The East Lancashire Railway has announced that a Class 68 locomotive will be visiting them for their upcoming Summer Diesel Gala.
Taking place between Thursday 30th and Saturday 2nd July, the diesel gala is set to feature an intensive timetable, with up to 17 locomotives and 4 DMUs in operation.
The Class 68 visits thanks to rail operator TransPennine Express.
The 68 will run alongside visiting locos Class 20s D8096 and D8107 (thanks to LSL), Class 26 No. 26007 (thanks to Victor Korzeniewicz), Class 37 No. 37703 (thanks to HNRC) and Class 60 No. 60046 (courtesy of DC Rail).
These visiting locos join the resident fleet of Class 03 No D2062, Class 09 No. 09024, Class 14 No. D9531 ‘Ernest', Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern', Class 25 No. 25279, Class 28 No. D5705 (set to be on display at Bury), Class 33 No. 33109 ‘Captain Bill Smith RNR', Class 37 No. 37109, Class 40 No. D345, Class 42 No. D832 ‘Onslaught', Class 45 No. 45108, Class 47 No. 47765, Class 50 No. 50015 ‘Valiant', Class 104, Class 105 ‘Cravens', Class 122 ‘Bubblecar' and Class 144 pacer.
What do you think of this announcement? Are you visiting the ELR? Let us know in the comments below.
Are we have this type of locomotive train in London?
I see the ELR has joined several others in getting Class 144 Pacers. I guess these have been cheap to acquire and they are probably cheaper to maintain and run than the first generation railcars. However, aside from reminding us all how dreadful, bone-shaking and draughty these 4 wheel non-bogie Pacers were to ride in, I don’t see the attraction of them.
Its because most of the younger generations don’t have any fond memories of riding to school on a mobile kettle or a Diesel Loco hauled train. So for a Heritage railway to stay relevant/solvent past the death of the current generation they need to have trains that represent the people they want to come and pay to ride the trains.
Be testing the infrastructure to see if they can run them more frequently