Freightliner UK has presented locomotive 59101 in a green design for Heidelberg Materials, previously known as Hanson UK.
Heidelberg Materials from Germany has owned Hanson since 2007 and recently started a rebranding of its UK daughter company. The Class 59/1 locomotives were delivered in 1990 to Hanson’s predecessor, ARC Southern. 59101 previously had the silver-blue Hanson design.
59101 kept its name and nameplates: “Village of Whatley”.
About Class 59
If this were America, we would speak of the EMD Class 40-2 locomotives (with elements of EMD Class SD60), yet we are in the UK. Maybe they are not so well known, but the predecessors of the legendary Class 66 locomotive – the Class 59s – are still in operation. They are known for their reliability. The 59s were developed in the mid-80s for heavy mining trains.
59001-59005 were initially ordered by Foster Yeoman. 59101-59104 were for ARC Southern, and finally, 59201-59206 for National Power. Nowadays, all locomotives are owned by Freightliner UK, except for 59003. This machine was sent to Germany in the 90s and since its re-patriation to the UK, it is the property of GB Railfreight.
The main tech specs
- EMD JT26CW-SS = Class 59;
- weight: 126 tonnes;
- starting traction effort: 506 kN;
- Prime mover: GM 16-cylinder diesel 16-645E3C;
- Power rating: 2,460 kW.
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