GB Railfreight Class 69, No. 69001, has now arrived at the Severn Valley Railway for testing, and the rail freight operator has told RailAdvent what its plans are for the time it is at the heritage railway.

Whilst at the Severn Valley Railway, light and loaded test runs will be completed. This will allow the computer systems to be set up for the best operational specifications.

69001 will be at the Severn Valley Railway until approximately 12th March 2021. Additionally, some driver training will be completed whilst it is at the railway.

Once the test runs and driver training is complete, the locomotive will head back to Longport for additional testing, before heading for painting in April.

GBRf has also told RailAdvent that it expects the second loco in the Class 69 class, 69002, to head to Eastleigh Arlington for painting in Mid March.

For those that don’t know, Class 69s are converted from Class 56 locomotives with engines similar to those found in Class 66s, with 69001 and 69002 being converted from 56031 and 56311 respectively.

A spokesperson for GBRf told RailAdvent: “69001 will be at the SVR until approximately 12 March. There it will undergo loaded and light engine test runs to enable its computer systems to be evaluated and set up for best operational specifications. Some driver training will also be undertaken during this time.”

“The locomotive will then go back to Longport for some additional tests before going to paint in April.”

“We expect that 69002 will head to Arlington Eastleigh for painting mid-March”.

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