European Railroad Discussion > GBRf and the Class 50 Alliance

The Class 50 Alliance, a group which maintains 50 year old 50007 and 50049 in mainline operating condition has entered into a partnership with freight operator GBRf which sees both locomotives repainted in GBRf livery and available for spot hire and for use on railtours, towing stock to galas on heritage railways etc. Some purists are up in arms.

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Looks fabulous! Not too dissimilar to the British Rail large logo livery of the '80s... Great that these old 'Hoovers' are still at it out on the UK mainline.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/19 12:06 by exhaustED.

Those are interesting units.  If the GBRf paint scheme will keep them rolling on the mainline, I say go for it.
ALLEN

The class 50s were a class of 50 2700hp units built by English Electric for express passenger trains on the west coast main line. They were mainly used in the north of England on such trains until after some time (and electrification of their original route) the whole class were placed onto the Western Region to operate on passenger trains between London Paddington and the west country (Devon/Cornwall). They were fast (100mph) and reliable and were able to operate freight also. They were nicknamed 'Hoovers' as they made a sound somehat reminiscent of an electric washing machine at speed, the most famous brand at the time being 'Hoover'! All 50 locomotives were named after naval vessels/warships. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/19 14:24 by exhaustED.

I wonder if said purists realize taking such actions allows the Alliance to earn needed revenue to support their current and future activities?  Most historical organizations aren't exactly swimming in money.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/19 14:44 by ShortlinesUSA.

I think they look great! My favorite BR diesels!

Posted from iPhone

Of course they might have looked like this :-)

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Wild!

I love the British tradition of naming things like trains and ships with (generally positive) personality traits. 

But it it does remind me of the three spaceships from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

HMS “Daring”
HMS “Audacity”

and 

HMS “Suicidal Insanity”

march_hare Wrote:
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> HMS “Suicidal Insanity”

That's the one launched in honour of Brexit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/19 05:05 by 86235.

The Class 50's were rebuilt early in their career to resolve some reliability issues by British Rail shops.

Somewhat like some EMD products in North America, notably GP35's, after rebuilding, the Class 50's had long and usefull lives.