Needing a more reliable Type 5 locomotive than the Class 56 in the mid-1980s, British Rail issued tenders for the design and construction of the Class 60 diesel electric locomotive, a heavy-duty freight train for the modern era.
Production began in 1989, four years later, all 100 commissioned and built by Brush Traction were in service, with a projected lifespan of four decades.
A significant number of these workhorses, nicknamed ‘Tugs’, were put into service hauling aggregates, steel and scrap, but also operated Mainline services in blue livery.
All 100 passed to English, Welsh & Scottish (EWS) upon privatisation, but many of these locomotives never achieved their intended lifespan and a number have been withdrawn from service and stored, with no indication of their future fate.
This volume illustrates the Class 60s’ work around the UK, recording scenic and industrial viewpoints as well as lines, stations and workings that have passed into memory. Photographs are presented in two or three-per-page format, with captions accompanying each image. 96 pages.