British Rail Class 56

Engine

When introduced, the Class 56s were arguably the first of the "second generation" of UK diesel locomotives.

The engine is a direct descendant of English Electric CSVT types, its closest relative being the 16CSVT used in the Class 50. Technical advances included significantly uprated turbochargers, gear driven camshafts in place of the timing chain used on Class 50s, and uprated cylinder heads, fuel pumps and injectors. The engine was nominally rated at 3,520 hp (2,620 kW), but was set at 3,250 hp (2,420 kW) for rail use.

Electrical equipment

A key difference between the Class 56s and the earlier designs of the 1950s and 1960s is the use of self-exciting alternators rather than direct current (DC) generators for the generation of traction current and auxiliary supply. This produces a far more robust power unit, and greatly reduces the risk of flash-overs and other earth faults. Traction supply was rectified since the type employs DC traction motors. Many auxiliary machines (such as compressors and traction motor blowers) used the unrectified 3-phase AC output of the auxiliary alternator, and therefore run at a speed proportional to engine r.p.m.

Brakes

The Class 56s were the first British Rail diesel type to be built with air train brakes only, using the Davies and Metcalfe E70 system. Earlier designs had variously been fitted with vacuum train brakes, or a dual braking system.

British Rail

On 4 August 1976, 56 001 and 56 002 were loaded for shipping from Zeebrugge to Harwich.^[3] They were towed from Harwich to Tinsley on 7 August.^[3] Initial trials were conducted on the Settle-Carlisle Line.^[4] Subsequent examples (of the Romanian deliveries) went to Barrow Hill depot for preparation and subsequent commissioning on test trains from Tinsley, usually to Peterborough West Yard. The test train consisted of a rake of rail-carrying flat wagons, with a former East Coast Metro-Cammell Pullman vehicle marshalled immediately behind the locomotive. Testing of Doncaster-built examples was completed using the traditional Doncaster works test train, running north along the East Coast Main Line.

One class member, BREL-built no. 56 042, was chosen to test the CP3 bogies that were fitted to the Class 58s. It was the first of the class to be withdrawn in 1991 after only 12 years service and scapped 3 years later in 1994 at Toton.

DB Cargo

EWS inherited the BR fleet in 1995. Most examples were withdrawn by English Welsh & Scottish on 31 March 2004. Some were subsequently reinstated for use on construction trains connected with the LGV Est in France, although all such locomotives have now returned to the UK.

In September 2011, freight operator DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker)(formerly EWS) announced that all 33 stored class 56s in its fleet were up for sale^[5] with most expected to be sold for scrap.

UK-based locomotive provider Europhoenix^[6] tendered for three of the DB Schenker locomotives (56 018, 56 115, 56 117) for export to Hungarian freight operator Floyd.^[7] They finally bought 56 101 (from preservation), 56 115 and 56 117. With 56 101 moving to Europhoenix, 56 018 has been sold to preservationist Ed Stevenson. 56 101 arrived in Hungary on 19 June 2012 with 56 115 and 56 117 following later in the year. These have been renumbered 0659-001-5, 0659-002-3 and 0659-003-1 respectively.

In late 2011, DB Cargo UK sold 27 Class 56s for scrap to European Metal Recycling. These were 56 006, 031, 032, 037, 038, 046, 049, 051, 058, 060, 065, 069, 073, 074, 077, 078, 081, 087, 090, 094, 096, 104, 105, 106, 112, 113, 133.^[8] Despite the mass sale of scrap, 56 078, 56 087, 56 094, 56 105 and 56 113 were sold on to Colas Rail while UK Rail Leasing has bought a number of Class 56s, to form a pool of hire locomotives.

Fastline

In 2006, two locomotives (56 045 and 56 124) were overhauled at Brush Traction and renumbered as 56 301 and 56 302 for Fastline, the British freight company launched by Jarvis. They were used on intermodal traffic. The small fleet never achieved particularly impressive availability, and there were significant problems with bogies, turbochargers, and low power. Fastline dispensed with Class 56 operation due to the loss of intermodal traffic and operated Class 66s on their coal traffic until March 2010 when the company went bust. 56 301 was put into store, and 56 302 was purchased and run by Colas Rail. 56 301 was later purchased by the Class 56 Group as a replacement for their own 56 040 'Oystermouth', which had just suffered a serious failure. 56 040 was subsequently stripped of spares and scrapped at Barrow Hill.

FM Rail

56 125 was returned to service after a less thorough overhaul by FMRail and numbered 56 303. 56 303 was returned to RVEL (successor to FMRail) and sat out of use at Derby but in September 2009 it was repainted into Great Western Railway green livery, to mark the 175th anniversary of The Great Western Railway in 2010. The loco was expected to move to the Severn Valley Railway in October 2009 to participate in their 2009 diesel gala, before being used as part of the GWR 175 celebrations next year, but its involvement was subsequently shelved. The loco is however in use with the freight spot hire market, having twice been hired from RVEL to Colas Rail in late 2009 to work the Boston to Washwood Heath steel train and return empties. Since 2011 56 303 has been part of the BARS fleet, based at Washwood Heath.

British American Railway Services (BARS) / Devon & Cornwall Railways (DCR)

Formerly preserved 56 057 (renumbered 56 311) and 56 003 (renumbered 56 312) are now operated by British American Railway Services under their Devon and Cornwall Railways subsidiary (formerly Hanson Traction), these were frequently hired to Colas Rail to work their intermodal services between Dollands Moor and Hams Hall, steel diagrams between Boston and Washwood Heath and their Dagenham to Dollands Moor "Transfesa" workings in London, supplementing Colas Rail's own class 47/7 fleet. British American Railway Services currently use 56 311 and 56 312, along with 56 303, on their own freight flows including scrap metal flows between Cardiff and the North-East, landfill flows between Wembley and Calvert and for stock moves. During 2011, 56 312 was repainted into the same grey livery as 56 311, but with advertising for the National Railway Museum's forthcoming 'Railfest 2012' event displayed on the body side (this has since been removed). 56 128 (which was to have become 56 313) is also owned by BARS. In December 2013 it was moved from Wansford (Nene Valley Railway) to their facility at Washwood Heath for evaluation for a possible mainline return but work has not been proceeded with. 56 114 was stripped of usable parts and dispatched for scrapping during March 2012 and was cut up immediately after arrival at EMR Kingsbury. BARS 56 091 returned to service in April 2013 but has since been sidelined due to power unit issues. 56 103 was returned to service with BARS during July 2014. 56 301 remains under long-term hire to BARS. In November 2017 all six remaining locomotives (56091, 103, 128, 303, 311, 312) were put up for sale.^[9] Only 56303 was operational.

Colas Rail

UKRL 56104 at Wansford whilst visiting the Nene Valley Railway

As of 2015, Colas Rail Freight operates a fleet of 56 078, 087, 094, 105, 113 and 302 on a rotating basis on all its freight movements (most often seen on its 6E07 Washwood Heath to Boston Docks steel train, and 6M08 return). These locomotives are serviced at Washwood Heath.

GB Railfreight

In June 2018 GBRf acquired 16 of the Class 56 locomotives owned by UK Rail Leasing, together with various parts^[10]. Some may be returned to traffic quickly whilst others may be re-engineered. The locomotives were previously owned by DB Cargo and subsequently hired to Fertis, for high speed rail construction trains in France, before returning to the UK and were later acquired by UK Rail Leasing in 2014 for spot hire. Only 56081, 56098 and 56104 had been made operational by UKRL, with the majority stored at Leicester depot.^[11]. Locomotive (56128) ex DCR/BARS was acquired from CF Booth (scrapyard) and collected from there by GBRF directly. 56009, 031, 032, 037, 069, 311 subsequently moved to EMD Longport for Re-engineering in July 2018.

UK Rail Leasing

Leicester-based UK Rail Leasing operates Class 56's on a spot-hire basis. They acquired a number of locomotives from DB Cargo, that had returned from working on high speed rail construction lines and returned 56 081, 098 and 104 to operational condition as of July 2014 at their Leicester depot. All three are in unbranded original Railfreight livery.

Railways Illustrated for June 2014 reports that UK Rail Leasing is considering upgrading a Class 56 with new engines and electronics. There would be two 1,900 hp engines, making a total of 3,800 hp. The magazine emphasises that this is "blue sky thinking" and is not likely to happen soon.^[12]

Further information was published in Today's Railways for March 2016. Three different options are now being considered. These are: two main engines, a single main engine, or a single main engine plus an auxiliary engine. It is expected that a re-engined Class 56 would cost around £1.8 million, compared to £3 million for a new locomotive.^[13]

In December 2017 two further locomotives (56 311, 312) were acquired from BARS/DCR. However in 2018, 16 locomotives, the majority of their fleet, were sold to GB Railfreight^[14].

In mid 2017, DC Rail (formerly BARS/DCR) a new company, bought ex Fertis locomotives 56103 and 56091. 56103 is now in traffic with DC Rail, with 56091 currently receiving attention for a return to the main line.

As of August 2018, 56103 has been recently re-branded and re-painted into DC Rail’s corporate livery of light Grey with black roof. The Locomotive is covering contracts in the South of the UK on various flows for the company.

DC Rail are also current owners of the Willesden ‘F’ Sidings in London, just south of Wembley. Contracts out of the yard include loaded Spoil trains to Calvert Land Fill in Buckinghamshire. With more flows expected in the coming months.

Literature

• Lowe, P. J.; Russell, D. F. (1980). "The class 56 freight locomotives of British Rail". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 194 (1980): 65. doi:10.1243/PIME_PROC_1980_194_070_02.
• Russell, D.F. "Operational experience with Class 56 freight locomotives". Railway Engineer International. 3–5: 16. ISSN 0141-6049.
• Toms, George (1978). Brush Diesel Locomotives, 1940-78. Sheffield: Turntable Publications. ISBN 0902844482. OCLC 11213057.
• "The Class 56 story". The Railway Magazine. 146 (1188): 36–43. April 2000.