The Class 69 Diesel Locomotive was conceived by rail freight operator GB Railfreight (GBRf) to meet their growing locomotive needs. With a requirement for locomotives similar in performance to their fleet of Class 66s, but being unable to purchase new Class 66s, GBRf turned to redundant Class 56s which could be converted into new locos with similar capabilities. As part of the conversion new equipment and systems were installed, including EMD 710 diesel engines, the same as those used in Class 66s. The pool of Class 56s to be converted included examples built at BREL Crewe, BREL Doncaster and Electroputere in Romania, with the conversion work undertaken in Stoke-On-Trent by the American company Progress Rail.

GBRf formally announced the project in Spring 2019 and the first locomotive, No. 69001, commenced running trials at the Severn Valley Railway in February 2021. The type received approval by the Office of Rail and Road in May 2021, allowing the new locomotives to be pressed into service.

The initial order was for ten locomotives with an option for a further six, and by the start of 2024, the first ten locos - Nos. 69001-69010 - had entered service. Each locomotive has been painted by Arlington Fleet Services in Eastleigh and the liveries applied to the Class 69s range from GBRf#s standard orange and blue scheme, and variations on it, to retro-BR liveries including BR Blue, BR Large Logo Blue, BR Green and RTC Red & Blue. Several of the Class are named including the first locomotive, No. 69001, which entered traffic in GBRf orange and blue adorned with UK and US flags and named 'Mayflower', symbolising the American input into the rebuilding of this British-designed locomotive.

Specification

Mechanism

- Five pole, twin shaft motor with two flywheels providing drive to both bogies
- All axle drive
- Electrical pickup from all wheels
- Separate metal bearings fitted to each axle
- Diecast metal chassis block and bogie towers
- Diecast metal gearboxes, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
- 5mm (OO gauge) wheels to NEM310 & NEM311 standards with authentic profile and detailing
- Close coupling mechanism fitted at each end, each of which is fitted with coupling pockets to NEM362 standards
- Auto-Release Couplings fitted at both ends - DCC operated, hands-free uncoupling with the press of a function button (SOUND FITTED DELUXE models only)
- Designed to operate on curves of second radius (438mm) or greater

Detailing

- Bogies constructed from multiple components featuring full relief detail
- Rotating radiator fans, driven by an independent motor and gearbox, operated as part of the sound project on DCC and Analogue control (SOUND FITTED DELUXE models only)
- Separately applied metal detail parts, including lifting eyes, windscreen wipers and etched bodyside and fan grilles
- Sprung metal buffers
- Each model supplied with a full set of decorated, model-specific bufferbeam pipework and accessory parts

Lighting

- Directional lighting, switchable on/off at either end on DCC or Analogue control
- Cab lighting, assigned to two DCC functions for separate switching of each
- Separately switched Machine Room lighting when used on DCC
- Authentic light colours and temperatures selected for each model based on era and application

DCC

- Plux22 DCC decoder interface
- Bach-Up Stay Alive System providing uninterrupted power to prevent stalling, light flicker and sound cut-outs (operates on DCC only)

Sound

- Speaker Fitted - a pre-fitted speaker is included with every model as standard
- Dual Fitted XL - SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE models feature two speakers, including our new speaker with enhanced bass reproduction for optimum sound performance
- ESU Loksound V5DCC Sound Decoder fitted to SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE versions
- Sound files produced specifically for the Bachmann Branchline Class 69 using recordings from real locomotives
- SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied. On Analogue, an authentic engine start up sequence and running sounds are produced when power is applied

Livery Application

- Authentic liveries applied to all models
- Multiple paint applications employed on each model using BR & GBRf specification colours
Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing using authentic typefaces, logos and colours