Anyone who has tried to watch freight moving on UK rails in the last few
years will realise these are challenging times for the rail freight
industry. Stand by any railway line and you may have to wait a while to
see a freight train of any sort pass by. Indeed, many large areas of our
rail network see no regular freight traffic at all. Against a backdrop
of declining volumes, the competition between the various freight
companies has never been so acute. The 'big five' freight haulage
companies, DB Cargo, Freightliner, GB Railfreight, Direct Rail Services
and Colas Rail, dominate the market. It is no surprise that all five
companies include the ubiquitous Class 66 within their fleets, with over
300 examples of the class operating across the country. The observer
could be forgiven for thinking that these are the only traction in use
today. Of course they dominate the current UK freight scene but that is
by no means the whole story. Numerous other classes of both diesel and
electric locomotives contribute to the mix of rail freight traction on
display in the UK today. Class 37 diesels and a reducing number of AC
electric locomotives have notched up half a century of freight haulage.
They can be seen today working alongside newer examples such as the
Class 68 and 70 locomotives. With an array of rare and unpublished
images, John Jackson offers a fascinating overview of the freight scene
today.
