On Saturday 15 July, GB Railfreight celebrated a lifetime in the railway, by naming its Class 66 locomotives (no. 66785) John Ellis. A surprise naming event was put on at Moreton-in-Marsh station for John, who has worked over 60 years in the railway.
(Permalink) 66785 Class 66 GB Railfreight John Ellis

The first freight locomotive has entered fitting out with an advanced digital communications package, necessary for the step-change upgrade to the prestige London Scotland main line. Rail freight operator DB Cargo UK and technology specialists Siemens, together with infrastructure project lead agency Network Rail, have begun the complex retrofitting of a workhorse class 66 ...
(Permalink) Class 66 DB Cargo UK ERTMS European Rail Traffic Management System Railfreight

A Freightliner EMD Class 66 locomotive has been modified to test the diesel engines ability to use biomethane or hydrogen dual-fuelling as a potential path to lowering carbon emissions from rail freight.
(Permalink) Class 66 Dual-fuel Freightliner

Freightliner, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W), in partnership with a consortium of specialist suppliers, has been successful in securing government funding to develop a dual-fuel solution for the Class 66 locomotive.

The project will investigate the ability to substitute diesel with both hydrogen and biogas on the Class-66 locomotive which hauls over 80% of freight on the UK rail network and, in doing so, reduce carbon emissions on one of the industry's most challenging two-stroke locomotives. This will be achieved by retrofitting the Class 66 with Clean Air Powers precision injection technology, creating a Class 66 that can run on a combination of diesel, biogas and hydrogen.
(Permalink) Class 66 Dual fuel Freightliner

Need for traction means GBRf is looking to Europe for Class 66s
(Permalink) Class 66 GB Railfreight