Direct Rail Services - Class 68 - 'Rapid' 68004 - Vossloh Eurolight
On 05/01/2012, Direct Rail Services announced it had placed an order for fifteen 100 mph (160 km/h) Vossloh Eurolight locomotives from Vossloh España for intermodal and passenger work fitted with a Caterpillar 16-cylinder 3,800 hp (2.8 MW) C175-16 engine giving a maximum speed of 100 m.p.h. and to be delivered from late 2013. They are leased from Beacon Rail. A total of 34 were built in three batches. From 2016, they were built by Stadler Rail rather than Vossloh España. 68004 is seen here about to power away from Ingrow when working the delayed 10:40 Oxenhope - Keighley service, in tandem with preserved British Railways - Class 33 - 'Dennis G Robinson' - 33202, at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Diesel Gala, on 12/06/2022. This certainly is an unusual working, especially as the Class 33 is from the 'slim bodied' batch, of which more details can be found in my previous photos. This service was fifteen minutes down at this point. The timetable never really recovered for the day. © Peter Steel 2022.
Direct Rail Services - Class 68 - 'Rapid' 68004 - Vossloh Eurolight
On 05/01/2012, Direct Rail Services announced it had placed an order for fifteen 100 mph (160 km/h) Vossloh Eurolight locomotives from Vossloh España for intermodal and passenger work fitted with a Caterpillar 16-cylinder 3,800 hp (2.8 MW) C175-16 engine giving a maximum speed of 100 m.p.h. and to be delivered from late 2013. They are leased from Beacon Rail. A total of 34 were built in three batches. From 2016, they were built by Stadler Rail rather than Vossloh España. 68004 is seen here about to power away from Ingrow when working the delayed 10:40 Oxenhope - Keighley service, in tandem with preserved British Railways - Class 33 - 'Dennis G Robinson' - 33202, at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Diesel Gala, on 12/06/2022. This certainly is an unusual working, especially as the Class 33 is from the 'slim bodied' batch, of which more details can be found in my previous photos. This service was fifteen minutes down at this point. The timetable never really recovered for the day. © Peter Steel 2022.