The

Electro-Motive Diesel Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its s ...

(EMD) Class 66 (or JT42CWR) are Co-Co

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s built by EMD for the European heavy freight market. Designed for use in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

as the

British Rail Class 66 The Class 66 is a type of six-axle diesel-electric freight locomotive developed in part from the , for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway co ...

, a development of the Class 59, they have been adapted and certified for use in other European countries. Outside Europe, 40 locomotives have been sold to Egyptian Railways for passenger operation. A number of locomotives built for Euro Cargo Rail in France with roof-mounted air conditioning are classed ''Class 77''. In Germany ECR units operated for

DB Schenker DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics. Histo ...

were numbered as class 247, re-classified as class 266 by the

Eisenbahn-Bundesamt The German Federal Railway Authority (german: Eisenbahn-Bundesamt, ) has been the independent federal authority for the regulation of the railways in Germany since 1 January 1994. It is under the supervision and direction of the Federal Minis ...

to match other Class 66 locomotives operating in Germany.

History

United Kingdom

The class was designed by General Motors-Electro Motive DivisionIn 2005

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

sold its locomotive manufacturing division (EMD), the organisation is now named

Electro Motive Diesel Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its s ...

or EMD for use in the UK, and 250 were sold to English Welsh & Scottish, with orders from Direct Rail Services,

Fastline Fastline was created by six railwaymen who undertook a successful management buyout (MBO) of Eastern Track Renewals from British Rail in 1996. In that year they bought Northern Track Renewals from British Rail, and undertook all the studie ...

, Freightliner and

GB Railfreight GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital. GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...

Ireland

While not exactly a Class 66, a mixed-traffic version operates on the

island of Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, being owned by

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and f ...

and

NI Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink (Northern Ire ...

. The 32 were ordered after the

economic boom An economic expansion is an increase in the level of economic activity, and of the goods and services available. It is a period of economic growth as measured by a rise in real GDP. The explanation of fluctuations in aggregate economic activi ...

with 2 extra ordered by NIR from their supplier EMD; the first one was delivered in 1994 after being flown from

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport ( Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south o ...

by an

Antonov An-124 Ruslan The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; russian: Антонов Ан-124 Руслан, , Ruslan; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrain ...

, with the rest of the class arriving by ship in the following months.

Mainland Europe

With the locomotives proving successful in the UK, interest came from railway operators in continental Europe. General Motors locomotives in mainland Europe had historically been produced under license by local manufacturers. The high haulage capacity and reliability of the Class 59 (JT26-CW-SS) had led to its use by the German company '' Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln'' (HGK). The first mainland Europe order also came from HGK, for two locomotives, followed by TGOJ Trafik (') in Sweden. Subsequently, many European railway operators bought locomotives.

Class 77

With a high number of orders, EMD modified the locomotive for European ECR operations, including: *Powered by a 12-cylinder 710 engine that meets EU Stage IIIA emissions regulations, via latest EM2000 control system *DC traction motors, rated at *Enhanced gear case, which increases tractive effort to , making the locomotive suitable for heavier European trains *ECR Train Protection System allowing for immediate certification for operation in France, Germany and Belgium, but meaning that they cannot operate in Great Britain *Additional driver facilities, including cab air conditioning; a microwave and fridge in one cab; additional noise cancelling insulation; a modified seat Designated JT42CWRM-100 by EMD and registered in France as Class 77, over 100 locomotives have been purchased including 60 by

subsidiary Euro Cargo Rail.

Class 66EU

In 2008 EMD announced plans to develop a new variant 'Class 66EU' designed for continental European operations, built within the UIC 505-1 loading gauge as opposed to the restrictive UK

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

. A range of European safety systems would be supported including

ERTMS The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...

, and locomotives would be fitted with a

dynamic brake Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid ...

and previous issues with driver comfort were to be addressed. The project was confirmed to be cancelled in 2011. A similar locomotive concept using EMD technology is the

Vossloh Euro 4000 The Stadler Euro (known as the Vossloh Euro until 2015) is a class of diesel-electric locomotives built by Stadler Rail for the European market. It is available in two basic variants, the four-axle Euro 3000, and the six-axle Euro 4000. These loc ...

and has been delivered to operators in several countries including Norway, France, Spain, Portugal and Israel.

Technical

The locomotive uses standard EMD components - an EMD 710

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy ...

, D43 traction motors, radialThe individual bogies are articulated rather than having two bogies connected with a

Beugniot lever The Beugniot lever (''Beugniot-Hebel'') is a mechanical device used on a number of locomotives to improve curve running. It was named after its inventor Édouard Beugniot. Overview Around 1860, when Beugniot was the chief engineer at the firm of ...

or equivalent (self-steering) bogies of patented design, which reduce wheel surface and flange wear and are said to improve adhesion and reduce track load. The class has undergone updates; other than the lower-geared class 66/6 produced for Freightliner, most of the updates have been in relation to conforming to specifications for exhaust particulate emissions. Di 66

Despite being popular with rail operators, especially due to its high reliability, the class has not been universally successful: one recurring problem has been driver comfort. In particular, noise levels (including noise from the cab horn), vibration, and excessive cab-temperatures in hot weather have brought serious complaints. The cab is not isolated from the main frame, causing engine noise to be the dominant background noise; notwithstanding the implications for safety (audibility of warning signals etc.), and the potential for hearing damage in the long term, the conditions drivers face led to threats of industrial action in the UK in 2007, and an agreement for increased pay for drivers using this type of locomotive (in Norway). By modifying using noise absorbing materials EMD succeeded in meeting TSI Noise Certification standards in 2008. Tests on retrofitted cooling systems and improved seating have been carried out on some UK locomotives.

ETCS Equipment

Between 2006 and 2010, 12 locomotives belonging to Mitsui Capital Rail Europe (MRCE), operating in the Netherlands and Germany, were equipped with ETCS, principally to allow them to work on the equipped Betuweroute, comprising the ETCS Level 1 "Havenspoorlijn" in the Rotterdam harbour area and the ETCS Level 2 "A15" route linking Rotterdam to the German border.. The MRCE locomotives were sold to Beacon Rail in 2015. Commencing in 2015, 15 locomotives owned by Ascendos Rail Leasing and 10 locomotives owned and operated by Crossrail Benelux were equipped with ETCS.

Idle reduction

As a fuel-saving and wear-reduction measure operator DB Schenker Rail UK is to fit ninety of its fleet with automatic engine stop start technology by the end of 2015. The modification is provided by ZTR Control Systems of London, Ontario and is expected to reduce engine running hours by about one-third.

Operators

Europe

Certification (

homologation Homologation ( Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work ...

) is needed for each country of operation. The locos were initially given a temporary certificate for use in France, and full certification came in 2009 (they had previously operated in France on some routes), Romanian certification came in 2007 The class is certified for operation in Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Denmark. As of 1 January 2009, certification for use in the Czech Republic and Slovakia was pending.

Africa

They are operated in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

by the

Egyptian National Railways Egyptian National Railways (ENR; ar, السكك الحديدية المصرية, Al-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah al-Miṣriyyah) is the national railway of Egypt and managed by the parastatal Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA; ar, الهيئة الق� ...

. They are operated on the

Trans-Gabon Railway The Trans-Gabon Railway (french: Transgabonais) is the only railway in Gabon. It runs east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations, the main ones being Ndjolé, Lopé, Booué, Lastoursville and Moand ...

List of operators

Notes

References

Literature

* * *

External links

EMD JT42CWRM Specifications Brochure

Dutch railfan page on Class 66
''(in English)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Emd Series 66

Series 66 The Uniform Combined State Law Examination also called the Series 66 exam is designed to qualify candidates as both securities agents and investment adviser representatives in the United States. It was developed by North American Securities Adminis ...