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.

Brush’s design incorporated many features from the Class 59’s specification, as well as their own Sepex traction control system, tested on the Class 58, to improve adhesion. The Class 60s were geared for a maximum speed of 62 mph, the power units being eight-cylinder, 145 litre Blackstone 8MB275T diesel traction engines built by Mirrlees at their Stockport works, delivering a maximum power output of 3,100hp at 1000rpm. The bodyshell, shared with the Class 92 locomotives, was of a monocoque, stressed skin construction with diagonal trusses, the external bodywork providing support for the internal components, and all were built by Procor (UK) of Wakefield.

The first locomotive was handed over to Railfreight on time, in June 1989, but extensive teething problems (many involving computer software), meant that it took sixteen months before the first of the Class were accepted and nearly four years to introduce all 100 of the Class 60 locomotives to service. By the time the Class 60 fleet entered service, Trainload’s Sector businesses had given way to “shadow” privatisation and the formation, in 1994, of Loadhaul, Transrail and Mainline Freight with the Class 60 fleet split equally between them. English, Welsh and Scottish Railway bought the whole Class 60 fleet as part of British Railway’s privatisation, reallocating the entire Class 60 fleet to Toton as a cost cutting measure and to pool common parts. By 2003/4, several locomotives were stored as surplus to operational requirements.

In 2007 EWS became part of DB Schenker and at the end of October 2010, the entire Class 60 fleet was mothballed, except for 60040 The Territorial Army Centenary and 60074 Teenage Cancer Trust. By the end of 2011, two more locomotives were returned to service, followed by an announcement that 21 further Class 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, with locomotives being sold, re-sold and leased, but since 2019 the majority of locomotives are owned by DB Cargo (UK), with Beacon Rail and GBRf also owning vehicles. 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. 60056 was built by Brush Traction in Loughborough and entered service in May 1991. Initially in a Trainload Coal Sector livery with the name of ‘William Beveridge’, the locomotive was repainted in a TransRail livery in 1995. 60056 was transferred to EWS ownership. The nameplates were removed in 2014 and then Colas Rail purchased the locomotive. GBRf purchased 60056 in 2018 whilst still in its Colas
Rail guise. The locomotive is in service today with a GBRf blue livery and bestowed
with a new name, ‘Great Gable’. No. 60056 is sound fitted with an 21-Pin decoder
and has a pre-loaded Class 60 HM7000 sound profile. The model houses a state-of-
the-art sugarcube speaker.

GB Railfreight Class 60 Co-Co 60056 Great Gable Diesel Locomotive - DCC Sound