This second volume to cover the Class 66 takes a look at the Fastline/Direct Rail Services/Colas-operated Class 66/3/4/8/7 locos that were delivered during the mid to late 2000s. This was a time when most of the current locos in use with Freightliner and English Welsh & Scottish (EWS) were Class 66s and were tried and tested as reliable locos. Direct Rail Services closely followed EWS and Freightliner and very soon it ordered one batch, then another, then another, until the total was 34. However, DRS later sold the first 20 locos to both GB Railfreight and Freightliner and were left with just 14 locos that they continue to operate to the present day (late 2021). Production numbers of the Class 66/3 only totalled five locos and lasted only a short while (2008-2010) when these five were taken on by DRS. The Class 66/8s also only numbered five locos and these supplement the Class 70s on various work around the UK. This volume covers the locos from their early days up to the present time at various locations around the UK, with a special focus towards the south and its beautiful landscapes.

About the Author
Mark Pike has a lifelong interest in UK railways that started at the age of about six when his father used to take him to watch trains at Poole station in Dorset, just after steam had been abolished in the late 1960s. He later joined the railway at the age of 19 as a permanent way trackman at Bournemouth and was later an electric track maintenance worker at Dorchester for over 20 years. Now semi-retired, he is still an avid railway photographer, with various images appearing regularly in mainstream railway magazines and books.


Book Information
ISBN 9781802822557
Author Mark Pike
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Key Publishing Ltd
Publisher Key Publishing Ltd