66 Unbelievable Facts About the Class 66 Locomotive!

🔴 Here, we take a look at 66 Facts about the Class 66!
🚆 These workhorses are the backbone of the modern freight industry.
🟥 Why are they 'sheds'? What did they cost? Where do they come from?
🛤️ We inspect the class, its past, present its future of pulling trains!

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=SPECIAL THANKS=
🤝 Mike Wilcock for permission to use his incredible docks clips!
🤝 Colin Prosser for permission to use his railtour clip.
🤝 HSTHoward for permission to use his clips of the 66s in Egypt.
🤝 Leigh Cauldwell for permission to use a Class 66 cab photo.
🤝 Cool man is so cool for permission to use an early 66001 clip!

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📣 What do you think of the Class 66? Leave a comment!

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⚠️ All footage is own work and property of TrainsOnTheBrain unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission.
⚠️ Some footage/photos are repurposed from other sources under the assumption of YouTube's terms and conditions of Fair Use.
⚠️ Some footage is repurposed from YouTube from videos with the 'Create Commons' license applied, again used under the assumption of Fair Use.
⚠️ Some royalty-free stock footage used from Pexels and Pixabay.
⚠️ This is a self-funded project. No money has been taken from any of the train operating companies or freight operators featured.

🙏 In memory of driver Steve 'George' Dunn 🙏

[trainsonthebrain]

📝 What's your favourite Class 66 fact or memory? Comment below👇

[yashsalunkheart]

As a train enthusiast, I'm absolutely in love with the rail culture of the British. The amount of love and caring people have for these beautiful machines which are a work of art, and the respect for such a rich railway haritage. I still find glimpses of British rail haritage here in India.

[EricDalton]

I drove 66’s from their introduction until 2017. My basic traction knowledge was Class 37’s which were usually in multi to work the Ayrshire coal trains. After the switch to 56’s and 60’s due to frequent Class 37’s failing, the 66’s came along and reliability shot up. In the many journeys I made from Ayr to Carlisle with those 2, 200 tonne coal trains, I think I sat down once. Even going over the Settle/Carlisle the 66’s would get you up to Ais Gil summit no problem.
They are NOISY.
I wonder how many driver have lost a large percentage of their hearing capacity? The 66 was OK for a nap. That’s their main asset, sleep quality. 😂

[shed]

The Class 66 was based on the EMD SD40-2, as used by most of the railroad companies in North America and those in Canada. A chap from Wisconsin Central at the early formation of EWS was in Canada when he was offered a ride in the cab of a Canadian Pacific Dash-2, and being impressed by what the engine offered with power and control asked what could be done to take the motive power unit and fit it to the UK loading gauge. The rest as they is history.

[davidhays]

I was a young apprentices in 1999 and would go home at the weekends. While waiting for my connection at Ipswich station I would see one of these operated by EWS pulling the mail train . I'm not a rail fan but loved the look and more importantly the sound. I must confess that I thought it must be at least 20/30 years old, I've just found out it was brand new.

[jameswingrove]

I drive 66s. The early ones are noisy, and with age and use there’s quite a few rattles and squeaks.

The “Euro spec” ones have thicker windows, proper A/C and seemingly greater sound proofing.

But, they’re good, solid and in my opinion somewhat endearing. I like driving them.

I’m a new driver.

66734 used the cabs as state of the art simulators. Great bits of kit and have used them. I drove the new 734 last week.

And Evening Star, I did a little bit of my traction course on 😊

[joshuaW]

There’s quite a lot to appreciate with the Class 66. They may be one of the most popular modern diesels.

[Infrared]

I live near London Ontario where these were built. I remember seeing them from time to time sitting on the tracks by the plant. Unfortunately they have shutdown locomotive production.

[stephenwhitehead]

Personally i think the class 66's are beautiful looking diesel's!

[rycarse]

Very informative video! Thank you for posting! Years ago I used to watch the new orders of class 66s from GMDD in Ontario pass through the yards and docks here in Halifax, Nova Scotia to be loaded on ships for the trans-Atlantic crossing to the UK and Africa. The early orders were always under tarpaulins, but later they were shipped uncovered. It was a treat to see the UK and other liveries briefly on Canadian rails. Finally, I'm not a dedicated rail modeller, but I have an N-scale Freightliner class 66 and short ore train consist sitting on a shelf in my office just for fun. Perhaps I should move it to a shelf our back garden shed! 🙂 Thank you again for the vid and greetings from Canada! 🇨🇦

[haroldhorseposture]

Regarding the cab environment on these....EWS/DB don't have air-con, except for trial units that were installed to ascertain whether it was feasible. I don't think much happened after this, as I've been retired since 2018, but none of the blokes I keep in contact with have told me air-con has been rolled out class-wide. They can get terribly hot, but for me, not usually a problem as I'm a coldarse. But what happens , is that when the loco is stationary, on a hot day, the side facing towards the sun gets baked, and radiates into the cab . I've recorded temps of well into the high 30's to mid 40's with my clip-on thermometer . The exposed metalwork inside the roof and bodysides becomes hot enough to burn exposed forearms, elbows and hands etc., if you're not careful . The ambient noise level is purely subjective- it never really bothered me, except the piercing shriek when 'creeping', wbich no doubt a sound level meter would have fits at, but a 60 is much worse in this regard . The constant revving is tiresome, tho ' . They rev when they're cold. They rev when they're hot. They rev when any air is used . They rev just for the hell of it . However, I personally like them, I've only ever had 2 failures in 20 years with 'em, although one was serious in that the brakes failed 'unsafe' when running light . A lot of my compatriots would never like thenm because they were'nt a 60, and they eventually displaced the majority of 60 work . Even the ride quality seemed to improve with age . These, and, it must be said, the 59's, were a big factor in my moving to EWS.

[tardismole]

I see several Class 66s every day. There is a freight line that runs directly behind my house leading to Dow Silicones UK. Most of the 66s are EWS, some are Freightline and a few are Colas. I've only ever seen one GBRf engine. I always enjoy hearing their ying-ying-ying-ying as they sit idle in the siding waiting for the signals to change.

[Gill]

There used to be a stabling yard at Newport Station and at weekends you could see 66s there. The yard went when they built platform four. You can now see them parked on the yard between Newport and Cardiff. And of course whizzing through Cardiff Central! Wonderful engines! Thanks for uploading ❤

[davedear]

Definitely the modern day Stanier black 5. Very informative video. Thank you.

[Pixy]

Those things are an integral part of my neighborhood for over a decade now. In Poland they're quite a rarity, I think there hadn't been any two stroke V12 loco here since the early ST44.

[samuelfarris]

Pleased with this. It was nice of you to cover a comprehensive well-researched and presented analysis of a contemporary locomotive. I enjoyed the whole video. Regards, Samuel Farris.

[kristoffermangila]

In the end, the Class 66 and its variations is an example of the "invasion" of American (predominantly EMD) locomotives which started in the 1970s when Foster Yeoman decided to import an SW1001 shunter (switcher in the US) to work in their yard. The rest is history.

[Elvinley]

I drove them from 2002 with EWS (later DB Schenker) and then for Freightliner Heavy Haul for the second half of my railway career. I retired early a couple of years ago.

[TheMisterBu]

Very interesting, lots of facts I never knew, thanks for producing!

[Andrewjg_]

I have seen lots of Class 66s out and about on the railways. And they still are the best locomotives to of ever been built in the UK. The Class 66 are such incredible locomotives.