Former DB Cargo Class 60s are destined for DC Rail
Class 60s offered for sale by DB Cargo have been acquired by Cappagh Group for DC Rail, with the first locomotive moving to UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester depot on April 14. DC Rail already operates four Class 60s – 60028/029/046/055 – which were returned to service by DB Cargo at Toton, while the company has a fifth locomotive at Leicester, 60060, which has been used as a spares donor and not returned to service. A source at DB Cargo had previously told Railways Illustrated that the company was in advanced discussions with Cappagh about the purchase of the 14 locomotives – 60008/009/013/022/038/057/061/0 64/070/075/080/090/098/099 – but the movement of 60099 to Leicester in mid-april confirms they have now been acquired by the company. All of the locomotives involved have been out of service for long periods and some have been subject to extensive component recovery. The first to be withdrawn by the then EWS was 60098, which was stopped as far back as May 2004, while the most recent to be stood down was 60099 in December 2015.
60099 was previously used as a testbed locomotive for the ‘Super 60’ project, which saw a number of Class 60s refurbished by DB Cargo at Toton. The same refurbishment work was carried out to 10 Class 60s acquired by Colas Rail Freight and the four overhauled DC Rail examples, although the Colas locomotives have since moved to GB Railfreight as part of the company’s fleet expansion.
It is understood that some of the Class 60s will be returned to service by UK Rail Leasing at Leicester, while others could be revived at the former Brush Works in Loughborough, which looks set to continue to be used for railway engineering purposes under new ownership following its closure at the end of last year. The 100 Class 60s were built at the Loughborough facility.
It is presently unknown how many of the newly acquired Class 60s will be returned to use and over how long they will be revived.
Of the 100 Class 60s built, only 60006 has been scrapped, although a large number of the fleet are in store at Toton, with many having been out of traffic for well over a decade.
The operational members of the fleet are now in service with DB Cargo, GB Railfreight, and DC Rail, while Locomotive Services has bought former celebrity green-liveried 60081 for eventual display at the One:one Museum facility at Margate, but it remains at Toton awaiting cosmetic attention. 60050/086 have been bought for preservation but not yet restored, and are stored on an industrial estate.