Latest Freightliner ‘86/6’ in storage

Freightliner stored 86622 at Crewe Basford Hall at the end of November.

The electric locomotive is the seventh ‘86/6’ stored by FL this year, with suggestions that the remaining nine could be out of traffic by the end of the year.

FL’s veteran locomotives date from 1965-66. They are currently being replaced by former Greater Anglia Class 90s acquired from Porterbrook earlier this year (90003-90015), with 11 of the 13 now in traffic.

Should Freightliner dispense with its ‘86s’, that will end continuous use of the class on the UK main line, with locomotives owned by Locomotive Services Ltd (86101), West Coast Railway Company (86401) and Les Ross (86259) the only serviceable main line examples. Many remain in use in eastern Europe.

During the summer, Freightliner said the plan was to retain the ‘86s’ and eventually return them to traffic following a rebuild, so that the operator could run more electrically hauled services.