The OneOne Collection Class 60 Co-Co 60081 Isambard Kingdom Brunel Diesel Locomotive

Expected Delivery March 2025 (Subject to Change at Manufacturer’s Discretion).

The last mainline diesel locomotive type built for British Rail, the Class 60 arose from the arrival, and subsequent success, of the Class 59 locomotive. With a haulage capacity and reliability superior to the Class 31, 37 and 47 locomotives in sector service at the time, Trainload Petroleum, Metals, Construction and Coal were prompted to lobby for a new UK designed locomotive to match it. British Rail Board eventually secured the necessary treasury funding and following a difficult procurement process, the contract was finally awarded to Brush Electrical Machines of Loughborough on May 17, 1988, for 100 locomotives.

Brushs design incorporated many features from the Class 59s specification, as wellas their own Sepex traction control system, tested on the Class 58, to improveadhesion. The Class 60s were geared for a maximum speed of 62 mph, the powerunits being eight-cylinder, 145 litre Blackstone 8MB275T diesel traction engines builtby Mirrlees at their Stockport works, delivering a maximum power output of 3,100hpat 1000rpm. The bodyshell, shared with the Class 92 locomotives, was of amonocoque, stressed skin construction with diagonal trusses, the external bodyworkproviding support for the internal components, and all were built by Procor (UK) ofWakefield.

The first locomotive was handed over to Railfreight on time, in June 1989, butextensive teething problems (many involving computer software), meant that it tooksixteen months before the first of the Class were accepted and nearly four years tointroduce all 100 of the Class 60 locomotives to service. By the time the Class 60fleet entered service, Trainloads Sector businesses had given way to shadowprivatisation and the formation, in 1994, of Loadhaul, Transrail and Mainline Freightwith the Class 60 fleet split equally between them. English, Welsh and ScottishRailway bought the whole Class 60 fleet as part of British Railways privatisation,reallocating the entire Class 60 fleet to Toton as a cost cutting measure and to poolcommon parts. By 2003/4, several locomotives were stored as surplus to operationalrequirements.

In 2007 EWS became part of DB Schenker and at the end of October 2010, theentire Class 60 fleet was mothballed, except for 60040 The Territorial ArmyCentenary and 60074 Teenage Cancer Trust. By the end of 2011, two morelocomotives were returned to service, followed by an announcement that 21 furtherClass 60s were to be overhauled in 2012, this being completed by the end of 2013.Since then, the fortunes of the Class 60 Fleet have ebbed and flowed, withlocomotives being sold, re-sold and leased, but since 2019 the majority oflocomotives are owned by DB Cargo (UK), with Beacon Rail and GBRf also owningvehicles. Of the 100 locomotives in operation, 71 are in storage; DB Cargo (UK)preferring to rotate its operational Class 60s, with around fourteen being in service at any one time.

No. 60081 was built at Brush Traction. The locomotive was delivered in November1991 with a Trainload Metals Sector livery and Bleaklow Hill as a name. 60081gained a new lined GWR Brunswick Green livery and it was renamed IsambardKingdom Brunel on 5 August 2000 at Old Oak Common for the open day. 60081became the Class 60s celebrity locomotive due to this. In 2020, LocomotiveStorage Limited preserved the locomotive for static display and it is currently housedat the Margate One:One Collection.