Class 56 Locomotives in Scotland

Class 56 locomotives were introduced to British Rail between 1976 and 1984. The first thirty examples were built by Electroputere in Romania (56001–56030). The remainder were built at British Rail Engineering at Doncaster Works and Crewe Works (56031–56135). Initially the locos were all allocated to English-based depots. However, in 1993 a small fleet was allocated to Motherwell Depot. These locos became known as the ‘GRIDS’ due to the large grid covers which protected the loco horns. By the late 1990s more powerful Class 66 locos began to replace them. Many of the class worked freight trains all over Scotland. They were amongst the first UK locos to be equipped with Slow Speed Control (SSC) to allow coal trains to pass through unloading areas at power stations at up to 10 mph allowing rapid discharge. One loco, 56006 made it into preservation and is based at the East Lancashire Railway and is owned by the Class 56 Group.With fascinating images and informative captions, Colin Howat documents the Class 56 locomotive from the late 1970s into the BR era and through to privatisation and beyond.