British Rail Class 88
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Locomotive 88009 hauling a container train near Scout Green | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The British Rail Class 88 is an electro-diesel locomotive. It is designed to pull both passenger and freight trains. It was made by Vossloh and later Stadler Rail for use in the United Kingdom.
The type is similar to the Class 68 diesel locomotive. The Class 88 has a smaller diesel engine and is powered by electricity from the overhead wires. The two locomotive types also share many parts with each other.
Background
In 2014, Direct Rail Service introduced the Class 68. These diesel locomotives proved to be highly effective machines. DRS then thought of an electric locomotive with an onboard diesel engine. This ability allowed the locomotive to run a short distance beyond the electric wires.[2]
The concept of an electro-diesel locomotive is not new in the UK. Before the Class 88, in the 1960s the Class 73 and Class 74 made their appearance. These machines use third rail in electric mode. The Class 88 uses overhead wires.[3][2] It is also capable of hauling a train by just using the diesel engine. This makes the type a true electro-diesel locomotive.[4]
The Class 88s share a lot of parts with the Class 68s. These included driver's cabs, bodyshell, traction motors, bogies, and others.[1]
Production and delivery
During September 2013, DRS announced that it had placed an order for ten locomotives. These were designated as Class 88.[5] In April 2016, 88001, the first of its class, was sent to the Czech Republic. While in the Czech Republic, 88001 underwent a number of tests. Rail reported that the trials were deemed a success.[2]
During January 2017, 88002 Prometheus became the first of its class to arrive in the UK. It was brought to the Port of Southampton by ship. The locomotive was then transported by road to Carlisle Kingmoor TMD depot.[6] In June 2017, the Class 88s had entered service. Not every driver was trained to operate the Class 88s. As a result, the use their onboard diesel engines went unused for a while. Vossloh was also making some small changes to the Class 88s at the time.[7]
Operation
The Class 88 locomotives primarily served DRS's freight trains on electrified lines. This way, DRS did not have to hire electric locomotives from other operators. Before the delivery of the Class 88s, DRS borrowed Class 92 locomotives from DB Schenker to pull container trains on the West Coast Main Line.[3]
When the type entered service, DRS put the Class 88s on Daventry and Mossend freight trains on behalf of Tesco.[7] The Class 88s would also replace diesel locomotives on trains that run under electric wires.[2]
Names
All ten Class 88s received names. The names given are as follows:
| Number | Name | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| 88001 | Revolution[8] | Direct Rail Services |
| 88002 | Prometheus[8][9] | |
| 88003 | Genesis[8][9] | |
| 88004 | Pandora[8][9] | |
| 88005 | Minerva[8][9] | |
| 88006 | Juno[8][10] | |
| 88007 | Electra[11] | |
| 88008 | Ariadne[8][9] | |
| 88009 | Diana[12] | |
| 88010 | Aurora[13] |
Eight of the Class 88s have names previously belonged to Class 76 and 77 electric locomotives. 88002 was named after Class 76 E26055. The other seven were named after the seven Class 77s. DRS did this to attract more railway enthusiasts.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Beacon Rail and DRS order dual-mode locos". Modern Railways. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Ready for the '88' revolution". Rail. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Briginshaw, David (25 September 2014). "Electro-diesel locomotive debuts at InnoTrans". International Railway Journal. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ Johnson, Marc (1 April 2014). "Sleek Lines". www.therailengineer.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ↑ "DRS orders ten dual-mode Class 88s". Rail. No. 731. 18 September 2013. p. 7.
- ↑ Harris, Nigel, ed. (1 February 2017). "Direct Rail Services' first '88' arrives in UK". Rail Magazine. No. 819. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 15. ISSN 0953-4563.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hewitt, Sam (19 July 2017). "First Revenue-Earning Freight for DRS Class 88". The Railway Magazine.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Bonnier, Maxime (28 February 2017). "Inbound: Beacon Rail / DRS Class 88 electro-diesels". Railcolor News. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Hewitt, Sam (15 March 2017). "DRS class 88s to revive Woodhead electric names". The Railway Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ Hewitt, Sam (6 April 2017). "New locomotives delivered to UK - Rail Express". Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ↑ Hewitt, Sam (2 March 2019). "Class 88s visit Great Eastern Main Line". The Railway Magazine. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ↑ Hewitt, Sam (3 March 2018). "OFF THE WIRES! CLASS 88S VISIT NORTH EAST AND HEYSHAM". The Railway Magazine. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ↑ Milner, Chris, ed. (July 2020). "Track Record". Railway Magazine. Vol. 166, no. 1, 432. Horncastle: Mortons Media. p. 53. ISSN 0033-8923.
Other websites
- Media related to British Rail Class 88 at Wikimedia Commons