66793 comes under the broad umbrella of what is known to British railway enthusiasts as a “euro class 66”. These locomotives all exhibit differences to the home fleet class 66 that we are familiar with. This locomotive was built in August 2003 for HSBC Rail and leased to ERS Railways (formerly European Rail Shuttle) in the Netherlands and was given their fleet number 6608. In 2009 the locomotive was acquired by Beacon Rail Leasing and transferred to Heavy Haul Power International (HHPI) where it was repainted, renumbered to 29004 and named “Dave Meehan”. HHPI operated 29004 in Germany until 2020 when they upgraded their fleet to Stadler Euro Dual type locomotives and the class 66 fleet were displaced. During late 2020, 29004 arrived in the UK at Immingham before transfer to Doncaster Roberts Road depot for conversion to UK spec for the new operators, GBRf. This conversion included changing the profile of the front deflector plates, fitting of UK electrical equipment (and removal of European equipment) plus GBRf standard upgrades to lights and windows. The locomotive retained some of its Euro features such as the twin pipe air system, larger horn box and euro horn notes. Once conversion was completed the newly registered 66793 was transferred to the paint shop at Eastleigh before being unveiled during March 2021 in its British Rail inspired, triple grey livery complete with construction sector markings. This was done to mark the partnership between GBRf and various customers in the construction sector.

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