Turn up the volume as FLHH 66506 battles it's 2,200 ton train from a standing start on a incline at Cwmbargoed reception loop. The train is the 6C93 Cwmbargoed DP - Aberthaw PS service. 14/07/2016. ENJOY!!
Man, it's only when the engineers step on the loud pedal that you really get an appreciation for how powerful these engines really are. That is super cool.
You have to admire these locos even as common as the class 47 were back in the 70s these things seem to be able to shift anything ? I was waiting for the drawbar to snap ! One day in the future im sure platforms will be full of enthusiasts mourning the passing of the class ? I know one thing for sure it wont be in my life time !
Just found this clip; it's a good location, in the old days we could cross this line in to the fields where the slag heap is now. You do need a mic. cover up there most times.....good steady clip
the Class 66 is basically an EMD SD60 with a 710-12 engine and carbody designed for British clearance and loading gauge. In the US such power ist used just for yard jobs; mostly in dual traction. A coal train would have two SD70 on the point, at least with 8600 hp combined. But then it would have like 60 cars at least...
Dual traction is mostly for east or mid America, where is mostly flat. In mountain area, they some time can have 8 or more engines serve one train. Usually they have engines at front, mid and rear. Engines at mid and rear, some are radio controlled by engineer (or driver, operator depend on how they are called in your region) in the lead engine, they are called DPU(Distributed Power Unit), they usually go along with the train all the way. Some are Manned Helper, which has its own engineer on board. They usually only serve the train in specific area. After which, they will decouple from the train, then wait in "helper pool" for next train that needs assistance.
That's why I love these locos! Ever since I saw a 59 testing it's radar-based creep control system way back when GM locos first arrived in the UK (Foster Yeoman) I've been in love with them! PS: Nice name - I think someone was doing some "Regeneration" while this was getting going!
The siding is on a hill side, so the wagons are on a gradient. I have had to put two 66 in multiple once as rail head conditions were bad . Worked up there in all weathers day and night
That was some struggle to get that train moving, I bet those traction motors got a bit hot trying to shift that weight on that incline, the more power the drive used the less seemed to happen, it was only when he throttled back was there any movement which just goes to show that sometimes gently gently works better than brute force.
Video yet again confirms that these locos are being overthrashed like the class 60's which are basically knackered. News not from me but from a driver I know!
Not at all, it sounds like they're revving higher than they are because it's a 2 stroke. Brits aren't yet familiar with the legendary performance of EMD, but give it time! The original 567 series, when it was first released, was capable of 1 million miles before piston ring failure, back in the 40s! They put those engines in the D-day landing craft. The 710 engine is an evolution on the 567, and is basically bulletproof. There is still a 567 fitted 1951 built EMD GP7 locomotive in the states working in revenue freight service for it's original purchaser railroad. That's a 68 year life in revenue freight, and it's still going strong. There's no reason why the class 66 couldn't have a 100 year working life span with just routine maintenance. We're more than 20 years in on the 66 now and they still make easily 98% availability. Hands down the best freight loco Britain has ever seen.
Great stuff mate, thanks for sharing, looks like a cracking location for filming. Ive subbed to your channel, have a few 66s on mine too if you are interested in having a look, both model ones and their bigger brothers over at Peak Forest! All the best and thanks again for sharing, Paul
If I remember rightly there's 1-2% slip - the wheels are turned very slightly faster than the ground speed - otherwise it would never accelerate! Anyone with expert knowledge please correct me if I'M wrong...
@@AAAyyyGGG you are right. It´s just physics. The electronic controls of modern locomotives try to exactly match those 1-2% wheelslip, to get maximum possible tractive effort.
I see some comments saying 37s would do better - in sound, maybe but they're honestly pretty weak locos. they'd not move an inch, maybe if it was double or triple headed but a single would pull itself to bits trying to shift the load.
Here In America we Double Header Locomotives on heavier loads such as this. majority of the time it is common to see EMD SD-70Ace's or even SD-70 T4's paired up hauling coal. here there would even be DPU's or helpers on the rear of the train. very long heavy coal trains. Curiously the train in the video has a single locomotive on what looks to be a heavily loaded coal train. i am noticing that the train is also on a higher grade percentage.
in the UK freight trains most of the time only have a single Locomotive pulling a 2,000+ tonne loads and I believe on British main line freight trains are only allowed to have around 20 to 25 cars so it can fit in between the passenger train Schedules because British Passenger Trains are King on British railways and Freight Trains have to wait for the passenger trains at certain points and at certain times.
They are hopper wagons. Top loaded with bottom discharge. Usually supply coal to power stations. The same style of wagon, although usually shorter in design due to the greater density of the material is used for aggregates traffic like sand or stone.
Similar engines - The IR WDP4 is EMD GT46PAC (or WDG4 - EMD GT46MAC - freight version) whereas the the BR Class 66 is EMD Class 66 JT42CWR. The IR version sports with a 4000 Hp while the BR version sports with a 3300 Hp engine Side note:- the last 'D' of WDP4D stands for Dual Cab version of the series of engines
FL in their infinite wisdom decided to remove the main res pipe from the distributors on HAA/HXA wagons which meant fron zero air to brake release took over 15 minutes, regards ex FLHH driver.
That loco should be able to lift those wagons easily; I've watched them start 4000 ton+ stone trains without a sweat. Looks like a brake-release issue.
As I said earlier nlo114 the train at the rear is on a down grade so it did struggle but managed to move off eventually. I've seen a few 66s struggle to get momentum at that starting point.😀
Great video mate.. Love the thrash on all locos . I read through your comments regarding 37s would have had no bother shifting this, which reminded me of this lol ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k_ZIMyd1iAY.html
Sounds like he starts at notch 6 or so, then brings it back down to notch 4 or 5 to bring the wheel ship under control, then goes up to notch 6 again and is finally able to get the tonnage moving, then goes between notch 6 and 7 for a bit, then idles while he coasts along l
You're right on. That's the typical way to start a train, you can't use full throttle at very low speeds or you just spin out and the unit drops its load, which seems to have happened here at 0:57 as the unit briefly rolled back into the train. Keeping some independent brake applied really helps to control the slip, and if I am stopping on a grade I will turn the sanders on for the last few hundred feet, to get the wheels coated in grit for better traction when starting again.
@@bobsmith2637 Yup, I ain’t no train driver (yet) but that’s more or less what I do in the train simulators, although I usually start at notch/run 1 to take the slack out of the train and to get the last car on the consist moving, then I slowly ramp up the throttle until the loco’s wheels slip and/or don’t speed up too fast (and cause freight damage/passengers getting hurt) or I get up to the speed limit. (And/or try not to break a knuckle) (Yes, I know train simulators are nothing like the real thing in terms of feel, the only way they can convey feel is mainly visual (and via audio as well, but I feel that aspect isn’t really fleshed out/detailed as much as it could be), with the cab “camera” swaying back and forth or left to right depending on the trains movements)
@@thegeforce6625 I spent a lot of time on Trainz 2006 before I went to work for Canadian National. It was much more realistic than the simulators we use to train new engineers, and I imagine the games have only gotten better since. We have hundreds of EMD locomotives with V16 710 engines, basically a bigger 3800 to 4300 HP version of the Class 66. They are rated to haul about 8000 tons each on our gently graded mainline, and starting a tonnage train on a grade is still a real art form, especially in the rain or snow. Our loaded unit trains can be over 200 cars and 12,000 feet, usually with two locomotives on the head end and 1 or 2 more in the middle. We consider stopping with the train stretched out to be a better practice to try and avoid a hard run out of slack when starting the train, though I have had to bunch up the train to get it started a few times in poor conditions. If it is stretched I will let the train brake start releasing, throttle up to notch 4 or 5 and slowly ease off the engine brake to start the train smoothly.
@@bobsmith2637 Train Sim World 2 feels realistic interms of the way the Trains drive in the game, in the Class 66 in TSW2 with 20 empty coal cars it picks up speed Relatively quickly when it only wieghs around 800 tonnes but when the coal cars are fully loaded you can really feel the extra 1,100 tonnes you have to nearly be at full power just to get it moving, that's how accurate the game is interms of simulation.
What people don’t understand before commenting is the rear of the train is on a downward grade so there’s not a bit of wonder it struggled, Anyway that particular driver knows the job very well and is no brute force merchant.😉😉
Just shows you Britain should have bought american diesels in the 1960's. Here are some 1980's vintage EMD locos tackling a 1 in 50 grade with 4000 tonnes. They were designed to run like this all day: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9UzWxY0bzKA.html
mmmm....that seemed like an awkward monumental struggle to get that consist to move at all. 1500 tonnes no problem but 2200 tonnes seems a bit over the top for a single loco baring in mind the grades along there. Have seen class 60s make easier work of this train weight. Thanks for sharing the vid.
Mervyn Sands I’ve moved some real tonnage with a 1970s EMD 4 axle 2000 hp. We had a class of them at work. There were two of the ten which could really pull just about anything.
Sorry, Just can't get excited about these characterless quiet things. They are like the anti matter of character if there is such a thing. What was the designer thinking about? A badly made offensive shed with corrugated sheets stapled on the sides because they got the length wrong and that someone's painted it green to avoid the local council tearing it down. No one told them engines are supposed to look good and proud? It sounds like a 70's washing machine on a variac turned to 300V just before it flys apart and melts. A good video though!
Just walks away with it, all in a days work for the legendary class 66. Count the detractor foamers in the comments calling them "sheds"... but if it wasn't for this locomotive they wouldn't even have freight trains to watch because their beloved British junk would've bankrupted the entire network.
Thrash is a term used to describe a diesel loco's engine being driven at high reves while the loco speed itself is not matching the engine output, (other comments reference loco's being damaged doing this)
Class 59 is a differant machine altogether in haulage terms. It has slightly more power but the biggest differance is the traction motors, they are alot more powerfull than 66's motors and so has a higher tractive effort. 59 would have walked away with that load using its 'super series wheel creep control system'.
@@formidable38 The Class 66 design was based on that of the Class 59. (When EWS (DB Schenker) learnt how good the Foster Yeoman-owned 59's were, they ordered 250 similar machines (now known as Class 66) based on the 59). Do you think that the 59's are more powerful than the 66's? Surely not. The 66's are used for hauling big crate trains and other heavy loads as such - whereas the 59's were only built to haul rocks from quarries, and they are used only for the same thing to this day.
@@thomaspalmer1019You're talking to an ex-freight driver! Class 59 has far greater haulage capacity than a 66. Its a well-known fact throughout the rail industry. The 59 is based on the SD40-2 which is one of the, if not the most successful diesel loco ever built. A 59 has shifted the UK and European record for the heaviest freight train at close to 12'000 tonnes.
It's 2016; still an engine burns oil and smokes blue! Embarrassing. Except this EMD engines, I haven't seen a modern diesel engine burns oil -except the 2 stroke ones. Black some is normal, it's the rich mix at low rpm so the fuel burns bad, but blue smoke is a serious problem!
