NEWS UPDATE

DB CARGO

THREE more Class 66s have been repatriated to the UK from their secondment to DB Cargo France (previously Euro Cargo Rail), Nos. 66179, 66224 and 66244 arriving back on British rails on December 12. They join Nos. 66010, 66028, 66032 (now repainted into DB traffic red), 66073, 66190 and 66205, which made a similar trip back to these shores in June and

July (see August and September 2021 issues).

THE three WGEA (ECR locomotives) pool Class 66s were tucked in behind

No. 66051 working the 6E26 Dollands Moor-Scunthorpe empty rails the next day (13th) – only as far as Doncaster – for the first leg of their journey to Toton.

This final stage was courtesy of Nos. 66060 and 66088 on the 14th, which sandwiched the trio on a 0Z54 from Belmont to DBC’s primary diesel depot.

Following the end of the RHTT season, the Class 66s in the dedicated WBRT pool have been steadily transferred away, leaving an allocation of just three locomotives, Nos. 66015, 66116 and 66155, as the year drew to a close. Nos. 66098, 66074, 66092, 66111, 66121, 66151, 66174 and 66183 moved to WBAE, No. 66114 to WBBE and Nos. 66186, 66194 and 66206 are all now part of the WBAR pool.

RAILADVENTURE

HAVING completed their Interrail trip around Europe courtesy of their new owners (see November 2021 issue), RailAdventure’s Nos. 43480 and 43484 returned to the UK in November, being recorded moving from Immingham Docks to Eastleigh East Yard by road on the 30th.

ALSO moving south on the same day was Hanson & Hall No. 50008, which ran from Leicester to drag the pair of HST power cars the short distance to Eastleigh Works on December 1.

The following day (2nd), Thunderer visited Willesden to collect the outstanding members of the HHPC pool, Nos. 43296, 43308, 43423 and 43467 – all of which had been stored at the Alstom depot since March 2021 – and return them to Eastleigh under a 0Z43 headcode.

Meanwhile, No. 43468 has completed its transformation from EMR/ EMT blue to the RailAdventure corporate image, having been outshopped in plain grey in October.

FREIGHTLINER

CLASS 90 No. 90005 was released from Wolverton after its orange repaint and worked back to Crewe Basford Hall on December 14 (0Z90) under its own power.

THE following week No. 90011 also departed Wolverton after swapping its Greater Anglia white for its new Genesee & Wyoming corporate image. It made the trip back to Crewe on the 23rd. This leaves just nine out of the 22 operational Class 90s to be similarly treated.