Posted 9th November 2009 | 8 Comments
New American locos for Freightliner arrive in Britain
Picture: Brian Morrison
The first American GE PowerHaul locomotives for Freightliner have arrived at Newport in South Wales.
The two are the first of an eventual fleet of 30 of Class 70s. Four more should leave the US within the next month, but further deliveries are not due until later in 2010. Freightliner said the performance of the first six will be carefully monitored in service, and the first two will be divided between the Heavyhaul and Intermodal divisions of Freightliner.
Freightliner Group Engineering Director Tim Shakerley said: “I am extremely proud to see the first two PowerHaul locomotives arrive in the UK. This product is a culmination of two years of hard work and partnership with GE, in order to produce a locomotive that will increase our haulage capabilities and bring further reduction to our carbon emissions.”
The locomotives were shipped from Virginia on 23 October. Freightliner said they would provide 'greater hauling capacity and significant improvements in fuel economy'.
The locomotives are being leased from Lloyds TSB, but Freightliner has not disclosed the total value of the order.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Henry, London, Canada
Electricity has to come from somewhere....Studies still show that the cleanest most efficient way to haul freight is diesel-electric....I say the class 66 from EMD are #1.....
Ian Mc Donald, clacton, Essex
GE havee the right idea, improve the existing model and not build compltely new
paulrichman, Stoke on Trent, UK
yes they are.............and FL wasted their money on an already outdated "bendy-paint" livery that only makes them look worse!!
leslie burge, leicester, england
They look great and I hope they win back freight off the roads.
But electrification is what we need and more electric freight trains.
David Copping, Polegate, United Kingdom
Is there such a thing as an attractive diesel locomotive?
Llion, Cardiff
They look great, they sort of look like a puppy but also like a true beast. I do hope this will help the rail industry win back even more freight haulage, and if it is as efficient as they say it is the price of moving the freight should be cheaper for the customer and FHH. I do hope I get to drive these beasts once I am qualified.
Chris, Wishaw, UK
I wouldn;t say they are ugly. They just look like a more streamlined version of the old Class 58's.
My only concern is that I would like to have seen Freightliner maybe getting it's hands on some electric locomotives. Those 86's are going to last forever.
Mick, Cardiff, Wales
Efficient they may be, but does anyone else think that these are the ugliest locomotives ever to set wheel to rail in this country?