent-60s#sthash.P0w77vzh.dpuf
More than a 'tinker'..
And as for actual haulage capability, I guess you'd have to ask someone who drives them really...
Obviously I can't speak for the likes of '59's', '68's' and '70's' as I don't sign them, but make no mistake a '60' in good fettle is an incredibly strong machine. Aside from the lower gearing and higher tractive effort figures (class 60 = 106,500 lbf class 66 = 91,900 lbf), they have other small advantages over a '66', which do stack up in their favour.
For example, on a '66' the sanding gear doesn't work above 10 mph. So you can only really use it to get started and keep you moving at up to 10 mph. On a '60', it is active all the times, so you can keep moving at a higher speed on a greasy rail and still apply sand. Why is that important? Well, even a small slip with a heavy train on a steep gradient will knock 3-5mph out of you. If you are doing 10 mph to start with, you're on the edge of getting into trouble. If you're doing 15mph, then you have that extra margin to keep the wheels turning.
On a '66', the power handle is notched, so you have to open it in stages and build the power up. You can't whack it open and let the computer sort out the wheel slip on each axle. On a '60' the power handle has one notch and the rest of the quadrant is infinitely variable, so you can do just that; Open it to maximum from a stand and let the electronics sort the rest. A '60' will out pull a '66' from a standing start every day of the week.
And from a driver's comfort point of view, the seat aside (air sprung on a '66' and not sprung at all on a '60'), the cabs are quieter and generally cleaner. The '60' has a transverse gangway behind each cab that keeps out 90% of the engine noise and dirt. In addition, the cabs seem to be better insulated and the windows fit better! Not as much wind noise on a '60' as a '66'. On a '66' you have to shout to make yourself heard if there is someone else in the cab and the vibrations can be appalling. A '66' also has different sized cabs, so the smaller of the two (number 2 cab) is pokey and small and has the added disadvantage that it sits right above one of the traction motors AND has the radiator group behind it. On a hot day with a loco being worked hard, the heat is stifling and opening the window just draws in more hot air! The heater is better in a '60' and the 'Super 60's' also have a nice little desktop style fan to blow grit in your eyes AND keep you cool
The cab is better thought out as well. No having to lean forwards off your seat to switch the wipers on or get up completely to turn the heater on.
Now, I don't want to go totally overboard on the class 60 as they do have their faults. 60 mph top speed, if you put the reverser into 'EO' (Engine only) too quickly, it drops the brake to zero and you have to wait for 2 minutes for the system to time out, the lights are crap, the Autosanders (measures wheel slip and adjusts power between the traction motors) can sometimes decided not to play and really f*** you up, the slow speed control only has three settings (0.5, 1 and 2.8 mph, whereas on a 66 you can set it to exactly what you want via the EM2000 computer interface) and certain parts, mainly electronic related seem to be hard to come by, but they are extremely good and strong engines that will pull a row of houses down. A '66' has its own part in things, which is working heavy freights at speeds up to 75mph, but for sheer low down grunt and pulling power, a '60' is the thing you want. That's why DBS don't use '66's' on the heaviest of trains. The Bootle branch from Liverpool Bulk terminal to Olive mount Jnc has some horrendous gradients. A '60' will shift 23 loaded HTA's at a total weight of over 2600 tons (in the dry) with no problem. A '66' on the same train gets short loaded to 20 or 21 because it can't cope. In the wet (pouring with rain, not just a drizzle) even a '60' gets short loaded simply due to the adverse gradients.
So, in my humble opinion the '60' gets my vote every day of the week. Unless you sign '59's', '68's' and '70's' and know otherwise!
