RSDL are pleased to announce our newest official locomotive, the EMD Class 66
With privatisation of the UK railways in the mid 1990’s much of the freight traffic was bought by Wisconsin Central Transportation Company (later to operate under the name of English Welsh & Scottish or EWS once sale of the business was complete). Having inherited over 900 locomotives related too much of the UK’s freight operations, many of which were life expired; WCTC quickly announced they’re intensions to replace much of the fleet with brand new 75mph heavy duty motive power....
Built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) in London, Ontario Canada, the Class 66 is actually a second generation locomotive, based on the Class 59 built and introduced 10 year earlier.
EWS made an initial order of 250 brand new Class 66 (originally planned as 61) locomotives from EMD in May 1996, and delivery of the first due to take place 18 months later. This was the start of a massive transformation in UK freight motive power.
The Class 66 features a 12-cylinder two stroke diesel engine with overhead camshafts and a high efficiency turbo charger giving it a rating of 3,300 horse power. Its Co-Co wheel design was a minimum requirement to fit its bulky 126 tonnes of equipment into the restricted British loading gauge and axle loading specifications. For an idea of this machines capability, the earlier Class 59 during testing was clocked hauling a train weighing 4386 tonnes up a 1in125 gradient!
Such has been the reputation of the Class 66 that since that initial order from EWS in 1996, some 515 more locomotives have been delivered to a several more freight operators (377 of which still operate in the UK). EMD also confirm that a further 132 are also in production, and that 150 more could be on order.
News on the release of the EMD Class 66 pack for Rail Simulator will be available shortly.
Rail Simulator Development Team