Class 18 trialled at Chasewater Railway
THE first of 15 Class 18 locomotives, which are being built by Clayton Equipment
Ltd, has been undergoing trials at the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire.
Beacon Rail placed an order with the Burton-upon-Trentbased manufacturer in May 2020 for the 90 tonne Bo-Bo hybrid locomotives (Clayton’s CBD90 design) which have both a diesel engine and battery packs.
The batteries, which can be charged using either groundbased facilities or the Euro
Stage V emissions-compliant
JCB Power Systems 55 kilowatt (74 hp) diesel unit (supplied via Power Torque Engineering, whose team are also giving technical support to the project) can also be topped-up through the locomotive’s regenerative braking system offering emissions-free operation. The diesel engine can be used where needed for range and performance.
Clayton has already supplied the CBD90 to Tata Steel UK at Port Talbot, where a total of seven will ultimately be operational.
Marketed primarily for shunting applications, Beacon has yet to confirm where any of its locomotives will be deployed, although they have been designated Class 18. This offers the possibility of operation in areas which are also used by main line locomotives, such as depots and sidings, where they have been floated as a potential successor to some of the remaining Class 08s. The designation also follows-on numerically from Clayton’s central-cabbed British Railways Type 1s (Class 17s), built in the 1960s, of which one example, D8568, survives.
Beacon has a three-year exclusivity deal to be the sole lessor of the locos in the UK.
Testing of No. 18001 on Chasewater Railway continued throughout November following its arrival early in the month.
Clayton says that work is well underway on No. 18002 and the factory has also received the frames for 18003.