Super 60's -
The Class 60 Overhaul Program
At long last, and as promised by DBS, the first of the fully overhauled loco's are emerging. At 22 years of age, 60007 under the BR regime that produced it, would ( like all the other previous freight loco's ) have had at least three Main Works style overhauls in it's life so far. Where the Class 60's were unlucky was that they were born of the high technical specification environment of a nationalised railway, but almost immediately passed into the profit centred private railway with a completely different set of priorities. Every penny spent on maintenance in the privatised railway is removed from the profit bottom line, it is as simple as that. Add to this the commercial pressure to maximise the usage of the leased locomotives in the fleet ( a factor unique to the railway as BR owned all it's loco's outright ) and the conditions were set for the difficult situation that has plagued the Class 60 fleet for the past few years. As loco's have gotten older in engine hours and bogie mileage terms, many have been sidelined and have often donated parts to others.
The tough commercial environment that DBS operates in within the UK, dictated the fleet usage pattern that has arisen, but it is a credit to them that it is under their ownership that the first real plan for a long term Class 60 fleet has evolved. It is thought that plans were in place as long as 3 years ago to begin to overhaul and enhance some locomotives, but these were seriously delayed when the recession struck and expenditure was clamped down upon. The core Class 60 fleet seems to have survived the last 3 years by careful management of it's ever decreasing remaining engine hours and bogie mileages, which obviously could not go on forever. The overhaul program appears to have got into it's stride just in the nick of time before the fleet was completely worn out. The only thing the Class 60's really did wrong was grow old in an environment that did not automatically fund continued renewal without counting the cost. Remember that in the first fourteen years of full fleet usage there was not a single major engine failure. The MB275 was probably the best four stroke engine that BR had ever bought, it simply got old and needed overhauling. Another factor with the BR style high specification loco's was that the technical performance was often achieved using short run " special " products and componetns because the cheaper " standard " items would never satisfy the BR requirements. So, instead of sourcing standard parts, many items would have been sourced by Brush to the BR requirement in 1989. Hence when a gap of more than 20 years elapses between original build and major overhaul, it takes time to re-establish sources of supply, it's not just a case of buying from a spares catalogue.
60007 is seen fresh from the paint shop at Toton in September 2011.
Image - C Adamson
This can also be a costly business, and it does take time to shop around. Additionally, it takes time & effort to establish a production line within a depot suitably equipped, supplied and staffed to undertake the work required. This has evidently taken some time to get rolling, a significant achievement for DB Schenker as they have apparently opted to do much of the work themselves at Toton. The Original Equipment Manufacturer ( OEM ) for the engine was Mirrlees Blackstone at Stockport which now exists in the form of MAN B&W Colchester. The brake equipment came mostly from Westinghouse Brakes at Chippenham, now in the form of KBRS and located in Melksham. Main contractor for the locomotive was Brush Electrical Machines Traction Division, designer and manufacturer of all other equipment excepting the bodyshells which were by Procor in Wakefield. Thus the Class 60 was effectively the last all British mainline locomotive, as all others following it have had significant overseas input ( The Class 92 has ABB electrical equipment ), or are direct imports.
It is understood that Brush have been involved in the overhaul process mainly in the area of Control Equipment refurbishment and reliability modifications. The engine and bogie overhauls have been done by DB Schenker, as has the body, with Toton Depot and it's workforce being the hub of the project. It has obviously taken some time to get going, but it is hoped the overhaul program will run for quite some time and bring the fleet back up to as new condition, a situation it has not seen in almost 20 years. Rather than being as good as new, it is probably fair to say that the overhauled locomotives will be better than ever. With the main equipment all back to as new condition, the modification and upgrades also being added shall make an outstanding loco even better!
