6,600hp Double-Headed Class 66s! GBRF Numbers 66303 & 66704 Leaving Gascoigne Wood GBRF Sidings

GBRf Class 66/3 No. 66303 (Preston North End)
Constructed by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) at London, Ontario, Canada in 2008 (originally built for Fastline Freight and later operated by Direct Rail Services before joining the GBRf fleet), 66303 is an 18-year-old Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotive operated by GB Railfreight (GBRf). Powered by a 3,300 hp (2,460 kW) EMD 12N-710G3B-EC 12-cylinder turbocharged two-stroke diesel engine driving General Motors traction motors, the 127-tonne locomotive produces a maximum starting tractive effort of 92,000 lbf (409 kN) and a maximum operational top speed of 75 mph (120 km/h). It is equipped with a large onboard fuel capacity of 6,400 litres (1,408 imperial gallons). Locomotive 66303 is presented in GB Railfreight's signature corporate blue and orange livery, featuring an orange cab surround and roof, a deep blue central bodyside, and full high-visibility yellow warning front ends.The locomotive proudly carries the name Preston North End on cast bodyside nameplates with matching football club crests. The name honours the historic Lancashire football club based at Deepdale, one of the twelve founder members of the English Football League in 1888 and English football's inaugural "Invincibles".

GBRf Class 66/7 No. 66704 (Colchester Power Signalbox)
Built by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) at London, Ontario, Canada in 2000 (delivered into UK revenue service in early 2001), 66704 is a 26-year-old Co-Co heavy diesel-electric locomotive operated by GB Railfreight (GBRf). Fitted with an identical 3,300 hp (2,460 kW) EMD 12N-710G3B-EC turbocharged power plant, 66704 delivers 92,000 lbf (409 kN) of tractive effort, a 75 mph (120 km/h) top speed, and a 6,400-litre (1,408 imperial gallon) fuel tank capacity. Working in multiple-unit control with 66303 in double-headed formation, the pair provides a combined power output of 6,600 hp (4,920 kW), 184,000 lbf (818 kN) of starting tractive effort, and a combined fuel reserve of 12,800 litres. Locomotive 66704 is similarly turned out in full GBRf blue and orange livery with yellow ends. It carries cast nameplates reading Colchester Power Signalbox, dedicated in recognition of Network Rail's major signalling centre in Essex that controlled the Great Eastern Main Line for decades.

VTG JNA Box Wagons
The train conveys a substantial rake of VTG JNA bogie box wagons (high-sided open box/spoil wagons leased from VTG Rail UK). Featuring robust steel construction with high side walls and heavy-duty bogies, JNA wagons are widely deployed across the UK rail network to haul high-density bulk cargo, including track renewal ballast, construction aggregates, demolition spoil, and scrap metal. These wagons were retrieved from long-term tactical storage at Gascoigne Wood Sidings, the expansive rail depot situated on the site of the former Selby Coalfield surface handling plant. With demand rising for infrastructure and engineering materials across the South East, GBRf organized this dedicated empty stock transfer move to haul the stored wagon rake south to Tonbridge West Yard GBRf in Kent for inspection and active redeployment into network engineering contracts.

Seen departing Gascoigne Wood Sidings, double-headed GB Railfreight Class 66 locomotives No. 66303 (Preston North End) and No. 66704 (Colchester Power Signalbox) haul a long rake of VTG JNA wagons out of the yard. Moving smoothly through Gascoigne Wood Junction, the 6,600 hp EMD diesel pair accelerates southwards towards Milford Junction to begin the long journey down the rail network to Tonbridge West Yard on a warm, sunny summer afternoon with clear skies on Tuesday, 11th of August 2026 at 17:27.

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