by Keith MacCauley
For the second time while vacationing in the UK I heard the distinctive turbo-charged chant of a two cycle EMD prime mover. To my delight I was able to get decent photos of two GMDD London built Class 66 locomotives along with pan shots of another. Some details as follows. Officially a model JT42CWR, the Class 66 locomotive is configured as double cab, full width carbody. Powered by a twelve cylinder 710 prime mover developing 3,300 HP, the double ended DC locomotive features EMD’s patented self-steering trucks. Production of the Class 66 locomotives would commence in 1998 in London Ontario and, following the closure of the GMDD facility in 2012, conclude in 2016 from Muncie IN. In total some five-hundred were produced for the UK; through sales and acquisitions, operation of the British Class 66’s has spread into Europe.
Seemingly operating crew protection in Great Britain is not a priority; I did not even see evidence of an anti-climber on the pilots. I have to believe that there must be substantial collision posts positioned in front of the engineer’s and helper’s seats (not sure if they use the term ‘conductor’?).
GB Railfreight 66706 was built in 2001, Heavy Haul Rail 66418 was built in 2006, and Freightliner 66566 was delivered in 2002.
