Class 66 competition

BR blue ‘66’ model

We’ve got a GBRF Class 66 in BR Blue with ‘large logo’ to give away to one lucky reader this month. Turn to page 70 for details.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you – this is a Class 66 in BR ‘Large Logo’ blue. Freight operator GBRF likes to celebrate our railway’s past in the form of new names and liveries for its Class 66 fleet. 66715’s Valour nameplate invokes the spirit of the Great Central Railway’s 4-6-0 No. 1165, while 66725/726/729/736 and 738’s football nameplates are in the style of the LNER’S ‘B17’s’. It symbolically painted 66779, the final ‘66’ built for use in the UK, in BR lined green, and named it Evening Star in homage to final ‘9F’ No. 92220. 66779, however, is no longer the last Class 66 in the GBRF fleet. The company bought ten ‘66s’ from DB towards the end of 2017. The locomotives, formerly 66008/016/046/058/081 /132/141/184/238 and 250 have been overhauled at Eastleigh Works and re-numbered in the 66780-789 range. 66789 is now the highest numbered ‘66’ in the GBRF fleet, so what better subject to carry a commemorative livery to mark 70 years since Britain’s railways were nationalised, and 21 years since BR ran its last train? ‘Large Logo’ blue is one of BR’S most popular liveries, particularly as it was applied to Class 37/4s roaring through Scottish Highlands and Class 50s speeding their way along the old LSWR main line to Exeter. GBRF’S Engineering Director Bob Tiller has cleverly reworked the scheme to suit the ‘66’s’ angular lines and corrugated sides.