11.05.16
GB Railfreight names last Class 66 locomotive ‘Evening Star’
GB Railfreight has named the last Class 66 locomotive to be built for the UK and European markets ‘Evening Star’.
Locomotive 66779, which has been liveried in lined passenger express ‘brunswick green’, was named after the last steam locomotive to be built by Swindon Works for British Railways in 1960.
The naming ceremony was also a celebration of GB Railfreight’s 15th anniversary. It was founded with just two employees and an infrastructure contract with Railtrack in 2001, and now employs over 650 staff, operates over 1,000 train loads each week and generates annual turnover in excess of £130m.
John Smith, managing director of GB Railfreight, said: “This is a hugely historic moment for the rail industry.
“The Class 66 locomotive is probably the most successful design to ever run on Britain’s railways, and we have decided to honour their achievements by naming the last 66 to be built after British Rail’s classic 92220 ‘Evening Star’.”
The ‘Evening Star’ was one of seven Class 66s that arrived in the UK from the USA in February. In addition to the 21 Class 66s that arrived in the UK last year, they bring the operator’s Class 66 fleet to 78 locomotives.
GB Railfreight will donate the ‘Evening Star’ locomotive to the National Railway Museum National Heritage Committee at the end of its working life.
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